Popular Science Writing vs Academic Writing Parviz Kokhaei

Popular Science Writing vs Academic Writing Parviz Kokhaei Prof. of Immunology Cancer Research Center and Department of Immunology, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran Parviz. Kokhaei@ki. se

Popular Science Writing vs Academic Writing Academic and technical writing is intended for other professionals reading for work or continuing education Popular science writing is intended for “ordinary” people Interested in science No particular background in the subject

Cont… The nature of a popular science article differs from that of a traditional scientific paper. In the hard sciences where the various sections, presenting the introduction, material and methods, results and discussion, are separated from each other. In the popular science article, the various parts are integrated. As the author, is the one to choose the best way to communicate your message. It is your task to make the contents of the article understandable, interesting to a layperson.

Catch the reader The most crucial thing to remember the reader is not an expert Person with a good education, but with no specialized knowledge The readers have to find your article appealing to start reading The first thing to do is to find an attractive title: ü The popular title should be kept short ü You are allowed to simplify and generalize ü No need to have all the details in the title

Cont… ü The most interesting part should be presented at the beginning of the article, not held back until the final sentence ü Help your readers understand what your results mean ü Explain what makes them interesting and how they might be used ü Details about methods are less relevant ü Instead of writing "This is an interesting result" your article should show what makes the result interesting

Stylistic devices ü Build up a story Barry James Marshall 2005 ü The researchers’ lives and work can help the reader to understand the circumstances that led to a certain discovery ü Rhetorical devices commonly used in popular science ü Metaphor (1) Rain forests are the lungs of the Earth (2) Cyanobacteria work like hydrogen factories

The title ü Avoid words like investigation and study ü Avoid technical terms They repel more than they attract ü Combining difficult terms with easy ones may make the reader curious: Ø Protoporphyrin–the pigment of life Ø membrane proteins–Saint Peter of the cells Ø Superantigens make the immune system lash out

Rhyme and alliteration or Question ü Genetics and gene-ethics ü Can you control the genes or do the genes control you? ü Do we survive ü ﺧﻠﻘﺖ پﺮﻭﺗیﻨﻬﺎی ﺗﺮیﻦ ﻣﺘﻨﻮﻉ ﻫﺎ ﺑﺎﺩی ﺍﻧﺘی

Threat and danger • Toxic algae invade our lakes • Soon the antibiotics may not help you The recipient might then read your article hoping to learn how to avoid danger

Are technical terms allowed? ü Technical terms are not banned in popular science they should not be overused ü Unambiguous (clear cut) ü self-explanatory ü adapted to the language used ü precise and not misleading ü preferably short

Winding up nicely ü Just as important as the beginning of your article is the end ü An article with no clear conclusion might pass unnoticed ü Implications that your findings ü What you have learned and what experience you have gained yourself

Some concluding advice ü Make sure that the contents and language of the popular article are suited to the readers. ü Think of the reader as a person with a good all-round education, who is not an expert in your field. ü Make the title short and catchy. ü Begin with a general introduction where you give some background information about your project. This will help the reader understand the idea of your work. ü Describe the methods and techniques only briefly. ü If the objective of the study is to test or develop a method, make it clear to the reader what purpose the method can be used for.

Cont… ü When describing your results, focus on what they mean and how they can be applied. ü Write an article that is easy to understand enjoyable to read. Use as few technical terms as possible, and avoid excessively long sentences. ü Ask a friend (who is not an expert in your field) to read and give honest comments on the first draft. ü Also ask your friend to correct the language. Rewrite and ask for new comments.

I would like to Thank Mehrnoosh Pashaei for preparing these slides and Thank you for your attention E-mail: Parviz. kokhaei@ki. se

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Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan province