Craft of Science Writing

Siri Carpenter is an award-winning science journalist and editor whose writing and editorial work has appeared in the New York Times, Science, Discover, Scientific American, Science News, bioGraphic, and other publications. She is co-founder, executive director, and editor-in-chief of The Open Notebook, a non-profit organization that is widely regarded as the leading source of online training and educational materials for journalists who cover science. She is a past president of the National Association of Science Writers. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

• Note to ReadersIntroductionSiri CarpenterPart 1: Who Is a Science Journalist and How Do You Become One?1. How to Use Reporting Skills from Any Beat for Science JournalismAneri Pattani2. Trading the Pipette for the Pen: Transitioning from Science to Science WritingJulia Rosen3. Do You Need a Science Degree to Be a Science Reporter?Aneri Pattani4. How to Break into English-Language Media as a Non-Native-English SpeakerHumberto Basilio5. Feeling Like a Fraud: The Impostor Phenomenon in Science WritingSandeep Ravindran6. What Is Science Journalism Worth?Kendall Powell7. Nice Niche: How to Build and Keep Up with a BeatKnvul Sheikh8. A Conversation with Amy Maxmen on “How the Fight against Ebola Tested a Culture’s Traditions”Amanda MascarelliPart 2: What Makes a Science Story and How Do You Find One?9. Is This a Story? How to Evaluate Your Ideas Before You PitchMallory Pickett10. Sharpening Ideas: From Topic to StoryDan Ferber11. Critically Evaluating ClaimsMegha Satyanarayana12. Finding the Science in Any StoryKate Morgan13. Pitching Errors: How Not to PitchLaura Helmuth14. Five Ways to Sink a PitchSiri Carpenter15. What Makes a Good Pitch? Annotations from the TON Pitch DatabaseRoxanne Khamsi16. A Conversation with Kathryn Schulz on “The Really Big One”Michelle NijhuisPart 3: How Do You Report a Science Story?17. Is Anyone Out There? Sourcing News StoriesGeoffrey Giller18. Interviewing for Career-Spanning ProfilesAlla Katsnelson19. How to Conduct Difficult InterviewsMallory Pickett20. Including Diverse Voices in Science StoriesChristina Selby21. How to Find Patient Stories on Social MediaKatherine J. Wu22. Pulling It All Together: Organizing Reporting NotesSarah Zhang23. Gut Check: Working with a Sensitivity ReaderJane C. Hu24. When Science Reporting Takes an Emotional TollWudan Yan25. A Conversation with Annie Waldman on “How Hospitals Are Failing Black Mothers”Tasneem RajaPart 4: How Do You Tell Your Story?26. Good Beginnings: How to Write a Lede Your Editor and Your Readers Will LoveRobin Meadows27. Nailing the Nut GrafTina Casagrand Foss28. How to Find and Use Quotes in Science StoriesAbdullahi Tsanni29. Like Being There: How Science Writers Use Sensory DetailJyoti Madhusoodanan30. Eradicating Ableist Language Yields More Accurate and More Humane JournalismMarion Renault31. Good Endings: How to Write a Kicker Your Editor and Your Readers Will LoveRobin Meadows32. The First Critic Is You: Editing Your Own WorkTiên Nguyễn33. A Conversation with Linda Nordling on “How Decolonization Could Reshape South African Science”Jeanne ErdmannPart 5: How Do You Build Expertise in Science Writing?34. How to Read a Scientific PaperAlexandra Witze35. What Are the Odds? Reporting on RiskJane C. Hu36. Spotting Shady StatisticsRachel Zamzow37. Problems with Preprints: Covering Rough-Draft Manuscripts ResponsiblyRoxanne Khamsi38. Getting the Most out of Scientific ConferencesRodrigo Pérez Ortega39. Interrogating Data: A Science Writer’s Guide to Data JournalismBetsy Ladyzhets40. Explaining ComplexityCarl Zimmer41. How to Do a Close ReadSiri Carpenter42. A Conversation with Maggie Koerth on “The Complicated Legacy of a Panda Who Was Really Good at Sex”Ed YongAcknowledgmentsContributorsIndex

"The Craft of Science Writing is an excellent craft book written by a diverse community of writers for a diverse community of readers. . . The expanded edition includes all the original content plus nine additional essays to further help writers present science in the most accessible and accurate way. The new articles round out the collection with guidance on working with sensitivity readers, eradicating ableist language, critically evaluating claims, tapping into social media for sources, and basing writing on data, among other subjects. Carpenter conveniently numbered the articles in this expanded edition, which is a small detail that makes the book easier to use in the classroom."