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Science Writing and New Media: Elements of Science Writing for the Public

The cover of the November 1931 issue of the magazine Everyday Science and Mechanics, showing an illustration of a proposed spaceship that would fly between Berlin and New York in one hour.

The cover of the November 1931 issue of Everyday Science and Mechanics, illustrated by Frank R. Paul. (Public domain via wikimedia commons).

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

21W.035

As Taught In

Spring 2013

Level

Undergraduate

Cite This Course

Course Description

This class is an introduction to writing about science–including nature, medicine, and technology–for general readers. In our reading and writing we explore the craft of making scientific concepts, and the work of scientists, accessible to the public through news articles and essays. The chief work of the class is students' writing. As part of our exploration of the craft of science writing, we will read essays and articles by writers such as David Quammen, Atul Gawande, Michael Pollan, and Elizabeth Kolbert.

Boiko, Karen. 21W.035 Science Writing and New Media: Elements of Science Writing for the Public, Spring 2013. (MIT OpenCourseWare: Massachusetts Institute of Technology), http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/writing-and-humanistic-studies/21w-035-science-writing-and-new-media-elements-of-science-writing-for-the-public-spring-2013 (Accessed). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA


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