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Topic: Science writing example
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Video

Turning Federal Contract Cancellations Into Solutions Stories

"This session [on Oct. 29, 2025], was led by Big Local News and Solutions Journalism Network. You can watch the recording and view the presentation deck, which includes many of the resources discussed." Here are resources from Big Local News:
Video

Turning Federal Contract Cancellations Into Solutions Stories

Summary:
"This session [on Oct. 29, 2025], was led by Big Local News and Solutions Journalism Network. You can watch the recording and view the presentation deck, which includes many of the resources discussed." Here are resources from Big Local News:
Category:
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Article

How Newsrooms Are Uncovering Asia’s Climate and Environmental Crises, From Illegal Sand Mining to Sinking Cities

"Across Asia, journalists are coming together to link climate and environmental harms across borders — a tactic that is enabling them to dig deeper into cause and effect, and trace environmental harms from where they are happening on the ground up to the powerful forces that are behind the activity. ... GIJN spoke with organizations, editors, and journalists who are finding ways to overcome the barriers to connect reporters and investigate critical topics across this diverse region."    
Article

How Newsrooms Are Uncovering Asia’s Climate and Environmental Crises, From Illegal Sand Mining to Sinking Cities

Summary:
"Across Asia, journalists are coming together to link climate and environmental harms across borders — a tactic that is enabling them to dig deeper into cause and effect, and trace environmental harms from where they are happening on the ground up to the powerful forces that are behind the activity. ... GIJN spoke with organizations, editors, and journalists who are finding ways to overcome the barriers to connect reporters and investigate critical topics across this diverse region."    
Author:

Nithin Coca

Published By:

Global Investigative Journalism Network

Date:

October 9, 2025

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For:
VISIT
Resource Database / Guide

Reporting on Atmospheric Rivers

The Uproot Resource Library includes this guide to Atmospheric Rivers, or ARs,  providing facts, reporting examples, terms, research areas, potential sources and more.
Resource Database / Guide

Reporting on Atmospheric Rivers

Summary:
The Uproot Resource Library includes this guide to Atmospheric Rivers, or ARs,  providing facts, reporting examples, terms, research areas, potential sources and more.
Author:

Chad Small and Rachel Ramirez

Published By:

The Uproot Project

Date:

September 25, 2025

Category:
For:
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Video

Solutions Journalism Applied to Climate Coverage

"What are climate solutions, and how can journalism highlight them? Principles, approaches, and examples of reporting that offer constructive responses to the climate crisis."
Video

Solutions Journalism Applied to Climate Coverage

Summary:
"What are climate solutions, and how can journalism highlight them? Principles, approaches, and examples of reporting that offer constructive responses to the climate crisis."
Published By:

Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas

Date:

August 20, 2025

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Article

Storytelling for Scientists: When You Need It and What To Do

This article delves into "the general properties of science storytelling, its limitations and downsides, and then a little about specific tactics for creating different types of science content – from posters to presentations." Although, "a scientific article does not necessarily have to be a story. Its main purpose is different. Storytelling is just a tool, and it should be used wisely. You don’t have to try to make storytelling out of every article!"
Article

Storytelling for Scientists: When You Need It and What To Do

Summary:
This article delves into "the general properties of science storytelling, its limitations and downsides, and then a little about specific tactics for creating different types of science content – from posters to presentations." Although, "a scientific article does not necessarily have to be a story. Its main purpose is different. Storytelling is just a tool, and it should be used wisely. You don’t have to try to make storytelling out of every article!"
Author:

Zoe Chernova

Published By:

Research Hive

Date:

April 7, 2025

Category:
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Article

How Clear and Simple Data Visualizations Bring the Climate Crisis Home

"Data visualizations are some of the most powerful tools in a climate science communicator’s playbook. The most famous have taken on enormous symbolic value — like the 'Hockey Stick' graph showing rising temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere since the year 1000. But designing climate visuals that are clear to the public and policy makers is not a straightforward task. ... There is growing evidence that more intuitive visualizations, informed by psychological research, can help people make better sense of climate data." See multiple examples of visuals.
Article

How Clear and Simple Data Visualizations Bring the Climate Crisis Home

Summary:
"Data visualizations are some of the most powerful tools in a climate science communicator’s playbook. The most famous have taken on enormous symbolic value — like the 'Hockey Stick' graph showing rising temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere since the year 1000. But designing climate visuals that are clear to the public and policy makers is not a straightforward task. ... There is growing evidence that more intuitive visualizations, informed by psychological research, can help people make better sense of climate data." See multiple examples of visuals.
Author:

