1. Rhythm = This is how the notes are broken into 9.

Structure = how a piece of music is divided into

patterns of both sound and silence. sections. In Classical music structures are refered
to as AB (linear), ABA (ternary), ABACA
2. Pitch = This is how low or high a note sounds (rondo) among others. Each different letter
represents a change in theme or idea, which in A
3. Melody = Rhythm + Pitch
sections can be returned to later in the song.
4. Dynamics = How loud or soft the music is. Contemporary music uses words such as
introduction, verse, chorus, bridge, link, pre-
Piano = soft chorus and outro.
Forte = loud
Crescendo = getting louder 10. Harmony = when more than one note pitch is
played at the same time. This is in contrast to a
Decrescendo = getting softer melody which has only one note playing at one
5. Timbre = the tone colour of the music or time. A voice, flute, saxophone or trumpet for
instruments. In its simplest description you could example cannot play harmony by itself unless
identify the different instruments in a song, but to there are at least two of them playing different
describe timbre in depth you could look at the notes together. A guitar, and piano can play
specific instrument qualities and how it is played chords, so can harmonize by itself.
(eg. Acoustic guitar fingerpicking sounds much 11. Style/Genre = the catagorisation of musical
different to a distorted electric guitar!) elements into seprerate groups such as reggae,
6. Tempo = how fast the music is. Often described heavy metal, punk, jazz, blues, pop, R&B. Each
with Italian words such as adagio slow, style typically has some set instrumentation,
moderato medium, allegro fast, presto very rhythms or harmony that are typical to that
fast. In contemporary music it is usually genre. For example, reggae music typically uses
described with beats per minute. Dont get guitars, bass, drums, organ and vocals, but it is
confused with the time signature this has the off-beat rhythm that defines it.
nothing to do with tempo, rather the songs
rhythmic divisions.
7. Texture = the layers of sound. Music could be
described as thick or thin depending on the
amount of instruments playing at the same time.
If it is one playing it is called monophonic. If
there are two different melodic/rhythmic layers it
is called homophonic and if more than this it
is polyphonic. A staggered entry is often used in
introductions. This is when each instrument is
introduced one at a time.
8. Articulation = how the notes are played. Many
different instruments have different ways of
emphasizing notes and adding interest. Here are
some examples:
Staccato notes are played in a jumpy
fashion
Legato notes are played smoothly
Accents some notes may have a > sign
on them which means to play them with
more force
1. Choose your topic and length carefully
Be realistic about the issue you are covering does it
have enough dimensions to hold a readers interest for a
long feature? If the story can be summarised in 180
words, you dont need to write a 1,800-word feature.
And anything beyond 4,000 words is a very long read.
2. Have a plan
Make a list of all the points you want to cover in the
article then put them into an order that allows you to
move with the most ease from one point to the next.
Remember to pepper fascinating points throughout the
article if you put all the juicy stuff in the first 500
words, why would a reader continue to the end?
3. Come back to the intro again, and again, and again
Writing introductions is always a tricky business. The
best introductions conjure up a clear, compelling scene,
an unusual conundrum or a stark situation. Avoid
rambling opening paragraphs and remember that if a
sentence doesnt sound quite right, it isnt right. Move on
to the body of the piece and come back to it. The
introductions that seem the most effortless have
probably taken the most work.
4. Get on the phone, or better still on the road
A good feature is not an extended essay, a regurgitation
of undergraduate topics, or a stream of consciousness.
Dont indulge in covering too many historical aspects of
the issue use them only where strictly relevant. The
same goes for technical details. Remember, your
audience may not have the burning interest in genetics
you do, or be familiar with what an allele is.
A feature should be rich with voices from those involved
with the issue you are focusing on. Speak to researchers,
speak to those affected by the issue and speak to people
with different viewpoints. Record your interviews when
you listen back you may be surprised at the gems you
find.
5. Get building
Once you have your transcripts from all your interviews,
make one document with the quotes you want to use and
the points you want to make. Then shuffle these around
to create the skeleton of your feature. Then you can add
detail and refine paragraphs as you go along.
6. Choose your structure carefully
A feature could take many forms, for example a long
write-through or continuous narrative, a Q&A format,
or a series of distinct sections. Would a detailed
explanation of how mitochondria work be better in a
separate, pull-out section, suitable for a tinted box on the
printed page? Would a graphic save you 300 words? Use
such furniture wisely and it will improve your feature.
7. Know what you are trying to say dont waffle
No feature can cover every aspect of an issue. There will
always be other points or angles. Make sure you have a
clear idea of what is relevant to the overall thrust your
piece and dont try to shoehorn in tangential
information.
8. Get your facts straight
Double-check everything. If someone gives you a figure
for the cost of a medical procedure, check it in the
literature and ask the experts. Make sure your sources
are up to date and accurate and remember to
differentiate between facts and opinion. If your piece will
be published online include links so that readers can
easily access your sources, if its in print give enough
information for them to track it down for themselves.
9. Change the pace
A monotone approach makes for a tedious read. Change
the pace throughout the article emotional experiences,
sobering facts, funny quotes and informative sections
keep your reader engaged to the end. Like a good play,
sections of a feature can also move back and forwards in
time and be set in different scenes.
10. Kill your darlings
Your hilarious sentences and painfully crafted
metaphors may seem like works of genius, but they are
probably too esoteric to appeal to anyone else. Write
them, love them, cut them.
