Hi there! My name is Qining Wang (she/her), and I am one of the Editors-in-Chief for the GWAN blog for the 2021-2022 academic year. My editor partner, Carla Patricia Reyes Flores (she/ella), and I are very excited about all the plans we have with the blog. One of our primary goals is to provide an open and safe platform for everyone in Northwestern to use writing as a medium to tell their stories, practice their communication skills, share their science, and many other possibilities. Because of this, we have opened the GWAN blog for submission, and we want to hear from you!

If you are as excited about writing for the blog as I am but don’t know where to start, here are a few prompts that might inspire you:

1. “Translate” your research to an expert audience outside of your field.

As a graduate student currently conducting research for a milestone project or your Ph.D., you are naturally intrigued by your research question. However, you may find it quite challenging to convey your excitement about your research to someone who doesn’t know much about your field. When you scramble to find simpler words to explain a concept or define a jargon, you can see the question marks appearing in between the frowning brows of your listeners.

If you’ve ever been in a situation like this, writing a “translation” piece that explains your research in plain language can be extremely helpful! Like mastering any other skills, effective research communication requires a lot of practice: finding simpler synonyms, coming up with lively analogies, explaining a research project from different angles, you name it. Now it’s the time to seize every chance to practice them!

Not only would a “translation” piece help you craft your research communication skills, but it will also feed the curiosity of the broader Northwestern community! Graduate students are curious creatures. While we are all working hard to solve the research questions at hand, we also want to learn about exciting research in other fields – everything from STEM to social sciences to humanities!

2. Tell your personal story.

The story can be as miniature as a compliment you received at a science fair that encouraged you to become a scientist today. It can also weigh as heavy as one of your identities that’s seemingly unrelated to your research but makes you who you are today. Whatever story portrays you as a human being with deep feelings and emotions, we want to read it! I believe personal stories can speak to people in very intimate ways, and the world can certainly use more genuine human connections!

3. Op-ed-style pieces discussing issues within the Northwestern community or in academia at large.

Although academia has been slowly changing into a more diverse, inclusive, and equitable space, many still don’t feel fully supported and struggle to get all the help they need. If you have been contemplating something that we can all collectively improve to make academia truly welcoming, write about it! Especially if you belong to a marginalized or underserved group and feel like the institutions should do more to uplift you and your group, we want to hear your voice! Start from a crafted opinion, weave out your thoughts and reasonings, and make it a starting point for stimulating conversations in our community!

You don’t have to limit yourself to the three prompts. Many of you wonderful GWAN blog readers can think way beyond and bring exciting topics and discussions to the blog. If you have an article ready, you may submit it by filling out this Google form. Carla and I look forward to posting your fantastic articles!