Submit Your Work

If you would like to submit a journalistic piece or request that one of our journalists cover a topic (research article, conference presentation) please read the submission guidelines below.

Submission Guidelines

Any research scientist, faculty, postdoc, or PhD candidate in the field of astrochemistry is eligible to submit an article to The Astrochemistry Report. The journalistic piece should be written at an undergraduate level . Avoid jargon and define terms specific to astrochemistry and any advanced chemistry terms. Write in third-person, present tense, and active voice. Accompanying graphics are encouraged and should be submitted in .png or .jpeg format. Please keep your standard article to a maximum of 500 words. However, for a feature piece, we will accept up to 2000 words. Submissions or requests can be submitted to astrochemistryreport@gmail.com. Submit as plain text or via Word. Do not submit as a pdf. Articles will be reviewed by our team and acceptance will be communicated via email.

Here is a list of the type of articles we are looking for, but not limited to:

  • Summaries of recent publications published within the past year

  • Interviews of astrochemists

  • Coverage of conference proceedings & seminars (with permission of presenters)

  • Explanation of topics in astrochemistry (ex: “How JWST will change the field of astrochemistry”, “How do laboratory ice experiments work?”, etc.)

Please make use of the following notes on the chapter “Writing Science Through the Tenets of Journalism” in Ryan Fortenberry’s book, Complete Science Communication: A Guide to Connecting with Scientists, Journalists, and the Public.

  • First sentence is a “punchline” -  immediately telling why the story is important. One should leave holes in the first sentence to urge the reader onward. Never ask a question as a punchline if the answer could be a simple “no.” For example, never start a sentence with “have you ever wondered…?”

  • After the first sentence, describe researchers and where they work, where is the work published, and information about the experiment.

  • The lead - the first paragraph

    • Answer five W’s: who, what, where, when, how 

    • Leave the how out in the lead, makes readers want to continue reading

    • “How” and “what” answer the question of “who cares?”

    • “When” + “who cares” = newsworthiness

  • Do not put the most important information at the end. Journalistic pieces follow a triangle pattern.

  • Put thoughts and quotations from scientists in remaining paragraphs

  • Journalist is an impassive observer, no interpretation, remove bias

  • Three C’s:

    • Clear: avoid jargon, use analogies, you are “code-switching” out of a niche technical region into the broader public

    • Concise: use shorter sentences

    • Correct: have peers read your article before submission

  • Sources: need at least two primary sources. Primary sources are the author, a scientist in the field, and the journal article itself. The first time a name is mentioned, put first + last + title then refer with last name for the rest of the piece. 

  • When interviewing a scientist, have questions prepared, read their article, meet at time and place convenient to them

  • Max of 500 words, story must be told within the first 100

  • Feature pieces can be longer (max 10000, average of 2000 words)