When in doubt, cut it out: editing tips
Recently I edited a large, complex scientific report. As an editor, one of the first things you do is remove extraneous words. Why force a reader to read two or more words, when one will do? As I worked through the
Writing in Nature, naturally
Scientell’s new home, the historic Royal Society of Victoria building, houses a stunning library that includes the first edition of the journal Nature. It’s clear that people communicated science in 1869 differently from now. The first research article in that first issue
How to write a media release
Scientell prepared this summary for members of the Ecological Society of Australia, who have employed us to provide communication support and advice. Despite the rise of social media, writing and distributing a media release is still a very effective way of communicating
On stones, mathematics and eschewing bad puns
Excluding patients with multiple titanium joint prostheses, the most common metal in the human body is calcium. This fact will assist in countless pub trivia competitions. Chemist Humphry Davy first isolated pure calcium in 1808 by electrolysis of limestone. He named
Book review: ‘Surviving the 21st Century: Humanity’s Ten Great Challenges and How We Can Overcome Them’
Australia has no better science writer than Julian Cribb. He is knowledgeable, extraordinarily well informed and superbly adept at presenting accurate, fascinating information in a way that just begs to be read. His latest book is Surviving the 21st Century: Humanity’s Ten Great
Movin’ on up to cooler climes
Climate change impacts on the natural world are accelerating rapidly. ‘Many plants and animals are proving to be highly sensitive to the changes in climate we have experienced over the last few decades’ says Professor Lesley Hughes from Macquarie University. Lesley says
Imagining the future: a guide to the incredible inventions just over the horizon
We are living in a rapidly changing world – when most of today’s primary school students grow up, they’ll have jobs that don’t exist right now, and they’ll be using technologies that haven’t been invented, to solve things we
How to create a blog that everyone will truly love
This blog is competing for your attention with more than 152 million others. Nearly 173,000 blogs are added to the Internet ever day. There are now four more than when you started reading this. That’s according to the Journal of Applied
Cli-Fi: cautionary tales to prompt action
Written by Simon Torok Cli-fi, or climate fiction, also known as Eco-fiction, is a relatively new genre of literature that sets narratives in an often dystopian world affected by climate change. I love it because fiction can be used to convey
The psychology of communication: Here and how; not gloom and doom
Written by Paul Holper Science organisations want to explain their work to increase impact and use of results. Scientists know that science is important and would like others to feel the same. They also realise that science that no one knows
Communicating to a young audience
Ever since the early 1700s, when the first books for young people were written by authors including John Newbery, Thomas Boreman, and Thomas and Mary Cooper, communicators have endeavoured to target young audiences with specific products. Non-fiction writing for young people
Beginners guide to editing
For starters, there’s editing and editing. And editing. Three forms really: substantive, copy and proofing. For most clients, ‘editing’ means copy editing. That is, reading through a document and checking that it makes sense and reflects what the writer probably meant. Copy editing