9.3) Writing General Interest Articles

In addition to writing technical, peer-reviewed, archival journal articles, WEG members also write op-eds or feature articles for a general audience. Doing so helps to take the findings of our work to a broader readership, which increases the potential impact of the work.  These articles usually range in length from 600-800 words (for op-eds or commentary for newspapers and some magazines) to 1000-2000 words for feature articles in technical society publications. Their goal is usually to communicate the key motivation, context and results of the work with an intent to educate the reader. By contrast, journal articles usually focus on the methods and the results. There are a variety of outlets to consider publishing in, but the following are worth considering:

• IEEE’s Spectrum
• ASME’s Mechanical Engineering
• Scientific American
• Popular Science
• New Scientist
• Earth Magazine
• The Conversation