Tips on how to write a short article here:
- Articles should have a scientific background. This means that they are based on facts and good research of published, peer-reviewed literature. It is also considered good science to include critical views, debate, reflection and suggestions to new approaches, without speculation. However, keep in mind that these articles are to be understood by the general public. The text should be easy to read and precise, have clear logic and simple vocabulary.
- Decompose your ideas until you find a topic/issue that you can treat in reasonable depth within a maximum of 500 words, preferably less. The editors will help you taking the decisions.
- This means that from the original article you were thinking about, you can probably write two or three articles, or more. For instance, and article on chemical pollution can be divided into several articles about different types of chemicals (nitric acid, etc). It may also happen that each of these articles then falls into different chapters (Ecology, Social, etc.), in which case you may want to give them different angles. The editors will coordinate the authors and articles.
- Give the articles good, catchy titles, but don’t be tabloid. For instance, it has been stated in the news that nitric acid could destroy corals. A good title would be “Could nitric acid from the xPress Pearly destroy the corals of Sri Lanka?”. Of course, the conclusion of the article should reply that question (“Yes”, “maybe”, and “no” are all possible answers).
- Sometimes, you don't have specific information about impacts in Sri Lanka, because that information is missing or is restricted. But you can still speak about impacts observed in similar situations elsewhere (as reported in the scientific literature).
- Regarding references, consider that your readers are a heterogeneous group: from the general public (say 10th graders up to 99 year olds) to a science-minded audience. The first group would be happy with embedded hyperlinks [like the one I have used just now] to other news.
- The second group of readers would also like to have sound scientific references for further reading. At least two relevant scientific references should be given in each article. Look at what Wikipedia does for all its topics. If possible, the references should fit in within the 500 words limit. Use condensed literature format and the DOI. [Example: (2) Sisterson, D. L.; Liaw, Y. P. (January 1, 1990). "An evaluation of lightning and corona discharge on thunderstorm air and precipitation chemistry". Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry. 10 (1): 83–96. doi:10.1007/BF01980039]
- Make sure you read well the scientific articles yourself before you cite them. Use preferably open-access documents. You can find peer-reviewed literature in Google Scholar or other literature databases.
- Include relevant pictures, diagrams or media on the right side of the article. The pictures must be relevant, i.e. illustrate exactly what you are saying in the text. If they don’t, the editors will remove them. Print the name of the photographer on the picture or media. Wiki Commons has many pictures that can be used for free, provided that you give credit to the source.
- When you submit a text to the editors, suggest reviewers among students and PIs. The author(s), reviewer(s) and editor(s) will be mentioned after the title of each contribution.
- Your article is a live-document. It can be corrected and reviewed at a later stage.