English Question

As a science writer, part of your job is not just to make the science accessible to your audience, but also reveal the process of creating science. In a way similar to the shorter news article you wrote, a long-form essay uses scenic writing and narrative to create a story. By contrast, however, a long-form essay delves deeper into the story by dramatizing the circumstances out of which the science came to be and by dwelling on the findings and why they might matter.

There is a variety of strategies you could use to develop a long-form essay:

Tell the story behind the research—what got researchers involved in the first place.

Summarize various points of view.

Create a “lens” of language through which you would like your audience to view the science.

Discuss the ethical implications of the research and what it might mean for the public.

Draw from philosophy or literature to express your point of view.

Make your writing scenic and concrete.

Rely on interviews you have conducted to tell the story.

Make astute choices about which details to include and which to leave out.

Employ a prose style that suits the publication in which your essay might appear.

Write a long-form essay of 3,000-3,300 words that does more than simply report on science, by doing the following:

Use the research article you used for your shorter news story assignment from Topic 4 and decide how you can construct a long-form essay around it.

Use feedback you received from your instructor on the shorter news story assignment to guide you in your writing.

Incorporate some of the above-mentioned strategies for writing a long-form essay.