Choosing a Writing Assignment/Non-Specialist Audience Writing Assignments
Writing assignments that are targeted at non-specialist audiences can be of varying lengths, but are typically much shorter than the long writing assignments and no longer than the short writing assignments discussed above. Examples include press releases or lay summaries based on journal articles4, blog posts, YouTube scripts5, and even song-writing assignments6.
Strengths
• Familiarize students with an important course concept and topic, by requiring them to engage with the literature specific to their discipline and to learn how to simplify complex scientific concepts.
• Provide a focus on clearly explaining scientific concepts, which is sometimes more important than displaying a perfect grasp of grammar.
• Force students to be concise and use succinct sentences that contain everyday comparisons and descriptions.
• Require plain language, which helps students to learn how to cut down on their use of jargon.
• Engage students in their assignments because they are likely to see the real-world significance of the task as well as underlining how complex science can be adapted to interest non-specialists.
• Improve students’ ability to interpret complex journal articles and communicate these to lay audiences4.
Challenges
• Sometimes only one concept is covered in detail.
• Students may learn new skills and techniques but the writing requirements for non-specialist assignments do not necessarily focus on the writing skills needed to excel in discipline-specific writing, such as journal articles.