Rachit Dubey

Published By:

Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Date:

July 25, 2025

Category:
For:
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Resource Database / Guide

GIJN Reporting Guide for Landfill Methane Emissions and Solutions

"This GIJN guide will describe what resources are available and what questions to ask about methane emissions from landfills and how to reduce them. Examples of great investigations on the issue can be found at the end of this guide." Topics include:
  • How landfills contribute to climate change
  • Finding out about methane emissions
  • What to ask about solutions
Resource Database / Guide

GIJN Reporting Guide for Landfill Methane Emissions and Solutions

Summary:
"This GIJN guide will describe what resources are available and what questions to ask about methane emissions from landfills and how to reduce them. Examples of great investigations on the issue can be found at the end of this guide." Topics include:
  • How landfills contribute to climate change
  • Finding out about methane emissions
  • What to ask about solutions
Published By:

Global Investigative Journalism Network

Date:

July 30, 2025

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Book

Books on Science Writing

Book

Books on Science Writing

Summary:
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Article

Placenta-on-a-Chip: How One Reporter Explained the Complex Tech

AHCJ

"As the 2023-2024 Sharon Begley Science Reporting Fellow at STAT, AHCJ member Deborah Balthazar, a freelance journalist, covered several stories about biotechnology. One recent article delved into how researchers are studying the impacts of drugs and toxins on pregnancy using a tiny model of the placenta in the lab, known as placenta-on-a-chip. 

It’s worth a read not only for an update on what’s happening in this fascinating area of investigation but also for Balthazar’s expert descriptions of this microtechnology, likening it to the size of “a rubber eraser, etched with tiny channels through which fluids move.”

Here, she tells AHCJ what inspired her story and offers advice for lively tech writing."

Article

Placenta-on-a-Chip: How One Reporter Explained the Complex Tech

Summary:

"As the 2023-2024 Sharon Begley Science Reporting Fellow at STAT, AHCJ member Deborah Balthazar, a freelance journalist, covered several stories about biotechnology. One recent article delved into how researchers are studying the impacts of drugs and toxins on pregnancy using a tiny model of the placenta in the lab, known as placenta-on-a-chip. 

It’s worth a read not only for an update on what’s happening in this fascinating area of investigation but also for Balthazar’s expert descriptions of this microtechnology, likening it to the size of “a rubber eraser, etched with tiny channels through which fluids move.”

Here, she tells AHCJ what inspired her story and offers advice for lively tech writing."

Organization:

AHCJ

Author:

Karen Blum

Published By:

Association of Health Care Journalists

Date:

September 12, 2024

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Science writing example

A Tale of Two Math Terms: An Infographic Story About When To Use Percent Change Vs. Percentage-Point Change

"Meanville, USA, was an average American town. Until one day, a local journalist had to figure the best way to explain how town administrators planned to spend a sudden windfall ..."
Science writing example

A Tale of Two Math Terms: An Infographic Story About When To Use Percent Change Vs. Percentage-Point Change

Summary:
"Meanville, USA, was an average American town. Until one day, a local journalist had to figure the best way to explain how town administrators planned to spend a sudden windfall ..."
Author:

Clark Merrefield

Published By:

The Journalist's Resource

Date:

October 5, 2022

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Science writing example

Big Poultry: How a secretive industry rules the roost in North Carolina

CASW

"This feature story, a collaboration between environmental and investigative reporters at the Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News & Observer, is the flagship story from the two papers’ Big Poultry series uncovering how North Carolina’s secretive poultry industry is hurting the state’s environment. The Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT selected this series as the 2023 winner of the Victor K. McElheny Award for local and regional journalism."
Science writing example

Big Poultry: How a secretive industry rules the roost in North Carolina

Summary:
"This feature story, a collaboration between environmental and investigative reporters at the Charlotte Observer and the Raleigh News & Observer, is the flagship story from the two papers’ Big Poultry series uncovering how North Carolina’s secretive poultry industry is hurting the state’s environment. The Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT selected this series as the 2023 winner of the Victor K. McElheny Award for local and regional journalism."
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Gavin Off, Ames Alexander, Adam Wagner

