Title: Science in the media

Throughout your degree you have had experience writing in a particular style – usually for a fellow scientific audience, however, in a world of rapid media turnover there is a need to write about and present scientific concepts to a broader audience. In this task you will identify a ‘big picture’ issue in science that is of interest to you and that is relevant to your discipline / major area of study - for example, you could consider researching a recent study conducted by a professional in your field and reporting the findings of that research to answer to essential question

“why does this matter?” so it can be easily understood by a broad audience. You will then choose to report on this issue in writing or in a short video.

Option 1 - Written task: The Conversation is an online news source where academics and researchers provide easy-to-read articles about a wide range of topics. The aim is to make research and commentary from experts accessible to a wide range of readers. In ‘conversation style’, write about the scientific issue you have chosen in language appropriate for a non-scientific audience. This includes using words, literary techniques and sentence structure to engage your audience and generate interest. Your article should be approximately 600 words in length. This task is excellent preparation for the ‘conversation style’ piece you will be required to present in your Capstone course (to report on your own research to a non-scientific audience).

Useful Resources:

Eight writing tips that really work:

‘How to Easily Write Conversational Text’at

An example of an article in ‘The Conversation’

The Australian Government Science and Research Priorities

Option 2 - Video presentation: The accessibility of digital recording equipment and free software editing programs, coupled with the right channels to share multimedia presentations quickly, easily and cost efficiently means short video clips are increasingly used to communicate key concepts to diverse audiences. You can choose to ‘report’ on your big picture in science via a short video (minimum 2.5 minutes / maximum 4 minutes). You can choose any format that suits your subject matter. This could include animations, interviews, demonstrations, pieces-to-camera etc.

Useful Resources: These examples have been produced professionally, but will give you an idea of the variety of styles available to you:

Microwaves (NASA): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgQQb1BVnu8
The Naked Science (helium): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6z-ziQHa2E
Climate Change Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4e5UPu1co0

Submission: You will submit your written reflection OR your video online via the PLUS PebblePad Workbook site.

Criteria & Marking:
Assessment criteria and rubric will be avaliable at L@G

Submission: On line via L@G

This assessment item:
is a school based activity
is an individual activity
does not include a self assessment activity
does not have a resubmission provision