Program guide for the 2026 NASW Perlman Mentoring Program

Welcome to the 2026 NASW Perlman Mentoring Program, which will run from June 3 to July 29. Below you will find general guidelines for the program and suggested resources.

This mentoring program is named for longtime science writer and past NASW president David Perlman, who died in 2020 at the age of 101, three years after retiring from the San Francisco Chronicle. David was a mentor to countless members of the science writing community and always made time for kind and supportive words, especially for early career writers.

Navigating the program guide

  • Expectations: We ask all participants to review and follow the expectations of the program to ensure the best possible experience for all.
  • Schedule: This is designed for all participants, regardless of whether they are writing a story. It includes suggested discussion topics, writing tasks, and exercises. Participants are not required to follow this schedule; rather it is intended to help mentors and students stay on track and keep discussions productive.
  • Writing assignment: This page includes detailed requirements for the writing assignment, as well as editing guidance for mentors. The deadline for mentors to submit student stories is July 29.
  • Resources: Other resources that may benefit students or mentors are added here. If you have a resource you would like to share, please let us know.
Expectations

Students

Review the weekly schedule to get a sense of what to expect throughout the program and find inspiration for questions to ask your mentor. If you are writing a story: Carefully review the details about your writing assignment and discuss with your mentor.

  • DO ask questions.
  • DO be clear about what you hope to learn from this experience.
  • DO be proactive. It is the mentee’s responsibility to maintain contact with the mentor and do your best to keep to your agreed schedule.
  • DO respect the mentor’s time. Schedule mutually convenient ways and times to check in (video, chat, email, etc.) for any follow-ups. We understand that schedules change, often unpredictably. If you cannot make a deadline or follow-up, let the mentor know as soon as possible.
  • DON’T drop the ball. Strive to respond to communications in a timely manner and follow through on commitments.
  • DON’T use generative AI for any portion of the writing assignment, including brainstorming story ideas. This program is meant to help you develop your skills as a science writer, which you can’t do by outsourcing your brain power.
  • DON’T hesitate to contact education@nasw.org if you encounter a problem, have concerns, or if something impacts your ability to be part of the program.

Mentors

Review the weekly schedule to get a sense of what to expect throughout the program and find inspiration for guiding discussions. If your student is writing a story: Carefully review the details of the writing assignment and the guidance about your role as editor.

  • DO model professional behavior.
  • DO suggest resources, materials, or other connections.
  • DO share information about your background, skills, and interests.
  • DO offer constructive, meaningful advice and feedback.
  • DO ask questions before giving advice. Take time to understand where someone is and where they want to go.
  • DO recognize mentee’s milestones and achievements.
  • DO respect the mentee’s time and expectations of the program.
  • DON’T make assumptions.
  • DON’T drop the ball. Strive to respond to communications in a timely manner.
  • DON’T do the mentee’s writing for them.
  • DON’T forget to exercise empathy, patience, and respect for the mentee.
Schedule

The following schedule is provided as a resource to help guide discussion and work throughout the program. Following this is not a requirement. Rather, it is a resource to help mentors and students stay on track and keep discussions productive.

Each week's list includes suggested reading and discussion topics, as well as exercises to practice this craft. For those writing a story this summer, this schedule also includes suggested tasks to keep reporting and writing on track to meet the July 29 deadline.

Some mentors and students may wish to follow this schedule and have a short meeting each week, while others may find it easier to have longer meetings less frequently. It is up to each pair to determine the pace that works best for their availability.

 

Week 1 — June 3-9 

Required: Attend June 3 kickoff event

Explore and discuss

Writing tasks

  • Brainstorm and research story ideas.

Practice

  • Find a recent scientific study and read through each section. What is most clear? What needs an expert’s explanation? What aspects, if any, might make a good story?
     

Week 2 — June 10-16 

Explore and discuss

Writing tasks

  • Contact sources and schedule interviews.

Practice

  • Preparing for an interview: Pick a recent study and draft a list of interview questions you would want to ask the authors.
     

Week 3 — June 17-23 

Explore and discuss

Writing tasks

  • Draft interview questions.
  • Conduct interviews and edit transcripts.

Practice

  • Listen critically to an interview with a scientist, such as an episode of the Ologies podcast. What questions got the best answers? Would you have conducted it differently?
     

Week 4 — June 24-30 

Explore and discuss

Writing tasks

Write and submit first draft of story.

Practice

  • Choose a recent, short science news story to discuss together. Identify the lede, nut graf, and other structural elements. Bonus: Spot errors or ways the article could be improved.
     

