Writing Articles

On Friday of each designated week, you will bring in an article from either:

* the 'popular' press (newspapers, general readership magazines not specifically science-oriented) or;

* a science oriented magazine (Scientific American, Science, New Scientist, Popular Science, etc.).

The article should describe a scientific result or idea and its relevance to some aspect of daily life. It does not have to be related to the class subject. If there is any question about whether the article you find is adequate, show me the article before Friday's class.

Your article must be from a printed, not on-line, source, preferably no more than three months old. You must bring a copy of the article to class and attach it to your written report. If the source magazine or newspaper belongs to you, you may simply bring it in. If your article comes from a periodical or newspaper from the school library, or any other source that is not your personal property, you must photocopy the article. Before class, you should read the article carefully and take notes about the article.

Technical Hint: If your article is printed on newsprint, or thin paper, it may copy poorly. The text from the back side of the page may 'ghost' through the paper. To fix this, place a sheet of dark paper behind the page you are copying.

On Friday, you will write a short essay in class, in which you do the following:

1. Identify and define five important science vocabulary words that appear in the article. If you do not know a definition, look it up ahead of time, and record it in your notes.

2. State the article's main idea.

3. Write a summary of the article, at least one page long, in which you;

* describe the scientific evidence supporting the main idea

* describe any controversy surrounding the main idea

* discuss the importance of this information to you, the community, the country, and/or the world.

4. Describe at least one question you had about the science in the article.

5. Write at least one paragraph stating and supporting your opinion of the article.

6. Properly cite the source of your article in a footnote.

There are a number of reasons for doing this type of assignment. Hopefully, you will:

* discover the wide range of human activities affected by science.

* increase your scientific literacy through exposure to a variety of scientific disciplines.

* develop a