Welcome to Storytelling in Science Writing
This "Welcome" video provides information on the content and aims of the Storytelling in Science Writing module. The video also introduces the facilitator Christopher Greyson-Gaito.
This video is part of the University of Guelph’s Writing in the Sciences (WITS) website designed to provide science researchers and post-secondary students with practical guidance on how to use clarity and precision in scientific writing. This video was created by Chris Greyson-Gaito, and the WITS project was made possible by an NSERC Science Communication Skills Training Grant. To access the WITS website with its modules, resources, and interviews, visit https://writinginthesciences.uoguelph....
VIDEO DESCRIPTIVE TRANSCRIPT:
[Dramatic music]
[A series of animated characters and objects appear in sequence over a backdrop that resembles an unfolded scroll. First, a trail of footprints appears. A detective wearing a hat and smoking a pipe follows the trail of footprints. A superhero with a ponytail and cape flies overhead. A knight riding a horse points a sword to the sky. The horse rears back on its hind legs then charges away. A witch and a cat on a broomstick fly into view. The cat extends a paw and shoots a fireball. A pirate ship lets loose a barrage of cannon balls. A dragon flaps its wings as it flies overhead. A rocket ship appears next to a planet with a ring system. The planet disappears and the rocket ship transforms into a star. The Writing in the Sciences logo and the title “Storytelling in Science Writing” appears.]
[The narrator Chris, a white man wearing a blue t-shirt, appears below the logo and video title.]
Welcome to the Storytelling in Science Writing module. My name is Chris Greyson-Gaito and I will be your facilitator. I am a former writing support teaching assistant at the University of Guelph who mentored students through the writing process in all disciplines. Currently, I am a researcher who uses mathematical modelling to explore food webs and ecological-economics.
In this module, we will explore how to incorporate story and narrative into your scientific writing. I hope by the end of this module you will understand that scientific writing can be engaging and fun. We will go through three techniques from the TV and film scriptwriting industry that will help you write engaging scientific articles and theses. First, we will use the And, But, Therefore structure to write in an engaging manner. Next, we will create loglines to identify the single problem of your paper. Finally, we will explore storyboarding to help structure your paper.
I hope you enjoy this module. Thank you.