1.  Visit our YouTube ChannelYouTube  Student and Instructor Resources Website (inset hyperlink here) Science Writing Resources for Learning scwrl.ubc.ca

2.  Read the complete transcript of the interview between Thomas Deane and Liwen Xiao  Try to decide which parts of the interview are especially newsworthy (and worth incorporating into your article)  Remember to look for the 5 Ws (Who, What, Where, When, Why)  Annotate your transcript with notes every time information that fits into one of these categories appears (you might find more than one piece of information for each one)

3. Although you might have found more than one piece of information that fell into one of the 5 W categories, these are the really important elements that you will need to work into your article: 1:Who = Liwen Xiao and his research team of postdocs, PhD and Masters students 2:What = A new way of protecting aquatic species (seeding grasses) near forested peatlands 3:Where = County Wicklow, Ireland 4:When = About six months ago 5:Why = Could help protect commercially important salmon and freshwater mussels

4. 1. In pairs/threes, each write two to three introductory paragraphs to begin your article. 2. These do not need to be long, but try to include as many of the 5 Ws as possible in the first one or two. 3. In the second and third paragraphs, try to expand on the fact on the fact that this discovery might have ecological and economic implications because it could protect salmon and freshwater mussels (explain why this is interesting/important). Hint: You will need to paraphrase material to do this effectively. 4. Once complete, swap your two/three article introductions with another pair/three. 5. As a pair/three, choose the one you like most to continue adding to in Activity 3.

5. This is one potential solution (of many). Remember that there are many ways to tell an interesting story, but including as many of the 5 Ws in the first two paragraphs is a great starting point: A team of scientists led by Liwen Xiao in County Wicklow, Ireland, has discovered that planting grasses near forested peatlands can help take up nutrients released when trees are felled, and in turn protect commercially important aquatic species in nearby rivers. Xiao and his team of 10 postdocs, PhD and Masters students, made the discovery about six months ago and have just published their research, which has implications for protecting valuable species such as salmon and freshwater mussels, in a leading science journal. These species have suffered population crashes in rivers after trees from nearby peatland areas have been felled, which typically leads to relatively high and potentially toxic concentrations of nutrients entering the rivers.

6. Working in your pairs/threes, try to add at least two quotes from Liwen Xiao underneath the introductory paragraphs you have chosen to work with. Remember, a good quote will: 1. Be interesting, concise, and move the story forwards 2. Not contain redundant and/or unnecessary information Hint: You can re-order quotes from the transcript and incorporate parts of long-winded quotes with paraphrased material. But, in all cases, make sure you do not misrepresent your source.

7. This is one potential solution (of many). It also incorporates the introductory paragraphs, so you can see the link: A team of scientists led by Liwen Xiao in County Wicklow, Ireland, has discovered that planting grasses near forested peatlands can help take up nutrients released when trees are felled, and in turn protect commercially important aquatic species in nearby rivers. Xiao and his team of 10 postdocs, PhD and Masters students, made the discovery about six months ago and have just published their research, which has implications for protecting valuable species such as salmon and freshwater mussels, in a leading science journal. These species have suffered population crashes in rivers after trees from nearby peatland areas have been felled, which typically leads to relatively high and potentially toxic concentrations of nutrients entering the rivers. “If forestry managers work with us to implement this idea, we believe the salmon and mussels can breathe a big sigh of relief,” said Xiao, who hopes grasses will be seeded on a large scale. “All in all, we’re confident that the grasses take up enough nutrients that aquatic species populations will not be adversely affected anymore,” he added.

8. Imagine that in your article, you decided further down to mention that this was (1) the first time anyone had tested the effects of grass catchment areas in taking up nutrients and (2) that the existing plantations will likely be felled even though it is known how risky this action might be for species in nearby rivers. Using the transcript, decide:  A1: Which of these pieces of information should be accompanied with a direct quote  B1: Which of these pieces of information should be paraphrased from quotes  A2: Which quote(s) you would use  B2: How you would paraphrase this information

9.  A1: Which of these pieces of information should be accompanied with a direct quote?  Existing plantations will likely be felled even though it is known how risky this action might be for species in nearby rivers, because this can be done succinctly and has more relevance if a potentially controversial quote comes directly from the expert whose research is being used to form such a stance.  B1: Which of these pieces of information should be paraphrased from quotes?  This was the first time such research had been conducted, because it does not require a quote to explain this, and it can be summarized more succinctly if paraphrased.

10.  A2: Which quote(s) you would use?  Xiao believes trees in all afforested peatland sites will be cut down despite the risk of affecting nearby aquatic ecosystems because the timber is a major asset. He said: “I think governments will have been banking on collecting the money invested in this timber so I suspect the trees will be felled as planned in all of these areas.”  B2: How you would paraphrase this information?  Xiao said his team are the first to have conducted such research, and suspects they might be the first to even consider seeding grasses to help take up nutrients in forested peatlands.