Project 2  MEDICAL NEWS JOURNALISM

 
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Sample Paper 1 Sample Paper 2

In this project, each student plays the role of a medical journalist assigned to convey an exciting new biomedical discovery recently published as a primary article for the readership of a popular publication like The New York Times or Time magazine. The underlying goal is to learn skills that communicate the biological relevance of a primary article in simple, written language. Students write about the same primary research paper used for journal club, so they are already familiar with its content. I require each student to submit a 1200-word paper written in jargon-free language that captures the biological relevance of the paper, describes the experimental results simply but without compromising the scientific content, and discusses how it has advanced biomedical knowledge.  Because I pre-selected all primary articles for clear public relevance, the students could concentrate their efforts more on breaking down the science and simplifying the language. Students also present a figure depicting a biological model at the cellular level that highlights the new discovery being reported. However, unlike in actual popular science journalism articles, students are required to cite primary articles, review articles, books, or other sources within the text for background information provided in the paper or in discussing the article with other published findings (between 7-10 references is typical). Although this as an individual assignment, student groups are encouraged to collaborate on all aspects of research leading to writing the paper. I provide examples of recent journalism articles that appear in the Chicago Tribune or Time magazine. I place Science Times Book of the Brain on library reserves because it is an excellent collection of articles written by noted science journalists.