Garcia 1

Nephtali Garcia
Writing 2
9 April 2014
Scientific journalism is an important bridge between the public and the scientists.
Scientific journalism allows the findings of scientists to be conveyed to the public in an efficient

Comment [ZD1]: Nice start.

(PS: No title? )

and clear manner. Without it, many findings would go largely unknown. One such example of
the use of scientific journalism is when the Olinguito species was discovered in 2013. Elizabeth
Landau of CNN, Jane OBrien of BBC, and Seth Borenstein of the Huffington Post all wrote
articles on this topic. All three authors used scientific journalism as a genre in which to express
their findings. The public and the authors should equally be aware of the use of genres, such as
scientific journalism, to convey information as it can affect expression of such topics and in turn
affect the publics reception to the authors writing.
An important element of scientific journalism is the use of colloquialism. The writer
laypersons terms because the audience may not be an expert in this particular scientific field,
and therefore may have trouble understanding advanced terminology used by professionals. In
CNNs article, for example, it introduces the Olinguito as a member of the raccoon family tree.
This wording is obviously not laden with scientific jargon, and isnt too specific or hard to

Comment [ZD2]: Im not quite sure what

youre arguing here. Remember: your reader
is most likely going to be expecting a thesis
statement at the end of your Intro (or
nd
occasionally 2 paragraph) that clearly detail
what point/argument/stance theyre taking
and what evidence theyre basing that on.
Right now, I dont know where youre taking
me. I know youre looking at CNN, BBC, and
Huff pieces, but what (specifically) about
them?
Comment [ZD3]: I like how the main idea
of this pararagraph is in your topic sentence.

understand. Huffington Post and CNN even provided the phonetic spelling of Olinguito, oh-linGHEE-toe. The writers are thus taking into account that their audience may be unfamiliar with
the new species name, and providing the phonetic spelling will allow the reader to have the
correct pronunciation instead of just guessing. It is important that the writers know that common
language is preferred in scientific journalism because according to Boyd, jargon -when used in

Comment [ZD4]: Nice evidence and nice

follow-up analysis.

Garcia 2

the wrong genre - can exclude those outside of the community who do not understand the
meanings of the words. The writers know that scientific jargon would be inappropriate here, the

Comment [ZD5]: Two things:

audience in fact might lose interest in the article if it was used. CNN did include the scientific

1, you need a p# for direct citations

name, although the author used a nonchalant tone stating that if the reader was a fan of long
technical names, this one is Bassaricyon neblina. By phrasing it this way, the author introduces

2, Who is this person? Why is it worth

listening to their ideas?
It makes for stronger writing, I think, if you
can key your reader into why youre bringing
this person into the discussion.

the name casually without throwing the reader off.

In fact, the overall tone of Elizabeth Landau is casual rather than formal. The starting line
of the CNN article describes the Olinguito as having an adorable rounded face. The use of
adorable is obviously not of importance, but simply meant to intrigue and charm the reader.
Washington Post used a similar technique, describing the species as a mini raccoon with a teddy
bear face that is so cute its hard to resist, let alone overlook. The tone here allows the reader to
feel comfortable reading the article, using terms that the general public would use to describe a
cute animal. The authors are talking to the readers as their friends would. The Washington Post
continues the description with the hook, but somehow science did until now. The use of the

Comment [ZD6]: Watch your placement

st
of quotes (the 1 one)

hyphen creates an almost dramatic pause, emphasizing the importance of the discovery. This

Comment [ZD7]: Hell yeah! Good

observation!

certainly is used to draw the readers in and coax them into reading the rest of the article to find
out why they overlooked the new species. The author is certainly thinking of their audience (and
genre) in order to appeal to their curiosity.

Comment [ZD8]: Nice wrap up analysis

Furthermore all three articles give credit to the Smithsonian researchers for the discovery
of the new species. Part of the purpose of these articles is to give factual information, after all.
More than that, the reader will likely be persuaded by his/her [the authors] ethos or credible
character, as stated by Boyd. Although a scientific journal article is not necessarily persuasive
the authors still need to establish credibility in order to be accepted by the reader as a reporter of

Comment [ZD9]: I like how youre

weaving the reading into your overall
argument.

