21W.035
Berezin
Assignment #2: “Awesome” Profile
“We’ve become a point-and-click society, rarely considering what goes on behind the screen. One school of thought says you don’t need to know how a car’s transmission works to make it go. True, of course, but this kind of limited thinking, when magnified to encompass larger issues, leaves individuals more bewildered and less powerful in shaping the course of their own lives. If, by habit, we come to prefer—and demand—simple constructions to complex questions, eventually we are bound to get incomplete and ultimately incorrect answers.”
— Jim Hartz and Rick Chappell, Worlds Apart: How the Distance Between Science and Journalism Threatens America’s Future
“What things do you find most awesome?”
— David Freeman’s interview question to Neil DeGrasse Tyson (full interview, “Why Revive ‘Cosmos?’”)
Due Dates:
- Wednesday 10/20: Draft an email to your interviewee (do not send the email until after class)
- Wednesday 11/3: Upload your profile draft before class
- Monday 11/8: Peer-review workshop
- Monday 11/15: Upload your revised profile draft by 2PM
Purpose: The goal of this longer article is to bring your profiled person and their area of scientific wonder to life for the public reader. You may select any MIT scientist, researcher, professor, graduate student, head of house, or GRA for your article. Use descriptive details to craft a meaningful story that makes your subject and their area of focus tangible for the audience. Questions to consider include: Who is your person and what do they do exactly? What is their area of study, why is it important, and why should the reader care? What do they find most “awesome” about their area of focus? What challenges do they face?
Note on the Interview: Refer to the “Strategies for Interviewing Strangers” document for information on ways to contact and interview your subject. Securing an interview will likely be the most challenging aspect of this assignment, and will require clear and persistent communication. Please keep Jared posted with any issues along the way.
Audience: You are writing for the general public. They are unaware of the person you are writing about and unfamiliar with the scientific topic. You should strive to inspire your audience by reaching their “head” and “heart”—their intellect (logos) and emotion (pathos)—in order to educate them in a memorable way.
Context: The article will appear in an online magazine or newspaper, such as the New York Times or Popular Science. In each of these contexts there is no “automatic audience,” that is, as a writer you must capture and sustain the attention of potential readers if you want them to read and remember your story.
Format:
- .pdf to preserve formatting
- 1”X1” margins, size 12 Times New Roman font, include page numbers
- APA style in-text citations and a Works Cited list (will not count toward the word limit)
- 1000-1200 words maximum, single-spaced text
- At least one original image with a brief caption. (Additional images do not need to be original, andaccordingly they require citations.)
- Consider inserting subheadings to guide the reader through the various subtopics in your article.
- Craft a meaningful title and opening paragraph—these words will influence whether or not yourreaders decide to read the rest of the article.