WRITING SCIENCE FOR THE PUBLIC

Prerequisites & course information

Requisites: Junior standing Course Designation: Level - Intermediate L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Grad 50% - Counts toward 50% graduate coursework requirement Repeatable for Credit: No Last Taught: Spring 2026 Learning Outcomes: 1. Harness the elements of story to more deeply engage public audiences in science and to organize both written and oral communications. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Apply more concise, clear, and powerful language when writing and speaking about science and research. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Appreciate the need to understand others' perspectives when communicating about science and apply strategies for responding empathetically to audience concerns. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Foster dialogue and community by participating thoughtfully and respectfully in discussions, including peer reviews of each other's work. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Integrate the concepts and skills learned in the course to write a personal essay or opinion piece about a timely and relevant science topic or controversy. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Combine knowledge of the principle of effective science communication with new technical skills to write and speak about aspects of their own research. Audience: Graduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Harness the elements of story to more deeply engage public audiences in science and to organize both written and oral communications. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 2. Apply more concise, clear, and powerful language when writing and speaking about science and research. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 3. Appreciate the need to understand others' perspectives when communicating about science and apply strategies for responding empathetically to audience concerns. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 4. Foster dialogue and community by participating thoughtfully and respectfully in discussions, including peer reviews of each other's work. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 5. Integrate the concepts and skills learned in the course to write a personal essay or opinion piece about a timely and relevant science topic or controversy. Audience: Both Grad & Undergrad 6. Combine knowledge of the principle of effective science communication with new technical skills to write and speak about aspects of their own research. Audience: Graduate