Published By:

Charlotte Observer, Raleigh News & Observer

Date:

December 3, 2022

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Article

How ProPublica journalists reported on cancer-causing industrial air pollution

"ProPublica journalists Al Shaw and Lisa Song sifted through tons of data to deliver “Poison in the Air,” an award-winning reporting series in which they — alongside fellow reporters Lylla Younes, Ava Kofman, Maya Miller, and photographer Kathleen Flynn — identify hundreds of industrial air pollution cancer-risk hot spots across the U.S. using publicly available EPA data. They even corrected reporting errors by the agency. "In this 'How I Did It,' Shaw and Song discuss their reporting approach for this series and offer tips to fellow journalists interested in covering industrial cancer risk."
Article

How ProPublica journalists reported on cancer-causing industrial air pollution

Summary:
"ProPublica journalists Al Shaw and Lisa Song sifted through tons of data to deliver “Poison in the Air,” an award-winning reporting series in which they — alongside fellow reporters Lylla Younes, Ava Kofman, Maya Miller, and photographer Kathleen Flynn — identify hundreds of industrial air pollution cancer-risk hot spots across the U.S. using publicly available EPA data. They even corrected reporting errors by the agency. "In this 'How I Did It,' Shaw and Song discuss their reporting approach for this series and offer tips to fellow journalists interested in covering industrial cancer risk."
Author:

Paul Gordon

Date:

May 3, 2024

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Science writing example

The Webb Space Telescope Will Rewrite Cosmic History. If It Works.

CASW

This multimedia article explores the James Webb Space Telescope’s extensive backstory and profiles scientists working on the $10 billion project. The article earned Quanta Magazine the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting. Natalie Wolchover, senior editor at Quanta, was the story’s lead author.
Science writing example

The Webb Space Telescope Will Rewrite Cosmic History. If It Works.

Summary:
This multimedia article explores the James Webb Space Telescope’s extensive backstory and profiles scientists working on the $10 billion project. The article earned Quanta Magazine the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting. Natalie Wolchover, senior editor at Quanta, was the story’s lead author.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Natalie Wolchover

Published By:

Quanta Magazine

Date:

December 3, 2021

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Science writing example

The Stargazers

CASW

In this feature for Science magazine, freelance science journalist Joshua Sokol describes how Indigenous Maya are working with Western scholars to understand the ancient Maya astronomy buried by Spanish colonists hundreds of years ago. Sokol has won awards from CASW, the American Astronomical Society, the American Institute of Physics, and the American Geophysical Union.
Science writing example

The Stargazers

Summary:
In this feature for Science magazine, freelance science journalist Joshua Sokol describes how Indigenous Maya are working with Western scholars to understand the ancient Maya astronomy buried by Spanish colonists hundreds of years ago. Sokol has won awards from CASW, the American Astronomical Society, the American Institute of Physics, and the American Geophysical Union.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Joshua Sokol

Published By:

Science magazine

Date:

June 2, 2022

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Newsletter

Smart, useful, science stuff about COVID-19

Freelance science writer and editor Robin Lloyd's COVID-19 newsletter, which ran from spring 2020 through fall 2022, regularly shared science writing about the pandemic. The newsletter's archive offers a wealth of great articles covering all aspects of COVID-19.
Newsletter

Smart, useful, science stuff about COVID-19

Summary:
Freelance science writer and editor Robin Lloyd's COVID-19 newsletter, which ran from spring 2020 through fall 2022, regularly shared science writing about the pandemic. The newsletter's archive offers a wealth of great articles covering all aspects of COVID-19.
Author:

Robin Lloyd

Category:
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Resource Database / Guide

Science fiction stories with good astronomy & physics

"This is a selective list of some short stories and novels that use reasonably accurate science and can be used for teaching or reinforcing astronomy or physics concepts. The titles of short stories are given in quotation marks; only short stories that have been published in book form or are available free on the Web are included. While one book source is given for each short story, note that some of the stories can be found in other collections as well." The latest version of the list, published in January 2024, includes 88 links to published stories that are available for free online.
Resource Database / Guide

Science fiction stories with good astronomy & physics

Summary:
"This is a selective list of some short stories and novels that use reasonably accurate science and can be used for teaching or reinforcing astronomy or physics concepts. The titles of short stories are given in quotation marks; only short stories that have been published in book form or are available free on the Web are included. While one book source is given for each short story, note that some of the stories can be found in other collections as well." The latest version of the list, published in January 2024, includes 88 links to published stories that are available for free online.
Author:

