Science

Discovery
BY JEFFREY N. FERNANDEZ, Master Teacher II
Objectives:
• How to read Scientific Paper
• How to Conduct Interviews
• How to Simplify Complex Ideas
• How to Write and Engaging Story
Basic Science Writing
What is Science Writing?
• Communicating science concepts effectively
to target audience
• Depending on the audience, it can be news
article, a feature story, a comic strip, a
technical report, etc. – It could be anything!
Do you have to be a Scientist?
• No!
• You’re not the topic expert; you’re not
expected to know everything
• As a writer/journalist, your job is to
understand what you and your audience
don’t know so that you can write about it
• Your job is to ask questions and to find
answers
Writing for a General Audience
• Is a good exercise to help you understand
science
• If you understand science, it’s easier to
explain to other people
• If you don’t understand science, you do
research and interviews
How to read a Scientific Paper?
What to find in a Science Article?
• Authors/Authority
• Abstract
• Body
• Discussion
• Others; (figures, references,
acknowledgements, methods, etc.)
• Authors/Authority
Who are the authors?
Where are they from? (nationality,
university, agency )
What are their possible motivation?
• Abstract
What are the significance of the
paper/article?
Why is this study/topic important?
What is the summary or findings of the
research?
• Body
What is new in this study/topic?
What other studies have been
undertaken relevant to the topic?
What specific research was undertaken?
What are the details of the findings?
• Discussion
What are the authors’ thoughts on the
study and its findings?
What are the authors’ next steps?
• Others
Figures-often the paper’s main points are
visualized and summarized in the captions

Reference-this help guide you on what

is previously known or understood about
the topic
 Acknowledgements- sometimes contains
the author’s inspirations/motivations,
independent reviewers, and funding sources

Methods- detail of the actual

experiments
What if you don’t have access to
the Scientific Paper?
• Reach out to the authors
• Dig online
• Interview a topic expert
How to conduct an
Interview?
 Before
Interview?
• Research both the subject and
the interviewee
• Approach the interview as an
outsider who doesn’t
understand what’s happening
• Formulate basic questions
based on your initial
assessment of the story or
situation
• Craft good questions.
• Don’t ask “closed” questions
(answerable by yes or no) This
shuts down dialogue quickly
• Ask “open” questions (5Wh)
• Ask “open” questions (5Wh)
Give interviewee space for
explanation
• Keep questions neutral
 During
Interview?
• Don’t be adversarial. Be open
and welcoming to your
interviewee
• Pay attention! Don’t just treat
to your questions as checklist
• Notice when your interviewee
loosens or tightens up
• Adjust your follow up
questions to how your
interviewee responds to your
initial questions
• Always end the interview with
“Is there anything that I
forget?”
After the
Interview?
How to simplify Complex
Ideas?
Scientific Analogy
Feature Story
Writing
 Good writing is supposed to
evoke sensation in the reader.
Not the fact that it is raining, but
the feeling of being rained upon.

E.L Doctorow
Strong headline
weak visual,
Summary
Kruhay!