Chapter One: “Writing to Reach Readers”

Chawla, D. S. (2020). Science Is Getting Harder to Read. Nature Index, Sept. 10, 2020. https://www.natureindex.com/news-blog/science-research-papers-getting-harder-to-read-acronyms-jargon

“From obscure acronyms to unnecessary jargon, research papers are increasingly impenetrable – even for scientists.” Summary for non-specialists, based on peer-reviewed study published in E-Life in 2017.

ELife:  https://elifesciences.org/

“eLife works to improve research communication through open science and open technology innovation.”

Hein, Frank J. and Carlos de la Rosa (2013). Wild Catalina Island: Natural Secrets and Ecological Triumphs. Charleston, SC: Natural History Press.

Strong example of a concise, illustrated book that explains to a broad readership the ecological history of an area, in this case California’s Catalina Island, and the programs of environmental restoration and preservation that are saving its ecosystems. Also relevant to Chapters Three and Eight of WSTFC.

Kaji-O’Grady, Sandra and Chris L. Smith (2019). LabOratory: Speaking of Science and Its Architecture. MIT Press.

An illustrated examination of laboratory architecture and how it can engage the public, recruit scientists, and attract funding. Just as WSTFC shows how writing can achieve these ends, so this new book on lab building design shows how architecture can have similar goals and achieve them.

Matthews, D. (2019 July 26). “A Nobelist’s Life Lessons: Michael Kosterlitz explains physics to the non-specialist.” Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/07/26/nobel-prize-winner-discusses-his-lessons

This interview exemplifies the us-vs.-everyone-else position (which I argue against in Chapter One) that explaining physics research to “the man or woman in the street” is an “impossible task” for physicists.

Murphy, J. J., & Thaiss, C. (2020). A short history of writing instruction: from ancient Greece to the modern United States. New York: Routledge.

This collection follows the evolution of rhetorical principles in Western thought and teaching over 2500 years. Puts the emphasis of WSTFC on the “six categories of rhetorical analysis” in historical context.