Writing About Science

Instructor: Professor Laurence A. Marschall
               Department of Physics

Science and literature are regarded as two distinct disciplines, but in fact good writing in science is also good literature, and reading a good science book can be as pleasurable as reading a good novel. A good science writer takes specialized technical material and makes it clear, understandable, and compelling. A great science writer may even make it beautiful. In this course we will read many examples of the best science writing today, which is being published in newspapers, magazines, blogs, and in books for the general reader. In addition to discussing the science that informs each essay or book, we'll try to understand the techniques that skillful authors use to achieve their ends, especially the use of rhetorical devices that personalize ideas and that make complex arguments seem simple and comprehensible. We'll investigate how good science writers interweave narrative and exposition, and how individual writers develop unique voices.

In addition to a lot of reading, we will also do a lot of writing. By emulating good science writers in our own essays, and by discussing our own work as well as others, we will develop skills in the art of explanation, skills that will serve us well outside the seminar, at school and at work. In addition to numerous exercises and short essays, each seminar member will write a longer article in the form of a magazine article, popularizing a current or historical scientific topic.