2. Selecting Topics

3. Today’s Class Survey results and personal essay review Selecting topics –Genres of health writing –Popular stories –Idea generation –Screening topics –In-class activity This week’s homework

4. PubMed Training Poll Results http://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple _choice_polls/LTEyMjEyMzExMDUhttp://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple _choice_polls/LTEyMjEyMzExMDU

5. Personal Essay Revision Great job making sentences and paragraphs shorter. Nice use of headers to guide the reader and provide clear organization. Good use of personal tone, despite plain language guidelines

6. Genres of Health Writing News stories Press releases Investigative Reporting Feature Articles –Profiles –Narrative –Overview articles –Service articles –How-to –Personal experience

7. More Genres Health columns Book reviews Books Editorials Brochures Encyclopedia entries Humor pieces Fact sheets Obituaries Proposals, reports, and other business writing

8. Executive Summary Is written for non-technical people who don't have time to read the main report Contains enough information for a reader to get familiarized with what is discussed in the full report without having to read it Can stand alone Includes the major ideas (headers) Conveys your purpose, message, and key recommendations

9. Popular Stories for Editors Personal experience stories Seasonal stories Self-help stories How-to… Anything to do with sex Anything to do with relationships Tragedy and inspiration Expose and controversy Travel and recreation Sports and fitness What’s new in…

10. How to Generate Ideas Conduct news surveillance –Online newspapers health section (NY Times, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Wall Street Journal)NY Times –Medical news services eurekalert.org Newswise.com Medpagetoday.com Physician’s FirstWatch (firstwatch.jwatch.org)Physician’s FirstWatch JournalWatch (jwatch.org)JournalWatch –Review MedlinePlus health news by date or topic (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/newsbydate. html)http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/newsbydate. html

11. How to Generate Ideas (continued) Check TOC from relevant journals Check national health observances (http://www.healthfinder.gov/nho/nho.asp)http://www.healthfinder.gov/nho/nho.asp Think about the season, what interests you, let your mind wander… Talk with patients, physicians, etc.

12. Reviewing Stories/Choosing Topics Questions to ask –Is it new or recent? –Who is promoting the information? –Is the information important? So what? Who cares? –Is sufficient information of sufficient quality available? For studies, also ask –Was the study sufficiently large? –Was it published in a reputable, peer-reviewed journal? –Were the findings statistically and clinically significant?

13. Activity In groups, review health-related press releases from EurekAlert.org and Newswise.comEurekAlert.org Newswise.com Identify two potential research studies to cover –Was the study sufficiently large? –Was it published in a reputable peer-reviewed journal? –Were the findings meaningful or important?

14. Homework Reading assignment: –Gastel ch. 6 and 14 –"The media matter: A call for straightforward medical reporting." L.M. Schwartz & S. Woloshin. Annals of Internal Medicine. Feb. 3, 2004, vol. 140, no. 3, pg 226-7. Writing assignment: –Select a topic for your feature article or white paper/backgrounder. Complete the Summary Sheet for your paper.