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Topic: Science writing example
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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

Category:
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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

Category:
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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:
For:
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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

Category:
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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

Category:
For:
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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

Category:
For:
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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

Category:
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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:
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Science writing example

Battle of the Ash Borer

CASW

Matthew Miller’s story about scientists’ efforts to slow the spread of the emerald ash borer won an AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award in 2015. The story focuses on research and conservation efforts in Lansing, Michigan, where the Lansing State Journal is based.
Science writing example

Battle of the Ash Borer

Summary:
Matthew Miller’s story about scientists’ efforts to slow the spread of the emerald ash borer won an AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award in 2015. The story focuses on research and conservation efforts in Lansing, Michigan, where the Lansing State Journal is based.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Matthew Miller

Published By:

Lansing State Journal

Date:

July 27, 2014

Category:
For:
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Science writing example

The Quantum Source of Space-Time

CASW

Ron Cowen’s story about the entanglement of fundamental particles won an award from the American Institute of Physics in 2016. The story profiles researchers whose discoveries helped to connect quantum mechanics and the study of gravity. Cowen is a freelance science writer who specializes in physics and astronomy.
Science writing example

The Quantum Source of Space-Time

Summary:
Ron Cowen’s story about the entanglement of fundamental particles won an award from the American Institute of Physics in 2016. The story profiles researchers whose discoveries helped to connect quantum mechanics and the study of gravity. Cowen is a freelance science writer who specializes in physics and astronomy.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Ron Cowen

Published By:

Nature

Date:

November 16, 2015

Category:
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Science writing example

The Ultimate Sacrifice

CASW

This story by Ann Gibbons covers research into human sacrifice, spanning different locations and research teams. Gibbons, who was a contributing correspondent for Science magazine at the time, won a National Academies Keck Future Initiative Communication award in 2013 for the story.
Science writing example

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Summary:
This story by Ann Gibbons covers research into human sacrifice, spanning different locations and research teams. Gibbons, who was a contributing correspondent for Science magazine at the time, won a National Academies Keck Future Initiative Communication award in 2013 for the story.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Ann Gibbons

Published By:

Science Magazine

Date:

May 18, 2012

Category:
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Science writing example

What Happened to the Poster Children of OxyContin?

CASW

This story — one in a series on financial conflicts of interest in medical research — was part of a package that won CASW’s Victor Cohn Prize in 2013 for John Fauber, who has been the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s medical reporter since 1996. As of 2019, Ellen Gabler is an investigative reporter at The New York Times.
Science writing example

What Happened to the Poster Children of OxyContin?

Summary:
This story — one in a series on financial conflicts of interest in medical research — was part of a package that won CASW’s Victor Cohn Prize in 2013 for John Fauber, who has been the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s medical reporter since 1996. As of 2019, Ellen Gabler is an investigative reporter at The New York Times.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

John Fauber, Ellen Gabler

Published By:

MedPage Today, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Date:

May 17, 2019

Category:
For:
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Resource Database / Guide

Epic list of math communicators

"There is an abundance of amazing channels, websites, and organizations dedicated to making math accessible and engaging. So I decided to compile a list of over 100 math communication resources," list author Suzza Silver writes. Silver includes videos, podcasts, books, articles, websites, and more. The list is built in Notion, so users of the web app can make their own copy of the list.
Resource Database / Guide

Epic list of math communicators

Summary:
"There is an abundance of amazing channels, websites, and organizations dedicated to making math accessible and engaging. So I decided to compile a list of over 100 math communication resources," list author Suzza Silver writes. Silver includes videos, podcasts, books, articles, websites, and more. The list is built in Notion, so users of the web app can make their own copy of the list.
Author:

