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This module is aimed at physical scientists and engineers who intend to have careers in consultancy, technical management, government, and communication/journalism as well as anyone who wishes to pursue a research career. They will help students to craft effective reports, papers, and grant proposals as well as articles for newspapers, magazines, and websites.

We focus on giving you two sets of skills: the ability to analyze developments and trends in science, engineering, and technology; and to communicate these persuasively to a particular audience.

Specifically, you will learn how exploit diverse sources of technical information far beyond the technical literature. As part of this you will have the opportunity to do interviews, attend conferences, and go on laboratory visits. Then, you will be taught how to consider emerging technologies in the context of potential applications using a methodical, step-by-step process.

On the writing side, you will learn about different kinds of article structure and audience and many techniques for writing well and clearly. You will also learn the invaluable skill of being able to constructively criticize, analyze, and edit the work of others: identifying holes in technical arguments, pointing out jargon, and noting poor structure.

Finally, you will get formative feedback throughout the module to help you get the highest grade possible.

By the end of the module students should – in combination with the technical skills they learn in other parts of their course – be able to:

• Research and analyze scientific/technical developments based on their potential impact in solving specific problems
• Use that analysis to write:
  • News and feature articles about a single piece of research or development
  • News and feature articles about trends in R&D
  • Book reviews
  • Interviews
  • Conference reports
  • Technical analyses
  • Edit the work of others for both content and style