We’re excited to announce a new resource for journalism teachers, students, and professionals. Whether you’re officially enrolled or a student at heart, this free resource rounds up years of insights from The Open Notebook into an easy-to-reference sample course syllabus.
The syllabus tackles 12 topics—one module each. Together, these topics provide a foundational introduction to science writing. The syllabus modules include:
- Finding Story Angles
- Pitching Stories
- Researching Scientific Literature
- Including Diverse Voices in Science Stories
- Finding and Interviewing Sources
- Elements of Story Structure
- Covering Science News
- Reporting and Writing Feature Articles
- Narrative Storytelling
- Revising and Rewriting
- Journalistic Ethics and Integrity
- Reading to Learn
… And a bonus section with additional readings that we just couldn’t resist sharing!
Discussion Prompts, Assignment Ideas, and More
Each module includes recommended readings, discussion questions, assignments, and related resources.
Many of the readings also appear in our book The Craft of Science Writing, so you might consider assigning or checking out the book.
Our goal is to make this sample syllabus as easy as possible to use—whether you’re an instructor preparing course content or a freelancer looking for self-directed curriculum.
Finally, a very special thanks to Ashley Smart, the associate director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT, a senior editor at Undark, and a board member at The Open Notebook, whose help was instrumental in creating this resource.