Suzza Silver

Category:
For:
Science writing example

SciShortform: Home of the Best Shortform Science Writing Project

SciShortform published quarterly roundups of exemplary shortform science writing from 2016 through 2020. The volunteer judges highlighted stories in the categories: Short-Shorts, News/Data/Investigative, Single-Study Deep Dives, Essays/Op-eds/Blog posts, Institutional, among others. Some iterations of the project were funded by a NASW Idea Grant.
Science writing example

SciShortform: Home of the Best Shortform Science Writing Project

Summary:
SciShortform published quarterly roundups of exemplary shortform science writing from 2016 through 2020. The volunteer judges highlighted stories in the categories: Short-Shorts, News/Data/Investigative, Single-Study Deep Dives, Essays/Op-eds/Blog posts, Institutional, among others. Some iterations of the project were funded by a NASW Idea Grant.
Published By:

Diana Crow

Category:
For:
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Resource Database / Guide

PerCientEx Project – Excellence and innovation in science journalism in Latin America

PerCientEx Project

[Translated from Spanish] "The 'PerCientEx Observatory' of scientific journalism is a research project that collects and disseminates examples of quality journalism in Spanish, published in digital written press or digital versions of print media, in the Ibero-American sphere. In our database you will find innovative and high-quality articles on science, technology, health and the environment."
Resource Database / Guide

PerCientEx Project – Excellence and innovation in science journalism in Latin America

Summary:
[Translated from Spanish] "The 'PerCientEx Observatory' of scientific journalism is a research project that collects and disseminates examples of quality journalism in Spanish, published in digital written press or digital versions of print media, in the Ibero-American sphere. In our database you will find innovative and high-quality articles on science, technology, health and the environment."
Organization:

PerCientEx Project

Category:
For:
VISIT
Science writing example

Started out as a fish. How did it end up like this?

CASW

This story, which drew attention across social media for its catchy headline and meme-worthy subject, was one of four articles that led Sabrina Imbler to win CASW’s Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for young science journalists in 2022. Imbler wrote the story as a reporting fellow at The New York Times and is now a writer on the creature beat at Defector.
Science writing example

Started out as a fish. How did it end up like this?

Summary:
This story, which drew attention across social media for its catchy headline and meme-worthy subject, was one of four articles that led Sabrina Imbler to win CASW’s Evert Clark/Seth Payne Award for young science journalists in 2022. Imbler wrote the story as a reporting fellow at The New York Times and is now a writer on the creature beat at Defector.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Sabrina Imbler

Published By:

The New York Times

Date:

April 29, 2022

Category:
For:
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Science writing example

A room, a bar and a classroom: How the coronavirus is spread through the air

CASW

This visual story, published by the Spanish-language newspaper El País, provides an overview of COVID-19 risk in indoor spaces and how different safety measures may help, based on an estimation tool developed by atmospheric chemist José Luis Jiménez. Co-authors Mariano Zafra and Javier Salas won a AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award, an Ortega y Gasset award, and a Malofiej award for the story in 2021.
Science writing example

A room, a bar and a classroom: How the coronavirus is spread through the air

Summary:
This visual story, published by the Spanish-language newspaper El País, provides an overview of COVID-19 risk in indoor spaces and how different safety measures may help, based on an estimation tool developed by atmospheric chemist José Luis Jiménez. Co-authors Mariano Zafra and Javier Salas won a AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award, an Ortega y Gasset award, and a Malofiej award for the story in 2021.
Organization:

CASW

Author:

Mariano Zafra, Javier Salas

Published By:

El Pais

Date:

October 24, 2020

Category:
For:
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Resource Database / Guide

Resources related to science writing and communications

A collection of links on getting started in science writing, examples of exemplary writing, career advice, writing advice, and more resources from Rachel Coker at Binghamton University.
Resource Database / Guide

Resources related to science writing and communications

Summary:
A collection of links on getting started in science writing, examples of exemplary writing, career advice, writing advice, and more resources from Rachel Coker at Binghamton University.
Author:

Rachel Coker

Date:

November 1, 2022

Category:
For:
VISIT