CLS research seminar: Writing for beyond the ivory tower

“Science isn’t finished until it’s communicated. The communication to wider audiences is part of the job of being a scientist, and so how you communicate is absolutely vital.” Mark Walport, former Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK government, 2013

Broader public

The push to make research accessible to the broader public adds another layer of complexity to the writing that scholars do. Scholars are now being expected to write plain language summaries not only for research articles, but for department websites, blogs, patient-facing research newsletters, and even funding proposals. Writing to improve public understanding of science does not come easily to most researchers, raising the important question of how to “translate” research for different audiences so that it is accessible to a general audience. Is it merely a matter of eliminating technical terminology? Or is there something more to be done? 

In this hands-on workshop, we will focus on strategies to communicate research in writing for a broad audience. We will analyze different texts to understand the similarities and differences between a text targeting experts and one on the same topic targeting a broader audience. We will discuss the elements of a nonexpert text that contribute to successful understanding and spend time on a revision activity. Finally, we will discuss how we, as communication professionals, might support researchers in their efforts to disseminate their work and open up a dialogue with the general public on scientific issues.

Speaker:

Christine Feak, English Language Institute, University of Michigan

About the speaker

Christine Feak is an educator of outstanding level whose work on academic writing and scientific publication has been of great significance for students and researchers the world over. Christine Feak’s work has impacted generations of graduate students, empowering them to become conscious, effective and fluent scientific writers. She is the and author of books and course literature that have had a huge impact in the teaching or writing at the doctoral level worldwide, such as Academic Writing for Graduate Students: Essential Tasks and Skills.