SCIENCE & HEALTHWRITING Simple Rules • Understand the jargon Scientific names and technical terms (sometimes called jargon) are necessary for scientists. . It enables them to speak more accurately to one another about things they have in common. smell. taste or hear. . touch. concrete things which they can feel. where possible you should explain the scientist's abstract ideas in concrete words your ordinary readers or listeners can understand. Because much of science is about ideas. see.• Use concrete words where possible People understand solid. .Example: •Scientists in China have invented a sewing thread so strong that it could take the weight of a fullygrown elephant. •Do not overload with figures Do not overload your stories with large numbers or lots of figures . •Write brightly Keep your words clear and simple. Do not use too many scientific terms and explain them in simple words. . has already already killed 527 pigs on the devastated herds in Africa and island by laying eggs in their ears South East Asia. which is related to Africa and South East Asia and the horse fly.Pig farmers on New Ireland are battling an insect plague which has already killed more than 500 pigs on the island. . Farmers on New Ireland are battling a plague of the new insect species penetrens lugoles which is related to the horse fly and has devastated large herds of pigs in The insect. the maggots burrow into the animal's brain in search of food. When the eggs hatch. food. which eventually hatch into maggots which burrow their way The new species called penetrens into the animal's brain in search of lugoles lays its eggs in pigs' ears. •Do not sensationalise To sensationalise means to state something in such a strong and extreme way that it has an effect on people's emotions . . Explain how we got to the situation today.•Give background details Your job is to place all developments in context. • they help your readers or listeners to understand what has happened and how important (or disappointing) the latest development is . you can get that understanding by: •Having a basic scientific education •Reading books and magazines about science and technology •Taking an interest in scientific and technological developments •Establishing good contacts with experts who can help you with information .You must understand the basic principles of any scientific field before you can report in it. The perfect intro… • newsworthy -“Anong nangyari?” • short & simple (KISS) -20 words or less • attract the reader • approriate style . When writing your intro… • List the keypoints -Is it new? -Is it unusual? -Is it interesting or significant? -Is it about people? . where it blew itself out. Mopping-up operations have started in Honiara. At about midday. Police say that of the six people who died.. They warned all shipping in the area of the cyclone's approach. who in turn sent officers to warn the people. and alerted the police. more than 20 houses were destroyed and a number of other buildings sustained considerable structural damage. . the centre of the cyclone passed directly over Honiara before tracking into the Coral Sea. More than 100 people are now homeless. Six people were killed.At 2 a.m.. three men drowned when their car was blown off the road into a river.m. In Honiara. they contacted the Solomon Islands government warning of the approach of Cyclone Victor. They named the cyclone "Victor". and two women and a man were killed by flying debris. Another 18 people have been treated in hospital for minor injuries. At 3 a. The emergency services are still awaiting news from outlying districts but believe that Honiara has been the worst affected. By 10 a. yesterday morning. They broadcast warnings on the radio. meteorologists at the Nadi Weather Centre detected a cyclone developing rapidly near Nauru and moving quickly south-west across the Pacific towards the Solomon Islands. winds in Honiara were blowing at more than 140 kilometres per hour. Government officials immediately put emergency plans into operation.m. When writing your intro… • Put the keypoint in order of importance • Choose the main key points as your news angle for the intro . an adult male. has been weighed at 350 kgs. This is the heaviest pig ever to have been bred in Papua New Guinea. He has been working for ten years on a project to breed larger pigs.• Dr Michael Kai is a scientist with the Papua New Guinea Department of Primary Industry. . Mr Kai hopes to use this animal to breed other very large pigs. One of his pigs.