Guideline of indexes

This is the preliminary writing guide and stylebook for the ELSI Multi-Level Scientific Article program.

Note: this Guide is rather preliminary so far – as the project continues, we will modify and add to it to ensure consistency and make the process easier, faster and more efficient.

The purpose of the program is to provide five articles or so on the same research topic at different levels that vary in difficulty, from easy to understand and enjoyable but not necessarily precise in detail, to very in-depth and technical in terms of the science but perhaps rather difficult to understand for general readership.

Readers on the website can alternate among the different levels to correspond to their level of knowledge, interest and purpose for reading. They could, for example, begin to read the easiest level, then proceed to check more precise levels to deepen their understanding. Or they might see the mid-level “press release” type article and choose the level that is appropriate for their needs.

To write the various levels, it is basically a matter of deciding what information to include, the level of detail necessary, which vocabulary are suitable, and how much education and interest we are assuming in the reader.

Writing at the different levels may require some discussion with the researchers, to make sure the metaphors etc. are on the right track.

Levels 5-4 (Accuracy-Readability Index 5-4):

The target readership is readers who may be interested in science, or may simply have a vague interest in the current topic. They could also be schoolchildren interested in Earth science. They may not have the wish or need to work too hard to understand the text, but may respond to a strong metaphor or narrative. Our text, we hope, will spark interest in such readers.

- We can use more descriptive language, and phrases that help to anchor the reader in the real world, e.g. "the earth rumbling beneath your feet ... " etc. This relaxes the reader and draws them into the story. We can also use metaphors, descriptions of the labs, stories about the researchers’ lives and that sort of thing.

- We should not assume too much knowledge on the part of these readers.

Level 3 (Accuracy-Readability Index 3):

- Target is press releases for use in newspapers and magazines for a general readership.

- We want to make things easier for a reporter to write a story appropriate for his or her readership.

- We try to find a "hook," to spark interest in a general reader, such as an immediate application toward solving a real-world problem, a reference to a scientific controversy or to science fiction, and the like. Depending on the subject, we may want to include more background information to place the story in scientific and societal context.

- A newspaper would want a punchy news-style lead paragraph, while a magazine article would ease into the story a bit more – we could provide both. We might include personal background of the researchers, their motivation, etc., if it is pertinent.

Level 2 (Accuracy-Readability Index 2):

Target is an educated popular-science reader who is interested in the current topic. We can use more numbers (which might scare off lower level readers), as well as scientific concepts, references to previous work and more difficult and higher level vocabulary. We can include more discussion about methodology.

Level 1 (Accuracy-Readability Index 1):

Target is people with a technical background, such as researchers in other fields, people with engineering background and the like. We can include equations, citations, footnotes, discussion of methodology, etc.

* The diction and vocabulary should vary appropriately with the levels -- things like the difficulty of the words we use, the length and complexity of sentences, etc., should differ depending on the level. We will refine this as the program progresses.

* For writing style, we can look at other publications for guidance. Some examples:

Level (AR Index[1]) 5 — National Geographic Kids, Outside, National Wildlife,

Discover, Yes Magazine

Level (AR Index) 4 — Popular Science, Cosmos, National Geographic, iD, Wired

Level (AR Index) 3 — New York Times, Guardian, Financial Times features

Level (AR Index) 2 — Scientific American, Wikipedia

Level (AR Index) 1 — Nature, Riken Research, Science magazine

* Presentation:

Illustrations and photos – We do not currently have these, but we may include them in the future. The kind and number will depend on the level.

Stylebook:

In general, we will use standard Associated Press style, as used in most U.S. publications. This means U.S. English vocabulary and spelling. We may adjust it for clarity or readability. We will refine this with our own usage, if necessary, as the program progresses.

[1] Accuracy-Readability Index

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