Science Writing 101

SCIENCE WRITING 101

Prof. Eugenio "Sonny" Ochoa Calapit
-STRUCTURE of SCIENCE NEWS
Inverted Pyramid composes of LEAD, BODY and CONCLUSION.
a) LEAD - gist or summary of the summary
b) BODY - compose of elaborations/ explanations
c) CONCLUSION - end; least important; recommendation
-TWO TYPES of SCIENCE ARTICLE
1. SCIENCE NEWS - must have HARD SCIENCE facts; objective
2. SCIENCE FEATURE - must have SOFT SCIENCE facts; subjective
-TWO WAY of WRITING SCIENCE NEWS/ FEATURE
a) ANALYSIS - to break the raw facts and informations into parts
b) SYNTHESIS - to form the broken parts into raw facts and information
-WEIGHING THE DATA
a) More information > SCIENCE FEATURE
b) Less information > SCIENCE NEWS
-TWO STRUCTURES of a SCIENCE ARTICLE
1. 5Ws and H - it is the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How structure; the boring structure
2. ASSaKaPaBa - it is the Ano, Sino, Saan, Kailan, Paano, and Bakit structure; the innovated and
interesting structure
-REMEMBER:
1. Organize the data.
2. It is not wrong to put a QUOTE on your article, but make sure that it will make a DIFFERENCE.
3. LEAD must be HEAVY while BODY and the CONCLUSION must be LIGHT.
4. "Kumuha ng data na wala sa KALABAN." - Sir Calapit
5. "Get your angle." - Sir Calapit
6. When using unfamiliar scientific terms, define it BRIEFLY as possible.
Example: NaCl > Sodium Chloride > Table Salt > Asin
7. When writing a SCIENCE FEATURE, make it descriptive and give it a touch of color.
8. Emphasize the magnitude of the problem.
9. When reporting a research or technological breakthroughs, do tell WHY is it a
BREAKTHROUGH.
10. Give CONTRAST on WHY things are better now.
11. A little bit of HISTORICAL EVENTS or FACTS can be a backgrounder of a SCIENCE
FEATURE.
12. Give other sides of the situation being observed.
13. NOVELTY LEAD sometimes really work on articles.
14. When gathering informations, always ORGANIZE by means of 5Ws and H.
15. The LEAD, BODY and CONCLUSION must complement with each other.
16. The more facts written, the more interesting it will be but it depends on the type of science
article that you'll be writing.
17. PENMANSHIP is sometimes the NAME of the GAME. (Dapat maganda ang sulat)
18. Instead of writing "99% likes Adobo", try writng "9 out of 10 people likes Adobo".
19. KEEP READING particularly SCIENCE ARTICLES. (Rappler, Reader's Digest)

20. When trying to put a PERSON in your article for proving purposes, make sure to write their
POSITION. (Dr. Eric Tayag, secretary of the DOH...)
21. DESCRIBE your subject as UNDERSTANDABLE as you can.
22. Always assume that you're a SCIENTIST when writing an article.
-"Think like a CHAMPION." - Sir Calapit