Andrew Fraknoi

Category:
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Science writing example

Meet the scientist at the center of the covid lab leak controversy

CASW

Jane Qiu, an independent science writer based in Beijing, won a 2022 AAAS Kavli Award for this profile of virologist Shi Zhengli, a central figure in the global debate about how the COVID-19 pandemic began. The story was also featured during a plenary session at ScienceWriters2022 discussing the coronavirus’ origins.
Science writing example

Meet the scientist at the center of the covid lab leak controversy

Summary:
Jane Qiu, an independent science writer based in Beijing, won a 2022 AAAS Kavli Award for this profile of virologist Shi Zhengli, a central figure in the global debate about how the COVID-19 pandemic began. The story was also featured during a plenary session at ScienceWriters2022 discussing the coronavirus’ origins.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Jane Qiu

Published By:

MIT Technology Review

Date:

February 2, 2022

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Annotated story

Storygram: B. “Toastie” Oaster’s “Pacific lamprey’s ancient agreement with tribes is the future of conservation”

The Open Notebook

"In October 2022, Indigenous affairs journalist B. “Toastie” Oaster wrote a High Country News feature about the fate of Pacific lamprey. This lushly written story explores how Indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest are working to conserve a culturally important species in the face of dam construction, mismanagement, and climate change. Oaster combined research into the region’s Indigenous history and ecological knowledge with talented storytelling. The result? A beautifully crafted narrative feature about the past and future of Pacific lamprey, told through the lens of Indigenous ecological knowledge, that challenges readers to think about science research—and science journalism—more critically."
Annotated story

Storygram: B. “Toastie” Oaster’s “Pacific lamprey’s ancient agreement with tribes is the future of conservation”

Summary:
"In October 2022, Indigenous affairs journalist B. “Toastie” Oaster wrote a High Country News feature about the fate of Pacific lamprey. This lushly written story explores how Indigenous peoples in the Pacific Northwest are working to conserve a culturally important species in the face of dam construction, mismanagement, and climate change. Oaster combined research into the region’s Indigenous history and ecological knowledge with talented storytelling. The result? A beautifully crafted narrative feature about the past and future of Pacific lamprey, told through the lens of Indigenous ecological knowledge, that challenges readers to think about science research—and science journalism—more critically."
Organization:

The Open Notebook

Author:

B. "Toastie" Oaster

Published By:

High Country News

Date:

October 1, 2022

Annotated by:

Maya L. Kapoor

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Science writing example

The Plague Years: How the rise of right-wing nationalism is jeopardizing the world’s health

CASW

Maryn McKenna, senior writer at WIRED and a widely published author, won CASW’s Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting in 2023 for her coverage of infectious diseases and global health. This story from her extensive freelance portfolio was featured in a “Story Behind the Story” session at ScienceWriters2023.
Science writing example

The Plague Years: How the rise of right-wing nationalism is jeopardizing the world’s health

Summary:
Maryn McKenna, senior writer at WIRED and a widely published author, won CASW’s Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting in 2023 for her coverage of infectious diseases and global health. This story from her extensive freelance portfolio was featured in a “Story Behind the Story” session at ScienceWriters2023.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Maryn McKenna

Published By:

The New Republic

Date:

April 1, 2019

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Science writing example

A field at a crossroads: Genetics and racial mythmaking

CASW

Ashley Smart, senior editor at Undark, associate director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT, and CASW’s treasurer, won a 2023 NASW Science and Society award for this story. His “tour de force,” as the judges described it, weaves a narrative from a devastating mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, to the history of population genetics and its ties to racism. This story was featured in a “Story Behind the Story” session at ScienceWriters2023.
Science writing example

A field at a crossroads: Genetics and racial mythmaking

Summary:
Ashley Smart, senior editor at Undark, associate director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT, and CASW’s treasurer, won a 2023 NASW Science and Society award for this story. His “tour de force,” as the judges described it, weaves a narrative from a devastating mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, to the history of population genetics and its ties to racism. This story was featured in a “Story Behind the Story” session at ScienceWriters2023.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Ashley Smart

Published By:

Undark

Date:

December 12, 2022

Category:
For:
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Science writing example