In a nutshell:
DO:
Interview a variety of people
Have a clear angle
Get your facts straight
DONT:
Waffle on
Put all the interesting stuff in the first 500 words
Write in a monotone
Avoid overuse of parentheses. The tedious aspect of
science writing is having to place numbers, abbreviations,
expressions and/or scientific names in parentheses as
you write. Inserting too many parentheses could cause
your readers to get confused and lose focus while
reading. Only use parentheses to make an extra remark
every once in a while.
Upper-case letters. There are a few rules to follow when
using capital letters: titles and subheadings of articles,
titles of books and journals, and names of institutional
departments should begin with a capital letter.
Importance of hyphenation. If you aren't a fan of
hyphens, you might want to train yourself to like them.
Not placing hyphens correctly in your sentences can take
the meaning out of context and frankly, you want your
readers to understand what you write. For example:
clear-cut case vs. clear cut case. The latter literally
implies a cut case that is clear, which is incorrect.
 Injecting opinion. For science writing, remember that
the focus is on writing about a technical topic. Writing
can be creative but that doesn't mean it has to be
opinionated. Unless it is an opinion editorial, the writer's
personal viewpoints aren't relevant to the discussion;
only report what the sources have mentioned. Airing
your views can diminish the credibility of the article
. Maintain clarity. Have you ever written a lengthy
sentence only to re-read it again, not fully
comprehending what you just wrote? The moment you
catch this happening, you have to fix it immediately. If
you are lost in your own sentence, there is no way you
can expect a reader to understand it. When you come
across this hurdle, it is best to start afresh and re-write
the sentence, or break it apart and replace it with two
shorter sentences.
Use abbreviations. The Elements Of Grammar For
Writers, a detailed book on writing style, highlighted that
"Abbreviations are convenient and efficient; they can cut
down on extra words." When it comes to science writing,
we should abbreviate long phrases because scientific
terms and the name of companies and institutions
usually come in chunky phrasesthe kind we want to
avoid repeating throughout the article.
Revise and rewrite. Revising is part of writing. Re-reading
and editing your work does not indicate that you are a
poor writer. William Strunk and E.B. White, the
authors of The Elements of Style, said in their book,
"Quite often the writer will discover, on examining the
completed work, that there are serious flaws in the
arrangement of the material, calling for transpositions." It
doesn't matter if your work needs editing, shortening or
rearrangingwhat matters is you fix it like all the best
writers do
. SCIENCE WRITING
- is the latest form of Philippine Journalism.
A science writer should be able to communicate
clearly and effectively so that he can popularize and
translate scientific reports into stories.
Science News Writing Covers:
1.) Science News
2.) Science Editorial
3.) Science Feature
4.) Science Column Writing
Science News Reporting
Is science writing by a scientist or by a non-scientist
for mass consumption.
His report is written for mass understanding.
He writes his story in such a way that the science un-
oriented reader may understand and appreciate it
because it is written in laymans language.
He writes his story in such a way that the science un-
oriented reader may understand and appreciate it
because it is written in laymans language.
Technical Writing vs. Non-technical Writing:
the objective of technical writing is to emphasize
hand information
The main aim of journalistic writing is to inform,
interpret, entertain, and to educate.
Purpose of Technical Writing
- The main purpose of technical writing is to
inform and persuade by providing facts and opinion
based on facts that help readers answer question, solve a
problem, make a decision, or perform a task.
Characteristics of Technical Writing:
It contains only factual information presented
objectively.
All data could be verified and would not change unless
new findings are made.
The writing depends on the authors treatment of the
subject and by the readers need to useful information.
Technical subject is specialized and usually mechanical
or scientific.
Specific Uses of Technical Writing Skills:
- Modern society is becoming highly technical
- Police and fire personnel write detailed incidents
or investigation report that must be clear enough to serve
as evidence in court.
- Nurses and medical technicians keep daily
records that are crucial to patients welfare particularly as
bases for litigations
- Secretaries must write clear and precise memos,
letters, minutes, and reports.
- Managers write memos, personal evaluation,
requisitions, and instructions.
Writing for Readers:
To define something as to insurance costumer who
wants to know what variable annuity means.
To explain something as to a fellow teacher on how to
write a news story.
To describe something as to an architectural client who
wants to know what a new addition to her home look s
like.
To persuade someone like to an adviser of a school
paper to change page format.
* Dos and Donts in Technical writing
Omit no key words
Avoid ambiguous phrases in technical writing, a
sentence should have one meaning only.
Avoid over-stuffing a sentence that crams so many
ideas, forces readers to struggle in order to get what is
meant.
Avoid un-stacked modifiers too many nouns stacked
up as modifiers in front of another noun make for hard
reading.
Rearrange word order just as any paragraph has a key
sentence, any sentence has a key word or phrase. For
emphasis, place the key word or phrase at the beginning
or end of the sentence.
Use the active voice
Make sentences concise (brief) a concise sentence is
brief but informative. It gets right to the point w/o clutter.
Eliminate redundancy avoid using phrase when a word
will do.
Avoid needless repetition
Avoid there sentence openers save words and
improve your emphasis by avoiding there is and there
are at the beginning of the sentences.
11. Avoid certain it sentence openers eliminate any
It that does not refer to somerthing specific.
12. Delete needless to be construction forms of the
verb to be (is, was, are) often add clutter w/o adding
meaning.
13. Avoid excessive prepositions
14. Use that and which sparingly
15. Fight noun addiction excessive nouns make
sentences awkward and wordy
16. Make negative positive save words and get to the
point by eliminating negative construction.
17. Clear out the clutter words
18. Delete needless preface get to the point. Deliver
to the point w/o a long wind-up.
19. Avoid triteness
20. Avoid over-statement
21. Avoid sweeping generalization
22. Use specific, concrete language.