Untitled Document

The Craft of Popularization

PBDS 611.185

NOTE: This is representative of the syllabi for this course. It is not necessarily the syllabus being used in any one semester.

TEXTS: Gannon, Robert (ed.). Best Science Writing [BSF].

Sobel, Dava. Longitude

NOTE: FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS COURSE, "TECHNICAL" REFERS TO A TOPIC FOR WHICH UNDERSTANDING REQUIRES SPECIAL TRAINING...

BY THE END OF THE COURSE, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

Describe and apply basic principles of adapting technical information for consumption by nontechnical audiences.

Describe and demonstrate the steps involved in getting an article published.

ATTENDANCE

1. Missing class could adversely affect your grade.

2. You may not make up missed in-class assignments.

3. Should class be canceled for any reason, be prepared, at the next class, to cover the work from both classes.

GRADES

1. Each paper will be graded according to the following criteria (in this order):

a) fulfillment of the assignment;

b) creativity and originality.

2. If you turn in a paper after the deadline (i.e., the class in which they are due) its grade will drop one letter (an A becomes a B; a B+ becomes a C+; etc.) I will not accept papers more than one class late.

4. Assignments will be weighted as follows:

Weekly Assignments 50%

Final Project 50%

Participation borderline determiner

Class Schedule

1 Course Overview and in-class writing

2 Basic Science Writing: pp.1-17, 96-105

Process #1: Getting From Here to There

Someone you met at a conference several years ago (or in college or in the army...) and have kept in casual contact with has just written to you, saying that s/he's going to be in Baltimore next month and would like to visit you. Write a letter to the person giving directions to your house from [TBA].

3 Basic Science Writing: pp.158-186

Process #2: How to...

Diapering a baby, eating with chopsticks, packing a car trunk, using an internet search engine, eating steamed crabs, cleaning a euphonium... that sort of thing. You're writing to a general audience. This article might appear in a feature section of The Baltimore Sun or Baltimore Magazine or the USAirways in-flight magazine. Your purpose, besides conveying information is to make the reader want to read the article, the entire article, even though s/he may never have done this --and in fact may never do it. Go beyond explanation. Make it interesting and fresh as well as clear. (300-600 wds)

4 Basic Science Writing: pp. 36-49

Place

Take the reader to a location integral to your subject: a hospital emergency or operating room, a print shop, a courtroom, a restaurant kitchen, a newsroom, etc. After reading your article/essay, the reader should really know what it's like to be there --affectively as well as cognitively. (500-1000 wds)

5 Basic Science Writing: pp. 18-35, 138-157

A Range of Readers

This assignment (not unlike Gaul) has three parts.

a. Pick a subject. It can be related to your area of expertise of not.

b. Spend some time in the library (etc.) locating a wide spectrum of material on that subject. Here are examples of that range: a technical article or report that appears in a specialized journal (e.g., The Journal of Marketing Research); an article on the same subject in the American Marketing Association's monthly magazine or The New Yorker; an article on the same subject in Advertising Age; an article on the same subject in Business Week; one in Time or Newsweek; and one in People or The National Enquirer, etc. You might also look in encyclopedias, noticing that different encyclopedias will treat the subject differently; textbooks; how-to books; etc. Bring in photocopies of the material (at least representative samples in the case of books or longer articles), and be able to talk about it in class.

c. In 300-500 words, respond to and deal with the accumulation of material that you've found. But don't write it as a "school assignment." Pretend you've done this research for something specific or that you've just stumbled across the material and that you find something interesting in it all, maybe in the content, maybe in the presentation --it's up to you. Entertain the reader; make him/her want to keep reading. What insights, fascinating details, humor, intellectual provocation, etc. can you provide to the reader?

6 Longitude

Read and be prepared to discuss specific ways that Dava Sobel made the story and information she presents in Longitude interesting and understandable.

7 Basic Science Writing: pp. 72-96

Process #3: How to...

Same thing as Process #2 with this change: where the subject of the earlier assignment was a "simple" --albeit unfamiliar-- process, te subject of this assignment should be much more complex and technical: developing a vaccine for a disease; preparing glazes for pottery; building radio-controlled airplanes; creating a hypermedia stack; etc. In other words, you're writing about a subject that your reader might have thought was too difficult to grasp and or too obscure to care about. Your job once again, Jim, should you choose to accept it, is to pull your audience into the material. (400-700 wds)

SPRING BREAK!!

8 Basic Science Writing: pp. 64-71, 106-137, pp. 50-63

Person

Find someone who knows all about something related to your subject. Write a magazine article based on that information [and any other material s/he makes available to you]. Be sure to narrow the focus of your article; don't try to do a comprehensive biography in this amount of space! (500-1000 wds)

9 Book Review

Write a book review appropriate to a general readership publication (The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, The New York Times Book Review, etc. Use the review as a vehicle for illustrating the principles of effective communication and translation which we've been discussing in this course. In addition, be prepared to discuss the book in class: brief summary; analysis (what techniques --with examples-- did the author use to make a technical subject comprehensible?); evaluation (to what degree did the author succeed or fail or both?).

10 Final Project: Article #1

11 Final Project: Article #2

12 Final Project: Article #3

13 Final Project: Query letters

Write letters to three publications. Your purpose is to convince the editor that s/he should publish your article. Your letter should address the article's subject, its appropriateness to that publication, and your qualifications as its author.