The Forgotten Continent

CASW

In this story, freelance science writer Jane Qiu explores how fossil finds in China — dating back to the Peking Man, found in 1929 — have challenged established ideas about human evolution. Her story won an AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award in 2016.
Science writing example

The Forgotten Continent

Summary:
In this story, freelance science writer Jane Qiu explores how fossil finds in China — dating back to the Peking Man, found in 1929 — have challenged established ideas about human evolution. Her story won an AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award in 2016.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Jane Qiu

Published By:

Nature

Date:

July 12, 2016

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Science writing example

Lowcountry on the Edge

CASW

Tony Bartelme’s series about how climate change has impacted the South Carolina Lowcountry won an award from the American Geophysical Union in 2017. Showcase hosts one of these stories. Bartelme, a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, is a special projects reporter for The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina.
Science writing example

Lowcountry on the Edge

Summary:
Tony Bartelme’s series about how climate change has impacted the South Carolina Lowcountry won an award from the American Geophysical Union in 2017. Showcase hosts one of these stories. Bartelme, a three-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, is a special projects reporter for The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Tony Bartelme

Published By:

The Post and Courier

Date:

December 19, 2016

Category:
For:
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Video

Excellent science writing

Dragon Con

This panel discussion from Dragon Con 2022 includes science communicator Rae Pendergrass, science journalist Bethany Brookshire, chemist Raychelle Burks, scientist and blogger Danielle Lee, and science consultant Joseph Meany. "From feature articles to explainers to books to podcasts, there's more excellent science writing than ever before. We'll talk about what goes into good science writing and point you towards excellent examples that will expand your knowledge."
Video

Excellent science writing

Summary:
This panel discussion from Dragon Con 2022 includes science communicator Rae Pendergrass, science journalist Bethany Brookshire, chemist Raychelle Burks, scientist and blogger Danielle Lee, and science consultant Joseph Meany. "From feature articles to explainers to books to podcasts, there's more excellent science writing than ever before. We'll talk about what goes into good science writing and point you towards excellent examples that will expand your knowledge."
Organization:

Dragon Con

Category:
For:
VISIT
Science writing example

Alive Inside

CASW

Mike Hixenbaugh’s story on efforts by a Houston hospital to restore patients with severe brain injuries won an AAAS Kavli award in 2018. The story weaves personal narrative with scientific exploration, discussing how scientists are working to revive patients and the ethical quandaries that they face. Hixenbaugh is an investigative reporter focused on exposing fraud and abuse in health care.
Science writing example

Alive Inside

Summary:
Mike Hixenbaugh’s story on efforts by a Houston hospital to restore patients with severe brain injuries won an AAAS Kavli award in 2018. The story weaves personal narrative with scientific exploration, discussing how scientists are working to revive patients and the ethical quandaries that they face. Hixenbaugh is an investigative reporter focused on exposing fraud and abuse in health care.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Mike Hixenbaugh

Published By:

The Houston Chronicle

Date:

December 3, 2017

Category:
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Science writing example

The Smoke Comes Every Year. Sugar Companies Say the Air Is Safe.

CASW

This feature is the central story of Black Snow, a series by ProPublica and The Palm Beach Post investigating the health impacts – and government failures – of burning sugar cane among poor communities in Florida. Lulu Ramadan (formerly at The Palm Beach Post, now an investigative reporter at The Seattle Times) and ProPublica journalists Ash Ngu, Maya Miller, and Nadia Sussman won several awards for the series, including a Kavli Award, an Online News Association award, and KSJ at MIT’s Victor K. McElheny Award.
Science writing example

The Smoke Comes Every Year. Sugar Companies Say the Air Is Safe.

Summary:
This feature is the central story of Black Snow, a series by ProPublica and The Palm Beach Post investigating the health impacts – and government failures – of burning sugar cane among poor communities in Florida. Lulu Ramadan (formerly at The Palm Beach Post, now an investigative reporter at The Seattle Times) and ProPublica journalists Ash Ngu, Maya Miller, and Nadia Sussman won several awards for the series, including a Kavli Award, an Online News Association award, and KSJ at MIT’s Victor K. McElheny Award.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Lulu Ramadan, Ash Ngu, Maya Miller

Published By:

ProPublica, The Palm Beach Post

Date:

July 8, 2021

Category:
For:
VISIT