Writing for the Public (in English)

• 15.05.2026, 09:00 - 12:00

• 29.05.2026, 09:00 - 12:00

• Hochschulkommunikation,?  ()

• Curry,?Andrew

• Doctoral students
• Postdocs
• Senior Scientists
• Professors

of ETH Zurich, PSI, Empa, WSL and Eawag.

We will allocate 20 places to the applicants with the most convincing letters of motivation.

Whether it¡¯s for an opinion piece in the newspaper, a public lecture or a text on your own website, writing comprehensibly for a non-expert public is one of the most important skills in science communication.

Module 1

• Planning a text: target groups, objectives, messages
• Storytelling: how can I turn my topic into a story?
• Style and tone: how do I write in an understandable manner?
• In-course exercise: developing the structure of a news article
• Task for module 2: composing a text using the knowledge gained in the course

Module 2

• Feedback using some texts from participants
• Discussion of best practice examples and challenges encountered during writing task

Writing exercises: Understanding active voice, making difficult material concrete, and story structures. Understanding the media landscape: Where can I reach my target groups, and in what format?

English

When registering, please enter the entire text of your motivation letter in the text field "Letter of motivation" under "Application details". Longer texts can also be entered there!

Please answer the following questions in your letter of motivation:

• Why do you want to take this class?
• Why do you think public writing skills matter?
• What¡¯s something from your field of research that you would like to write about?
• How would you use the skills learned in the course?

We will allocate 20 places to the applicants with the most convincing letters of motivation.

Please only register for the course if you really intend to participate; otherwise, you will deprive someone else of a place.