21W.031Fall 2013

Assignment #1:A personal science essay

~1000 wordsDue: Thurs., 9/19

(post on Stellar by 11:59 pm)

This week, we are reading personal science essays about two people who have devoted their careers to science and who have made important discoveries in their fields. Using these essays as a basic model for writing about science through the eyes and experiences of individuals, you will write a personal science essay about someone who is just beginning to embark on four years of intensive study of science, most likely as preparation for a career in some area of science or technology. That person will be one of your classmates! Thus, for this assignment, you will write a biographical profile of a classmate that centers on the following question:

What scientific question or technological problem would you like to answer or solve in your lifetime?

In pursuing this question, consider these, as well as other, closely related questions: Why is this question or problem so compelling to you?How did you develop an interest in this?What is the significance of this question or problem?Have you already begun working on this question or problem in some way?What would be involved in answering or solving it?Do you think it’s achievable? If you have some doubts about that, do you still think it’s worth pursuing? Why?

Researching the essay: an interviewYou will need to conduct one or more interviews with the person you’re writing about to obtain the information you need to write this piece. Be sure to prepare questions ahead of time. You may find that you need to follow up with some additional questions as you’re working on the essay.

FocusYour essay should have a clear central focus and theme. (In thinking about this, consider the focus and central themes of the two personal science essays we’re reading and discussing this week.) Given the information you’ve collected from the interview(s), ask yourself: What is the central, most compelling point that I want to convey to my audience? What are the main “subthemes” of the story I’m telling? How are they connected?

21W.031Fall 2013

Format

This paper will be in essay form, which allows you a lot of latitude in the structure, style, and tone of the piece. You can decide whether to use subheadings or not. Make sure the essay has an engaging and informative title.

Audience For any kind of writing, it’s important that have a vision of who you’re writing for. Your target audience is likely to influence the purpose, content, scope, and style of a piece. For this essay, imagine that you are writing for a relatively broad audience. Think of your audience as curious and intelligent, with some science background, but not necessarily a strong background in science or engineering. Your readers might be high school students with an interest in science and technology, people with a college education in a range of fields, or even your peers here at MIT.

Style

The essay should be 1.5 or double spaced. Indent the beginning of each paragraph, and don’t add extra spaces between paragraphs.