NOTE: This syllabus from 2005 is provided solely to
provide information about the course.
The updated, “working” version of the syllabus is at
Cornell’s Blackboard site, http://blackboard.cornell.edu. Guests may view the course at that site, but
will not have access to some materials.
Comm/STS 352:
Science
Writing for Mass Media
Fall 2005
[The course website is at http://blackboard.cornell.edu; click
on the "Course Catalog" button and search for "science
writing." Some materials on the
site are restricted to students enrolled in the course.]
Instructors
Professor: Bruce Lewenstein
321 Kennedy Hall
255-8310 (telephone)
254-1322 (fax)
b.lewenstein@cornell.edu (e-mail)
http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/bvl1
(website)
Office hours:
Tuesday, 2:30-4:30 pm, in Kennedy 321
TA: TBA
Time and location
Class: MW
10:10—11:00, Warren
231
Labs: Fri,
9:05-11:00 and 11:15-1:10 in Upson computer lab
Course description
What's the OVERALL GOAL?
This course covers science in the mass media, especially
"how-to-do-it." It looks at opportunities for covering science,
constraints that shape that coverage, and techniques needed to write about
science. You will write a lot in this course, and at the end you should know
how to begin writing about science for the mass media. We will also talk some
about "why-we-do-it," but that's
a secondary goal.
What are we GOING TO ACTUALLY DO?
Most of our classes will be discussions (based on readings,
handouts, and your own reading and watching of the mass media) about science
writing. Some classes will feature outside speakers, both science writers and
scientists. Some classes will involve intensive review of the writing you've
been doing. Some class discussions will focus on background issues that will
help put science writing in its social context. In the weekly labs, you will
write, write, and write some more. All major assignments will be media stories
of one kind or another.
Required
- Deborah
Blum, Mary Knudson, and Robin Marantz Henig (’73), eds., A Field
Guide for Science Writers (2005).
- Victor
Cohn and Lew Cope, News and Numbers: A Guide to Reporting Statistical
Claims and Controversies in Health and Related Fields, 2nd ed. (2001).
- Bookmark
the following websites:
Assignments and grading
- Weekly
bulletin board posting
- News
brief #1, due Monday, 12 September
- Speech
#1, due Wednesday, 28 September
·
News brief #2, due Wednesday, 5 October
- Speech
#2, due Wednesday, 2 November
- Book
review, due Wednesday, 30 November
- Feature:
- Proposal,
due Monday, 17 October
- Outline,
due Wednesday, 26 October
- Feature,
due Wednesday, 16 November
- Revised
feature, due Thursday, 8 December, 9:00 am
Grading and related matters
Deadlines, Spelling, Facts, and Grammar
Papers are due in class. Papers will be graded down for
being late. Spelling errors (including typos), incorrect names, and other
factual errors will count against your grade. Grammatical problems will enter
into the general evaluation of your assignments.
Grades
Some assignments will be graded; others will merely receive
a check-mark. In general, grades reflect the following evaluation:
A = Excellent story. Worthy of prominent play in a
newspaper or magazine after minor editing. Reporting shows enterprise; writing
shows flair.
B = Good
story. Publishable with little editing. Well-written, reported, and edited.
C = Fair
story, but one that requires substantial editing. A wordy, slow-paced story. A
story that needs more reporting.
D = Dull
story. Unpublishable without rewriting or major surgery during editing.
Careless or sloppy writing. Unsupported material.
F =
Unpublishable story. Poor in content or structure.
All assignments are required. Before calculating the final
grade, I will drop your lowest scores. If you are missing more than 2
assignments (including ungraded ones), or if you are missing the final project,
you will fail the course.
The final grade will be based on: major assignments (70%),
labs, class participation, and professor's discretion (30%). I use my
discretion mainly to help those who have shown real improvement and effort
through the semester. Be warned, however, that I can use it in ways less
beneficial to you when someone tries to slouch through the entire semester.
