Writing skills and writing popular science

on internet and a brochure/leaflet

• Improve your writing skills– Sentences– Use the correct words– Clear and ‘simple’– Avoid typical errors

• Writing popular science– Simplify– What is appealing to ‘non-scientists’ in your work?– Layer by layer– Illustrating pictures/drawings

SentencesChapter 11 Dupont • pronoun referencing• fragments

– Incomplete ideas• Often starts with dependent making ´word:

– Which.., Although..When… With extra burnt grass they ran.– Remove the word or combine with the sentence it refers to

• comma splice– Two independent clause are joined together with comma instead of transition

word• run-on sentences

– Too long and too much• overuse of 'to be‘

– Is wearing vs wears, • subject-verb

– Singular and plural (avoid subject and verb far apart) • simple sentences, put more information into them

Sentences

• Chapter 12 Dupont – Tone (note to casual or to formal)– Parallelism

• Don’t mix to much in your sentence – The heart consists of x, y and the ghg that lgg

– Too much passive voice– weak sentence opener

• There is, there are, I believe that…– Vague, to general, or unecessary phrases

– Repetitive• The zebras…. The zebras…

– punctuation marks• May interrupt the flow, be careful

Sentences/words

• Chapter 6 Malmfors et al. – short verbs– use strong verbs

• Make an adjustment vs. adjust

– change phrase to single word• Take into consideration vs. consider

– short sentences• Avoid but use to link ideas.

– use words correctly (scientific meaning)

Assigment 1Sentences

• Pick 15 examples from your thesis where you've made errors,  where your sentence need editing. For each sentence: Hand in the original sentence together with the new sentence and a note stating what kind of error you've made.

•Divide them inte three groups, approximately 5 sentences each:

•1. According to the errors presented in chapter 11 Dupont (pronoun referencing, fragments, comma splice, run-on sentences, overuse of 'to be', subject-verb, too simple sentences)

• 2.  According to the errors presented in chapter 12 Dupont (tone, parallelism, point of view, weak sentence opener, repetitive, punctuation marks)

• 3. According to chapter 6 Malmfors et al. (short verbs, use strong verbs, change phrase to single word, short sentences, use words correctly)

Popular science

• Avoid jargon• Are definitions clear to the reader?• What are appealing to them?• How to keep them interested?• Use pictures/drawings to illustrate processes.• Exemplify• Write a short story to illustrate• Organize as usual (triangularize)

– Clear introduction with statement – Body– Conclusion

Assigment 2Leaflet

• Make a brochure on your thesis work. A popular science version. You can reuse your text from your web site. A double folded A4. Use power point or publisher. Page size A4, landscape orientation, two slides, split each slide into three, use the ruler or gridlines when you divide. For example see http://www.ifm.liu.se/biology/mscprogram/ApplBiol2005.pdf

Popular science on the internet

• Have to be presented as layer by layer

• The reader only have one page at each time.– What is the message on that page?– Get the reader interested to ‘click’ to the next

page or to scroll down.

• Use pictures as support and as extra ‘clickable’ illustrations.

Assignment 3Web site

• More details will come as we move along.Write this as a popular science presentation. Combine text and picture in a way that suits a internet presentation. For example some picture that illustrates and other pictures that are 'clickable' for those that are more interested. Write the text in the same way, layer by layer as a hierarchy of interest.

• At the same site make links to your poster, your brief communication, your leaflet, and your oral presentation.

• You can edit your site from a webbrowser using your studentaccount. Login at: http://cms.ifm.liu.se/biology/master_projects/2006/go to your home page, use links at leftAt the very bottom of your page you can edit your page by clicking on the editing symbol, a small brownish lock.