Writing About Science and Learning To Write Better
My Writing About Science series is nearly over. We’re in the process of submitting their articles to the New York Times Learning STEM Writing Contest. In an intense three-week period, my students learned about:
- Research skills, such as choosing reputable sources
- Using active, interesting verbs to make even arcane topics interesting to readers
- Writing with clarity, so that non-experts can understand the science behind your topic
I learned a lot too! One young physicist explored whether the fourth dimension of time could explain anomalies in quantum mechanics and general relativity, and if so, whether time travel might be possible through wormholes. Another student went deep into how precision medicine tailored to a person’s genes could be the next big thing in treating cancer. My youngest student wrote about what teenagers can do to stop climate change.
We won’t know the contest results for at least a month. No matter what happens, my students and parents are telling me that the course made them better writers. A big win!