1/ One of my favorite assignments in my #SciComm class is a final reflection. In part, I ask the students to share take home messages, best tips, & advice for future students. Here's what they said this year:

(anonymous blended answers posted w/ permission, lightly edited)

2/To future students of this course: put in the work to become a better writer. As a scientist, you are a professional writer, so get used to those shoes as quick as possible. Write.

3/Write daily, especially if you do not have an assignment due. The quicker you refine your art of writing, the more time you can spend doing science. Take it from someone who was slow to get writing guidance. You will thank yourself.

4/This course made me realize the importance of organization and time I needed to dedicate toward my writing. I needed to set aside consistent time blocks for research, brain storming, outlining, editing, and thinking about my writing outside of my “active” writing time.

5/Thinking back to previous writing workshops I’ve participated in...In most cases, we were learning to write but not learning how to effectively communicate and connect with our readers.

6/You learn the basics of how you should speak to your audience when presenting a poster and understanding who your audience is, but unfortunately there were no message boxes, or a sticky story told.

7/For a future student, I would recommend they keep an open mind to what they can write. As a 1st year, I wasn’t sure what I could offer. This course allowed me to not only produce a GRFP, but it showed me that there are other opportunities to produce useful works of writing.

8/Success in your career as a scientist greatly hinges on your ability to effectively communicate science in writing, speaking and giving interviews about your research to scientists, non-experts and the public.

9/Communicating isn’t a firehose (or at least it shouldn’t be). It’s a Britta™ water filter? I have taken courses that have been described as drinking from a firehose. It wasn’t pleasurable.

10/I am no longer impressed with jargon-laden papers that make the authors seem intelligent and leave the reader feeling confused; instead, scientific writing should leave the reader with new knowledge and an eagerness to apply what they’ve learned to their own work.

11/It’s funny how scholars seem to spend their entire undergraduate and graduate careers learning to write in obtuse, cryptic jargon which only obfuscates clarity (to ironically write that way). And then we spend how long trying to unlearn those skill?

12/Prior...I never considered a narrative for my scientific writing, I always reserved technique for the “personal statement” portion of my application. Therefore, I felt the need to remove myself from my science. This course made me realize that a good story needs a narrative.

13/I have gained a greater understanding and appreciation for the work involved in creating a powerful narrative in my scientific writing. Stories naturally capture the attention of the audience. In addition, it is so important to know your audience.

14/The most important piece of advice I could give to a future Scientific Communications student would be to be open to criticism.

15/I’m glad we discussed mechanisms of publishing, because it’s not something I was familiar with and it’s never been a discussion in any courses (even required ones). I struggle with giving constructive feedback. This course has guided me to critically analyze other scientists.

16/I wanted to become a better writer and more importantly, a better reader. When I was reading, I noticed that I lack a critical view. I just end up reading what is in front me as it is written as "right", since it was accepted for publication, and is less likely to be debatable

17/Specific tricks for writing:
Writing goes through the three stages of drafting, reviewing, and editing. Trying to do two of these phases simultaneously will only complicate things. Getting the ideas out of my head on paper is probably the most important aspect of writing.

18/Three Key Tools/Hacks:
1) ABT structure: adds a narrative and injects life
2) 2-3-1 rule of emphasis: use the power positions, beginning/end of a sentence to emphasize important ideas
3) The Message Box: This is a handy tool for honing messages to specific audiences

19/I will have brought with me from this class a veritable toolbox of practical skills. Narrative is central to these tools. A MessageBox will forever be in my desk drawer, at the ready for a surprise interview. I will revisit the 3MT workflow each time I prepare a new talk.

20/ AB: I appreciate the time and wisdom these students shared with me and were willing to share with you all. Seeing the growth in their skills and confidence is the best part of being an instructor. I hope this encourages others to teach or take a #SciComm class! /end