Garcia 3

information. Consequently, all three articles include quotes from researchers and professionals in
the field. All articles quote Kristofer Helgen, curator of mammals at the Smithsonians National
Museum of Natural History. Quoting Kristofer Helgen gives credibility to all the articles and
their authors because she worked directly with the Olinguito. Including her gives substance and
scientific accuracy to the information the authors are reporting to the public. The BBC article
also includes an interview with Dr. Norris, who is from Yale Peabody Museum of Natural
History in Connecticut and president of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History
Collections. The addition of this interview only adds standing to the article. This leads into
certain differences in the article.
Overall, the BBC article seems to have the most proper tone out of all three. Although the
tone is not as official as say a research journal, it does seem to stick more to the factual side of

Comment [ZD10]: This transition isnt

doing it for me, Neph. Can you think of
another way to get from Pt.A to Pt. B?

the discovery. For example drawing upon an earlier point, the introduction of the scientific name
is different. While the CNN article addresses the reader directly with you and in a
conversational tone asks if the reader was a fan of technical names and then introduces the
scientific name. This is not the case in the BBC article, where the article simply states the
scientific name is Bassaricyon neblina. The article is straightforward and does not directly refer

Comment [ZD11]: This is an incomplete

sentenceit lacks a subject/noun (who or
what the sentence is about) and a
verb/predicate that, together, form a
complete thought.

to the reader. In contrast, the Huffington post makes no mention of the scientific name. The
author also includes a bit more detail in the description of the Olinguito. Rather than describe it
as a cute animal it gives factual information such as its length in centimeters. The author also

I strongly recommend that you check out this

resource:
http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/sente
nce-patterns/.
While X, Y.

explains how the bones were preserved by having them picked clean by specially bred beetles.
The article is overall more detailed and academic in its descriptions than the other two articles.
Despite this however, the article is still straightforward enough to be easily understood by a large
range of people. This use of logos can appeal to an audience who looking for a more detailed

Youre missing that Y.

Comment [ZD12]: I like how youre
comparing/contrasting within the paragraphs
themselves.

Garcia 4

description of the Olinguito instead of the cutesy comments on its appearance. Jane OBriens
approach to the article was more formal in order to petition to this type of audience.
All three articles have headlines in bold letters, a short phrase introducing the topic of the
Olinguitos discovery. In addition, all articles also contain pictures of some sort of the Olinguito.
The BBC article furthermore included a distribution map of the Olinguitos, which further
contributes to its more proper and academic tone. Another notable feature of the BBC article is
that it is the only one to mention the economy and lack of funding for museums (where the dried
skins of the Olinguito were kept). In Everything is an Argument it is mentioned that those
missing or unknown facts allowed them to fill in the blanks as they could, thus leading them to
different conclusions. This could be applied here, as Jane Obrien included this quote, filling in
information and edging towards the argument for lack of funding in museums. The author in this
case might be exhibiting bias, wanting to promote the idea of increased funding for museums.
If other scientists are looking for information of the Olinguito, they would not turn to a
news journal entry such as these three sources. It is not because the facts arent accurate, but
because the ways they are communicated are far less detailed than a scientist or researcher would
need. If a person wanted to learn about the topic, however, they might start with a scientific
journal because it would give them a starting point and overview. Many people read CNN,
Huffington Post, and BBC, but not many people dig deep into research journals. Therefore it is
important to realize that these scientific journals are a fast and effect way to communicate
information to the general public. This genre is a bridge between the scientific community and
the public community. Without it, many discoveries such as the Olinguitos would be lost in
translation.

Comment [ZD13]: Huh interesting

Garcia 5

Bibliography
Borenstein, Seth. "Olinguito, New Mammal Species, Announced By Smithsonian Researchers
(PHOTOS)." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
Landau, Elizabeth. "Olinguito the Newest Rare Mammal Species Discovery." CNN. Cable News
Network, n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.
Lowe, Charles, and Pavel Zemliansky. "Murder!(Rhetorically Speaking)." Writing Spaces:
Readings on Writing. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. N. pag. Print.
Lunsford, Andrea A., John J. Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. Everything's an Argument: With
Readings. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2007. Print.
O'brien, Jane. "Olinguito: 'Overlooked' Mammal Carnivore Is Major Discovery." BBC News.
N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Apr. 2015.