 |
| A chemist fills a syringe in her laboratory. |
Write a two-page expository news article on a disease and the progress made on finding a cure for it. Your article will appear in the Science and Technology or Health section of a news magazine such as Time or U.S. News and World Report.
Begin by researching several diseases, and then focus on one disease. Find out the details of the disease: the symptoms, the prognosis, the efforts to find a cure, and the areas or people commonly affected by it.
STEP 1: Initial Search
Begin your research with visits to the following Web sites:
Growl Loudly.Com
The Discovery Online Disease Alert link has a map of outbreaks. Click on the Center for Disease Control link to go to an alphabetical listing of diseases. Each disease has links to information on current research.
STEP 2: Focus Your Search
Search the Internet for more information on the disease you chose and the efforts to find a cure. Do a general search on the disease at the following Web site:
Explore other resources such as books, including The Coming Plague by Laurie Garrett; an encyclopedia; newspaper and magazine articles; and medical journals.
STEP 3: Define Your Audience
You are writing for a general audience. People may know that a particular disease exists and perhaps some general information about the disease. Your job is to provide background and to discuss the efforts being made to halt the spread of the disease. Make your style serious and informative. Balance your article by including anecdotes that show how serious the disease can be, as well as positive news on successful milestones achieved in controlling the disease.
STEP 4: Use What If? Questions
Use What if? questions to guide your research. (See Grammar for Writing, Level Gold, page 9.) Ask yourself the questions people would most want answered when reading about the disease. Use the answers to these questions as the basis for your article.
An article of this nature is an expository piece. Review the lessons on expository writing. (See Grammar for Writing, Level Gold, lessons 4.5 and 4.6, pages 76-86.)
One of the most difficult tasks a writer faces is deciding how to present complex, scientific, or medical information to a general audience. To produce professional results, create a glossary of the terms needed to explain the material in your article. Make sure you can explain each term in words the average reader can understand. Build these explanations into your writing. (To see examples of reporting on science, medicine, and technology, visit the Web sites of major newspapers, news magazines, or television channels, particularly their Science and Technology sections.)
STEP 5: Organize Your Ideas and Write a Rough Draft
Develop an outline of the material you have researched. Consider ways to present the material: cause and effect, problem solving, sequential, or chronological. Choose which way best suits your material.
Once you have an outline, use it to write a rough draft. Start with a "hook" to open your article, that is, a scenario or anecdote that draws the audience's attention. Make sure you have included all the facts, history, quotations, and anecdotes you need to help readers understand the disease. Be sure to discuss the fascinating scientific detective work that researchers must do as they learn more about the causes of the disease, and what progress is being made.
 |
STEP 6: Revise, Edit and Proofread Your Writing
Reread your magazine article. Be sure that each paragraph has a topic sentence and that all the sentences in the paragraph support that topic. Ask yourself questions such as: Have I included all the facts readers need to know about the disease? Is my information accurate and up-to-date?
Edit your writing for grammatical errors; then proofread your work carefully for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization errors.
STEP 7: Publish Your Work
Present the article, complete with art. Be prepared to answer questions.
Copyright ©2007 by William H. Sadlier, Inc. All rights reserved.