A written journalism competition in which each entrant explains a scientific or technological subject to ordinary readers, keeping the facts exact while making the writing clear, interesting and easy to follow.
Science and Technology Writing is a solo journalism item in which each entrant writes a short article about a scientific discovery, a health or environmental issue, or a piece of technology, in language a general reader can follow. It is written and marked after the sitting rather than performed, and in the scheme that uses it most heavily it is filed under Creative Writing and scored out of 100.
A round is a supervised writing sitting. Entrants are usually given a topic, a set of facts or a short briefing, and write against the clock with no notes. The article has to explain what the science or technology is, why it matters to readers, and what it changes, without drowning the reader in jargon. In the national schools circuit it runs in both English and Filipino, at Elementary (Grades 1 to 6) and Secondary (Grades 7 to 12) level, with one contestant per category.
A finished entry has a clear headline, an opening that tells readers why they should care, a body that explains the idea step by step in plain words, accurate terms, figures and units, and an ending that looks at what comes next or what readers can do. A good piece makes a hard idea feel simple without making it wrong.
Organisers run it because it tests a skill that news and opinion writing do not: translating specialist knowledge for a wide audience. It sits beside News, Feature, Editorial and Sports Writing as one of the individual writing contests of a school journalism programme.
Where Science and Technology Writing is run
The clearest use in the data is a national school press conference in the Philippines, which runs Science and Technology Writing as one of its individual contests at every level from school to national and in both English and Filipino. Beyond that, school and campus journalism contests in many countries include a science or technology reporting category, though the age bands, languages and time allowed differ from event to event.
- Philippines
Key facts
- Individual entry, open to boys and girls alike.
- Marked out of 100 in the national schools circuit; the template carries no printed breakdown for this item, so none is shown here.
- Runs in English and Filipino, at Elementary (Grades 1 to 6) and Secondary (Grades 7 to 12) level.
- Written in a single supervised sitting; the template sets no stage time limit.
- Unlike a news story, it explains an idea as well as reporting an event; unlike an essay, it is aimed at a general reader and not at an examiner.
On eTalenter, Science and Technology Writing is filed under Creative Writing and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 1 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Science and Technology Writing is most often entered as an Individual competition, typically scored out of 100.
The scoring method the templates attach to this item, and what that scale means. The category this competition is filed under when a template is installed. Others in this category: Essay Writing, Story Writing, Poetry Writing, Article Writing, News Writing, Script Writing eTalenter matches an item to its criteria on the words in its name, and creates exactly these when the template is installed.How it is scored
Where it sits
Judging criteria installed for it
What judges look at in Science and Technology Writing
What a Science and Technology Writing panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Scientific accuracy: terms, figures, units and cause-and-effect must be right. One confident wrong fact costs more than a plain sentence ever will.
- Clarity for a general reader: judges reward the entrant who can explain a hard idea in everyday words and penalise jargon left unexplained.
- The lead: the opening should tell readers what the subject is and why it matters to them, not begin with a dictionary definition.
- Organisation: ideas should build in a logical order, from what it is, to how it works, to why it matters, with no repetition.
- Interest and voice: an example, comparison or local connection that makes the subject real is rewarded; copied textbook phrasing reads as padding.
- Ethics and originality: nothing invented, no made-up quotations or statistics, and nothing lifted from the brief or published articles.
- Language accuracy: spelling, grammar and flow in the chosen language, whether English or Filipino, including correct technical vocabulary.
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Science and Technology Writing under Scoring Setup, or start from the full essay & story writing judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Science and Technology Writing
How entrants and their teachers usually get Science and Technology Writing right on the day:
- Read science and technology pages in newspapers and children’s magazines, and underline the sentence that explains the idea best. Notice how short it is.
- Practise the explain-it-simply drill: take a topic such as how a solar panel works and explain it in 200 words to a younger pupil.
- Learn a simple shape: lead with why it matters, then what it is, then how it works, then what happens next.
- Build a small bank of accurate terms and units for common topics such as energy, health, weather, space and digital technology, in both languages if the event offers both.
- Practise one comparison per topic. A well-chosen everyday comparison does more for clarity than an extra paragraph.
- Never invent a figure or a quotation. If you are not sure of a number, write around it or use only what the brief gives you.
- Write a headline that names the subject and hints at the benefit, and make sure the body delivers on it.
- Keep the last few minutes for checking every term, number and spelling.
- After a lost round, ask for feedback by area: unexplained jargon, factual slips and a weak opening are the usual causes.
- Ideas for practice, not rules: how mobile phone signals travel, why plastic recycling matters, how vaccines work, how a weather forecast is made.
Events that run this (1)
Ready-made templates that already include this competition. Installing one sets it up for you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Science and Technology Writing judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Individual entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
Is Science and Technology Writing the same as Feature Writing?
No. A feature tells a human-interest story at length, while this item explains a scientific or technological subject. They can overlap when the science is told through a person, but the marks reward accurate explanation here.
How is Science and Technology Writing marked?
It is marked out of 100 in the national schools circuit. The template does not print a breakdown for this item, so an organiser should publish their own score sheet before the day.
Do entrants need advanced science knowledge?
Not beyond their grade level. Judges reward clear, correct explanation of the material given, not specialist depth.
Can entrants bring notes or write at home?
No. It is written in a single supervised sitting from material given on the day, so notes and prepared drafts are not part of the item.
Is it judged individually or as a team?
Individually. Each school sends one contestant per category and language.
Similar competitions
Items whose names share a word with this one — usually the same discipline in another form.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full essay & story writing judging criteria guide, or browse every creative writing competition item.
Try Science and Technology Writing in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Science and Technology Writing, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
