Online seminar / September 30, 2025, from 09:00 h to 17:00 h
Popular Science Writing for Academics - How to Not Write Like an Academic
What's it About?
Popular science writing remains a critical medium for academics to reach audiences outside of their field of expertise. From blogs, opinion pieces, to feature stories in science magazines and websites captivating writing and strong narratives are essential for engaging modern audiences. In this workshop participants learn why storytelling elements like character, setting and plot are critical for translating scientific information and how to apply them to their own work. Common mistakes and habits from academic writing styles are discussed and participants learn how to avoid and break them through a combination of lecture and writing exercises. At the end of the course participants will have written two short pieces that introduce and explain their research using strong characters and narratives rather than dry, boring data. They will also have the skills and confidence to start their own blog, write engaging copy for websites, pitch/write stories for science media outlets and improve their academic writing.
What's the Point?
In this course you´ll learn about:
- The need to use the narratives to communicate scientific concepts
- Essential storytelling elements and structure
- Elements of a good story
- Identifying and correcting common writing mistakes
- Popular writing styles and formats