14 [Revision Conferences]

15 Revisions of your articles and query letters. Include with each query letter a stamped, addressed envelope and SASE.




			The Craft of Popularization PBDS 611.185 NOTE: This is representative of the syllabi for this course. It is not necessarily the syllabus being used in any one semester. TEXTS: Gannon, Robert (ed.). Best Science Writing [BSF]. Sobel, Dava. Longitude NOTE: FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS COURSE, "TECHNICAL" REFERS TO A TOPIC FOR WHICH UNDERSTANDING REQUIRES SPECIAL TRAINING... BY THE END OF THE COURSE, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO: Describe and apply basic principles of adapting technical information for consumption by nontechnical audiences. Describe and demonstrate the steps involved in getting an article published. ATTENDANCE 1. Missing class could adversely affect your grade. 2. You may not make up missed in-class assignments. 3. Should class be canceled for any reason, be prepared, at the next class, to cover the work from both classes. GRADES 1. Each paper will be graded according to the following criteria (in this order): a) fulfillment of the assignment; b) creativity and originality. 2. If you turn in a paper after the deadline (i.e., the class in which they are due) its grade will drop one letter (an A becomes a B; a B+ becomes a C+; etc.) I will not accept papers more than one class late. 4. Assignments will be weighted as follows: Weekly Assignments 50% Final Project 50% Participation borderline determiner The Fine Print: My classroom manner tends to be casual and easygoing, loose, and seemingly disorganized. Don't let those cues mislead you! I am very serious about this course and about the caliber of your work. Anything short of excellent will be graded accordingly. Class Schedule 1 Course Overview and in-class writing 2 Basic Science Writing: pp.1-17, 96-105 Process #1: Getting From Here to There Someone you met at a conference several years ago (or in college or in the army...) and have kept in casual contact with has just written to you, saying that s/he's going to be in Baltimore next month and would like to visit you. Write a letter to the person giving directions to your house from [TBA]. 3 Basic Science Writing: pp.158-186 Process #2: How to... Diapering a baby, eating with chopsticks, packing a car trunk, using an internet search engine, eating steamed crabs, cleaning a euphonium... that sort of thing. You're writing to a general audience. This article might appear in a feature section of The Baltimore Sun or Baltimore Magazine or the USAirways in-flight magazine. Your purpose, besides conveying information is to make the reader want to read the article, the entire article, even though s/he may never have done this --and in fact may never do it. Go beyond explanation. Make it interesting and fresh as well as clear. (300-600 wds) 4 Basic Science Writing: pp. 36-49 Place Take the reader to a location integral to your subject: a hospital emergency or operating room, a print shop, a courtroom, a restaurant kitchen, a newsroom, etc. After reading your article/essay, the reader should really know what it's like to be there --affectively as well as cognitively. (500-1000 wds) 5 Basic Science Writing: pp. 18-35, 138-157 A Range of Readers This assignment (not unlike Gaul) has three parts. a. Pick a subject. It can be related to your area of expertise of not. b. Spend some time in the library (etc.) locating a wide spectrum of material on that subject. Here are examples of that range: a technical article or report that appears in a specialized journal (e.g., The Journal of Marketing Research); an article on the same subject in the American Marketing Association's monthly magazine or The New Yorker; an article on the same subject in Advertising Age; an article on the same subject in Business Week; one in Time or Newsweek; and one in People or The National Enquirer, etc. You might also look in encyclopedias, noticing that different encyclopedias will treat the subject differently; textbooks; how-to books; etc. Bring in photocopies of the material (at least representative samples in the case of books or longer articles), and be able to talk about it in class. c. In 300-500 words, respond to and deal with the accumulation of material that you've found. But don't write it as a "school assignment." Pretend you've done this research for something specific or that you've just stumbled across the material and that you find something interesting in it all, maybe in the content, maybe in the presentation --it's up to you. Entertain the reader; make him/her want to keep reading. What insights, fascinating details, humor, intellectual provocation, etc. can you provide to the reader? 6 Longitude Read and be prepared to discuss specific ways that Dava Sobel made the story and information she presents in Longitude interesting and understandable. 7 Basic Science Writing: pp. 72-96 Process #3: How to... Same thing as Process #2 with this change: where the subject of the earlier assignment was a "simple" --albeit unfamiliar-- process, te subject of this assignment should be much more complex and technical: developing a vaccine for a disease; preparing glazes for pottery; building radio-controlled airplanes; creating a hypermedia stack; etc. In other words, you're writing about a subject that your reader might have thought was too difficult to grasp and or too obscure to care about. Your job once again, Jim, should you choose to accept it, is to pull your audience into the material. (400-700 wds) SPRING BREAK!! 8 Basic Science Writing: pp. 64-71, 106-137, pp. 50-63 Person Find someone who knows all about something related to your subject. Write a magazine article based on that information [and any other material s/he makes available to you]. Be sure to narrow the focus of your article; don't try to do a comprehensive biography in this amount of space! (500-1000 wds) 9 Book Review Write a book review appropriate to a general readership publication (The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, The New York Times Book Review, etc. Use the review as a vehicle for illustrating the principles of effective communication and translation which we've been discussing in this course. In addition, be prepared to discuss the book in class: brief summary; analysis (what techniques --with examples-- did the author use to make a technical subject comprehensible?); evaluation (to what degree did the author succeed or fail or both?). 10 Final Project: Article #1 11 Final Project: Article #2 12 Final Project: Article #3 13 Final Project: Query letters Write letters to three publications. Your purpose is to convince the editor that s/he should publish your article. Your letter should address the article's subject, its appropriateness to that publication, and your qualifications as its author. 14 [Revision Conferences] 15 Revisions of your articles and query letters. Include with each query letter a stamped, addressed envelope and SASE. home \| bs, corporate communication \| ba, english \| ma, publications design \| mfa, integrated design \| mfa, creative writing & publishing arts \| people \| portfolio \| facilities \| classes \| undergraduate applications \| graduate applications \| contact \| site index \| university of baltimore