Cheating
As students at Cornell, you are all subject to the
University's Code of Academic Integrity. (http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Academic/AIC.html). If you violate the code, you may be assessed
severe penalties (including potentially failing the course). The following
comments on the Code apply for this course only.
(1) After you
have written an article, you may ask classmates or friends to comment on it.
Indeed, we encourage you to do so. Commenting is not editing; it is merely
reading and saying, "What do you mean here?" or "This isn't
clear," or "Did you check this fact?" or similar remarks. You
may not ask for detailed grammatical, stylistic, or similar comments, which
would constitute editing.
(2) You should
use standard journalistic forms to cite the source of any information you use.
You will learn these forms in class; common ones are: "According to
Cornell geologist Frank Rhodes," "in an article recently published by
Dean Hamer," or "a Theory
Center spokesperson
said."
Computers typing,
and other mechanical details
See the copy of "Bruce Lewenstein's Online
Idiosyncratic Style Guide for Student Papers," available online through
the class website. You are responsible for grammar and stylistic points listed
in this document.
Tentative Course Schedule
Note: in addition the readings listed, we may hand out
stories in class or post them or links to them online, asking you to read them
before the next class and to be ready to comment on them.
|
Week
|
Date
|
Topics, readings, assignments
|
|
1
|
29, 31 Aug
|
What is science, what is the media, and so what is science
in the mass media? Basic science news
Readings:
Scan the following websites
Review Bruce Lewenstein's Online
Idiosyncratic Guide for Student Articles
LAB 1: News briefs
|
|
2
|
5, 7 Sept
|
Story structures; documenting with quotes and other
sources
Readings:
LAB 2: News briefs
|
|
3
|
12, 14 Sept
|
Reporting
Readings:
- Cohn,
chs. 1-5 (pp. 3-63)
- Blum
& Knudson, chs. 11, 12, (13), 14
LAB
3: Speeches
DUE (Monday): News brief #1
|
|
4
|
19, 21 Sept
|
Simplifying and Explanations
Readings:
LAB
4: Explanations
|
|
5
|
26, 28 Sept
|
Simplifying and Explanations (continued)
Readings:
- Examples
online, to be assigned
DUE (Wednesday): Speech #1
LAB
5: Speeches
|
|
6
|
3, 5 Oct
|
Planning and reporting a feature story
Readings:
LAB:
Features and Profiles <MAY BE CANCELED OR RESCHEDULED>
DUE (Wednesday): News brief #2
|
|
7
|
11, 13 Oct
|
Profiles
NO CLASS ON MONDAY (Fall Break)
Readings:
- Profile
stories online, to be assigned
LAB:
Features and Profiles <MAY BE CANCELED OR RESCHEDULED>
BY FRIDAY: Fill out survey on the website
|
|
8
|
17, 19 Oct
|
Science literacy and the context for science writing
Readings:
LAB: Writing for the Web
DUE (Monday): Feature proposal
|
|
9
|
24, 26 Oct
|
Writing about health, risk, and numbers
Readings:
LAB: Working with numbers
DUE (Wednesday): Feature outline
|
|
10
|
31 Oct, 2 Nov
|
Covering Controversies
Readings:
- Current
controversy stories online, to be assigned
LAB: Environmental controversy
DUE (Wednesday): Speech #2
|
|
11
|
7, 9 Nov
|
Covering the politics of science
Readings:
- Current
politics stories online, to be assigned
LAB: Controversies
|
|
12
|
14, 16 Nov
|
Covering the economics of science
Readings:
- Economics
of science stories online, to be assigned
LAB:
Cultural science writing (reviews)
DUE (Wednesday): Feature
|
|
13
|
21, 23 Nov
|
Cultural science writing
Readings:
- Blum
& Knudson, chs. 6-8, 15
NO LAB (Thanksgiving)
|
|
14
|
28, 30 Nov
|
Putting all the pieces together: Science writing for the mass media
LAB: Science writing for the mass media
DUE (Wednesday): Book review
|
|
Finals
|
|
DUE: Revised feature, Thursday, 8 December, 9:00
a.m.
|
Last modified: 27 August 2005