1. Analyze your audience.
I would assume that the people most interested in viewing my project and my work are fellow Geosciences majors or perhaps even scientists that have been in the field for quite some time. Viewing my project might open their eyes to multiple sides of a controversy that they stood firmly on one side of. My audience would also be interested in reading articles in scientific journal publications, such as Science or Nature. They would probably also be interested in the science sections of major newspapers or news outlets, such as BBC or the New York Times. Most older scientists would certainly read scientific papers put out by their peers.
As for demographics, most scientists, it is hoped, would be rather apolitical. The one issue that they would feel most passionate about would be funding to scientific institutions and programs. As well, many (but NOT all) scientists would possibly identify as irreligious. Many scientists have themselves entrenched at major universities around the country/world. In the case of the United States, this would mean that many are located on the East Coast or California.
My audience would certainly value input on the controversy that I am reporting on. The mysteries of the early Earth continue to befuddle scientists. It would be beneficial to understand the beliefs of stakeholders in this controversy.
My audience would not appreciate pop culture references in my or any other fellow scientists written and published work. To them, data and results should be presented professionally. While pop culture references can help drive home a point, they can also distract from the data at hand.
2. Analyze your purpose.
The purpose of my project should be, first and foremost, to educate. I want my audience to feel as if they being educated on the multiple facets of my chosen controversy. As well, I want them to learn the different stakeholders of the controversy and what the different sides are saying. For my specific controversy, it is important for my audience to know that the controversy is FAR from being resolved. So often in other controversies, people pick sides quickly and fail to listen to what other sides have to say or where other sides are getting their research from. Finally, the time period for this controversy is important. Although ideas regarding the history of water on Earth have been postulated since long before 2010, it is important for my audience to know that recent space probe missions to comets and other celestial bodies have been only fairly recently. This way, the audience understands that while the controversy is old, there is still new data being released to keep it fresh in the minds of scientists.
3. Analyze your author (that is, yourself).
At the University of Arizona, there are perhaps 200-250 Geosciences majors. Compared to a major like Law or Business, that is a small number of undergrads. While their may be other Science majors in other English classes, I feel that I can describe the controversy rather well. I have conducted research and gathered news articles and video to illustrate the different stakeholders in my controversy.
Not only do I wish to major in Geosciences, I also plan to minor in Planetary Science later on in my undergraduate experience. The study of comets, asteroids, and other planets in our Solar System interests me greatly. Discovering new information about our Solar System might very well unlock the answers to some of our longstanding questions we've had about Earth.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Satellite View of The Americas on Earth Day. April 22nd, 2014 via Flickr. Attribution License.
great
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