Handbook

Successful scientists - whether in the university environment or the outside workplace - have to be effective communicators. They have to craft their messages into different shapes for different audiences, whether writing a lecture, a report or research paper, or presenting to peers or public audiences.

This course seeks to provide science students with the opportunity to gain a solid foundation in necessary science communication skills. These include active listening, reading critically, writing succinctly in the narrative, descriptive and academic styles, the steps in essay writing for science topics, using grammar effectively, the anatomy of a compelling presentation in science and effective teamwork in group assignments.

Students also learn how to research science topics, including searching for and evaluating primary literature and in identifying academic-quality sources from non-academic sources on the internet.

For those students wishing to add a science communicator career option to their science degree, this course is also a foundation for the third level course BEES6800 The Science of Science Communication.