Writing for the Pulsar
The K-W Centre welcomes article submissions from any member of
the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. However, in order to maintain
as high a level of quality and professionalism as possible, acceptance
of an article for publication is solely at the discretion of the
editor. There are a number of guidelines you should follow to increase
the chances your article will be published.
- The article should concern the activities of the RASC, the K-W Centre or its members, or provide information about amateur or professional astronomy that K-W Centre members are likely to find interesting.
- The language within the article should be family rated (i.e., no profanity or discussion of adult-only topics).
- The article should not contain personal opinions about political or religious matters. The Pulsar is not a pulpit!
Here are specific guidelines for writing certain types of articles:
Event Reports
When reporting about an event, an observation or an astronomically related gathering, try to answer the five W’s: Who, What, When, Where and Why. What happened? When and where did it happen? Who was there or to whom did it happen? Why did it happen and/or why is it newsworthy?
Opinion Pieces
Although Pulsar articles should not express personal views about political or religious matters, opinions about astronomically related topics are quite acceptable. As you write an opinion piece, keep your audience in mind. Why should readers care what you think (i.e. What is the significance of the issue to them)? Do you expect them to agree or disagree with you? What is the other side of the issue (there’s always another side)?
Product Reviews
A product review has two main parts: first, a description of the product’s major properties and features and second, an evaluation of its performance. It is important to describe a product’s weaknesses as well as its strengths (no product is perfect). There won’t be room to cover everything, so concentrate only on the most important aspects. Try to answer the following questions: In what way is the product significant? Why would someone want to buy it? Who should use it?