Online Workshop on Writing about Science for Non-Scientific Audiences by IISER Pune [Dec 7-11]: Register by Dec 3

About

The Science Media Centre at the Indian Institute of Science, Education, and Research (IISER), Pune in collaboration with IndiaBioscience is organizing a Workshop on Writing about Science for Non-Scientific Audiences from December 7 to 11, 2020.

The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune (IISER Pune) is an autonomous public research university established in 2006. It is one of the seven Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research and was one of the first IISERs to be established along with IISER Kolkata. It is located in Pune, Maharashtra.

Workshop Highlights

This workshop aims to train students and researchers in writing about science in a way that is accessible, engaging, and effective. After completing the workshop, the participants should be able to –

1. Identify good science stories and understand what makes them work
2. Identify a suitable website/ publication based on the target readers
3. Pitch an article to a publication
4. Interview a scientist or expert for the purpose of writing a science news story
5. Do background research and fact-checking
6. Understand the basics of creating a narrative flow
7. Outline and prepare the first draft of a news story based on a research paper
8. Edit and revise the first draft
9. Become aware of and apply some good practices like sticking to word count, avoiding giving personal opinions (unless it is an opinion article), using quotes optimally, etc.

Topics

Day 1: Science and Storytelling

• Why write about science?
• Types of science writing
• The use of storytelling crafts in science writing
• Understanding the elements of a story

Day 2: Finding and pitching stories

• Understanding what makes for a good science story
• Picking out a story from a research paper
• Pitching a story to an editor

Day 3: Reporting on your story

• Critically evaluating a research paper
• Interviewing scientists
• Doing your background research

Day 4: Preparing your first draft

• Outlining and creating a narrative flow
• Crafting quality ledes and headlines
• Writing your first draft

Day 5: Taking your draft to the next level

• Self-editing and revising your first draft
• Dealing with the curse of jargon
• The importance of checking your facts
• A checklist of things to go over before submitting the draft

Who can Attend?

Class XII passed (Science) students are invited to apply. There is no age limit to attend the workshop.

Registration

There is no registration fee for the workshop. To register for the workshop, click here.

The last date to register is December 3, 2020.

For full notification, click the link below.

Online Workshop on Writing about Science for Non-Scientific Audiences by IISER Pune

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