Homework due before Oct. 6

1. Finish draft of second article. Bring copy to class.

2. Do a Q&A blog. Follow instructions in last week's post. The headline should be the question you are trying to answer. Due Saturday at 8 p.m.

3. Read this article in Discover about Stephen Hawking and this review in the New York Times of a book by one of his critics. We will discuss these next week.

4. Write a short blog on the Discover article and then grade it as follows:

(i) Lede (20%): Did it draw you in?

(ii) Content (20%): Did the author answer all the right questions?

(iii) Organization (20%): Was the article organized in a way that made it easy to follow? Did the writer use effective transitions?

(iv) Quality of writing (20%): Did you like the writing style? Why or why not?

(v) Clarity of exposition (20%): How well did the writer explain the science? Did he use effective metaphors or descriptions?

Due Sunday at 8 p.m.

Bonus points for new lede

I want to remind you that I will raise the grade of anyone who submits a revised and improved lede for their first article. Probably 2-3 points, depending.

Homework before Sept. 29 class

1. Q&A or nature blog. Due Sunday at noon. See instructions for Q&A in previous post.

2. Post your favorite lede from Discover magazine, with a short explanation of why you chose it. The lede should be from a full-length article, not a blog or short item. Read the article as well and be prepared to discuss it in class. Did the article measure up to the promise of the lede?

3. Finish reading the scientific study or report for your next article. Submit a lede with an outline of where the story is heading. The outline should the main points you intend to cover.

4. Send me your nominees for the top 3 blogs of the week, not including your own. Due 4 p.m. Monday.

Q&A Blog

For this week, you have the choice of doing another nature blog or doing a Q&A blog. If you choose the latter, it should be modeled on the Q&A column in Science Times.

The Times columnist answers scientific questions submitted by readers. A typical column might run a half-dozen paragraphs. The writer explains the issue and gives the answer in plain English after calling up a scientist or two or citing a study. For your blogs, you can rely on information found on the Internet, as long as it's credible, but feel free to call up a scientist or dig up a study.

As with your nature blogs, your Q&A should have a good lede and present the information in a way that's coherent and entertaining. Do not simply answer the question; tell something about the subject.

This blog should be posted by noon Sunday.

If you have an idea for a question, let me know. Here are a few random ones of my own to pick from:

1. Can bumblebees fly? (It has been suggested that the bee is so constructed that it cannot possibly fly, but the poor bee doesn't know this.)

2. How does bug repellent work?

3. If we reside inside the Milky Way, how were we able to take pictures of it?

4. Is there more than one universe?

5. How does the emerald ash borer know that a tree is an ash? And why doesn't it attack other trees?

6. Why don't women have beards?

7. When will we run out of oil?

8. What is an esker?

9. How do backpacking water filters work?

10. Why are we repelled by the scent of a skunk and attracted to the scent of a rose?

11. If sea levels rise, will that change the official elevations of mountains?

12. Why do we die? (Could science ever make us immortal or at least Methuselahs?)

13. Could insects ever evolve into beings as intelligent as we are?

14. Is there an absolute limit to how fast a human can run a mile?

15. Why does water expand when it freezes? (This is unlike most liquids. If it didn't expand, what would be the consequences, if any, for life on earth?)

16. What's the most endangered animal in New York State?

17. How and why do leaves change color?

18. How is music "remastered"? Does the process alter the original music?

Great American Blog Contest

We ran out of time last night before I could discuss the results of the blog contest. Fourteen blogs got at least one vote. Note: some blogs were posted too late to get any votes.

And the winners are . . .

Actually, there are a few ways to analyze the results:

Most total votes: Ashleigh Livingston, 8; Jenna Burleigh, 7; Amanda DeLosh, 6, Sandi Fairbanks, 5.

Most 1st place votes: Shaun Kittle & Patricia Fifield, 3. Ashleigh, 2; several with 1.

Most weighted votes:* Jenna Burleigh, 13; Ashleigh, 12; Shaun, 11; Amanda, Patricia, and Noura, 9.

* 3 points awarded for each 1st place, 2 points for each 2nd place, 1 point for each 3d place.

Grading policy

I want to let you all know how I will be grading your papers and blogs. Starting this week, you will be penalized if assignments are not turned in on time. The grading rules follow.

If you hand in an assignment on time, you start with a 60% grade. If you hand it in late, you start with a 50% grade. The starting grade may be reduced if you turn in something that clearly is substandard and/or hastily prepared.

Your work will be assessed as follows (dividing up the remaining 40%):

Content: 10%. Is the information in your story or blog accurate? Complete? Interesting?

Lede: 5%. Does your lede draw the reader in?

Organization: 10%. Is the information presented in a logical way that’s easy to follow? The organization of your story is analogous to plot in fiction.

Writing style: 10%. Are you choosing the proper words, crafting good sentences, cutting out unnecessary words, avoiding jargon? Are you writing clearly?

Writing rules: 5%. You will be penalized if your writing contains an excess of grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes.

Web graphics: You will get extra credit (up to 5%) for posting good graphics with your blogs.

Extra extra credit: May be awarded for exceptional effort or creativity.

Homework before Sept. 22 class

In addition to the work assigned in class, please read Chapter 17 in A Field Guide for Science Writers. Just to sum up the rest of your assignment:

1. Read the scientific study that you will be writing about for your next article & write a proposed lede. We will discuss these ledes in our next class.

2. "Lede of the Week." Post the lede in this week's Science Times that you like best, with a short explanation of why you like it.

3. Nature blog II. Repeat last week's assignment. Consider your blog a miniature story, with a lede that draws people in. Include a detailed description, natural history, fun facts. Explain the meanings of the scientific and common names. Due 6 p.m. Sunday.

4. Read each other's nature blogs and send me an e-mail with your nominations for the top 3 (not including your own). Due 6 p.m. Monday. We'll discuss the results on Tuesday.

Nature blog

As part of this week's assignment:

Take a walk outside and find a bird, insect, or flower that you don’t already know about. Take its picture or find one on the Web. Put the picture on your blog and write about the life form you found. Your blog should include (i) scientific and folk names of the object, (ii) an account of how/where you found it, (iii) a detailed description of it, (iv) its natural history and any other interesting information you can dig up.

This item should be posted by 8 p.m. Sunday.

In addition, read Chapter 4 in Field Guide for Science Writers.

Final articles due Tuesday. Topics for the next article will be assigned during our next class.

Think about story ideas

This week you hand in the drafts of your first article. Be sure to bring in two copies. Also, email me a Word copy.

Next week you will hand in the final version of your article. That night I also will assign topics for the second article. I will bring in some suggested topics, but you also can come up with your own ideas. So start thinking about ideas.

See you Tuesday.

Assignment due Sept. 8

Because class ran a little late, I didn't have a chance to give you this week's assignment, so here goes.

1. Bring in two copies of your draft article to class.
2. Write a blog item drawing on a science story or stories in the New York Times. Due Friday at 6 p.m.
3. Read "Reviving the Lost Art of Naming the World" and be prepared to discuss it in class. You can get a copy from Muriel LaFave in the Journalism Department office in Yokum Hall. Or I can e-mail you a Word document.
4. Read "In Praise of the Humble Comma."

From here on, read over the writer's tip sheet (the one I handed out) each time you sit down to write a blog or news article. Be sure to edit your work before posting or handing in an article. Starting this week, I will point out spelling and syntax articles in your blogs. These should be corrected before our next class.

Good luck with your articles. E-mail me if you have problems or questions.