Week 5 — July 1-7 

Explore and discuss

Writing tasks

  • Discuss editing notes: Gaps in reporting, additional sources needed, and structuring the piece.
  • Discuss preferred outlet to pitch and how that affects reporting.
  • Revise story and conduct follow-up with sources if needed.

Practice

  • Find a short blog post or news story that interests you and paste it into a document. Practice being an editor: Track changes if you find errors or awkward wording and leave comments for the reporter. What is easier/harder about this than you expected?
     

Week 6 — July 8-14 

Explore and discuss

Writing tasks

  • Submit second draft and fact-checking report.
  • Collect photos or other images, either from story sources with permission or copyright free images available to the public.

Practice

  • Choose a short science news story and highlight every fact — names, dates, statistics, etc. How many facts did you identify? What kinds of sources support these statements?
     

Week 7 — July 15-21 

Explore and discuss

Writing tasks

  • Discuss the second draft and fact-checking report.
  • Complete any additional reporting and addressing edits.
  • Draft outlet-specific pitch to submit with story.

Practice

  • Using a recent study or your own story idea, write a short pitch for a story. Reference the flowchart above if needed.
     

Week 8 — July 22-29 

Explore and discuss

Writing tasks

  • Revise and submit final draft and pitch.
  • Add any additional sources to fact-checking report.

Practice

  • Find three science stories from today and analyze the headlines. What grabbed your attention? How long are the headlines? Could any of them be improved?
Writing assignment

The writing assignment for this program is an opportunity to practice or develop your science news writing skills. Regardless of your path in the science writing world, this foundational knowledge will serve you well. We hope the guidance you receive from your mentor while reporting gives you experience you might not be able to access elsewhere and that the resulting clip helps you succeed in your career.

Read the instructions below carefully to ensure a smooth experience. Review the resources provided for help with reporting, writing, and revising your stories. When in doubt, ask your mentor for guidance.

Do not use generative AI for any portion of the writing assignment, including brainstorming ideas. This program is meant to help you develop your skills as a science writer, which you cannot do by outsourcing your brain power.

 

Instructions 

STYLE: Depending on your publication goals, your story may take different styles. You should consult your intended publication’s style guide and discuss with your mentor. If you are in doubt or are just aiming for publication in the NASW Student Newsroom, write your story as a news article in newspaper style (Associated Press, AP) with a headline, lede, attributed quotes, and short paragraphs of one to three sentences each. The story should be 700 to 900 words. You may include links to relevant websites in your article, and we are open to different formats (visual/audio) for your story. Please discuss with your mentor/editor and have them reach out to education@nasw.org if they have questions.

EXAMPLES: A story template with an example is provided to ensure a smooth publication process after the end of the program. Review this with your mentor before you begin writing and decide on your writing process together. Your mentor will need to ensure proper formatting before they submit the story. Visit the NASW Student Newsroom for more examples of previous stories.

INTERVIEWING: Students are required to interview at least one source for this story, but we strongly encourage you to interview two. Interviewing is a crucial skill in all areas of science writing, and this program is a perfect opportunity to practice under the guidance of a mentor.

HEADLINE: Write a short, accurate headline that would get a reader’s attention. Your editor may have suggestions for the headline.

BIO: Write a short bio about yourself at the end or your story with your email address and, optionally, a link to your website or portfolio and social media handle. Writers and editors see these stories and might contact you down the road as a result. You can find examples on the NASW Student Newsroom.

PHOTOGRAPHS/OTHER VISUALS: You may include photographs, video clips, and/or graphics to accompany your article. You should provide a caption, alt text, and image credit below each. Please include caption/credit info and links to images at the bottom of your story document. Your mentor will need to attach images as .jpg or .png files when submitting the final story, so make sure you save them somewhere accessible.

You can ask your sources for images; public information officers at institutions, for example, may be a good contact to ask for photographs. Regardless, make sure you obtain the appropriate permissions/copyright to use the images you submit, or use copyright-free images that are in the public domain or have a Creative Commons license. Do not use commercially sold stock photos or stock illustrations. Try to avoid photographs of people standing/sitting and talking and instead go for contextual shots that show action, or science shots, diagrams or conceptualizations that depict organisms or systems relevant to your story.

FACT CHECKING REPORT: Each student will be asked to file a fact-checking report along with the second draft of their story; the report should be updated accordingly and uploaded with the final submission by the student’s mentor. Use the tab provided in the student story template to create a simple fact-checking report. Label each fact in your draft with a comment providing the source of your information and additional context if needed.

DEADLINES: The final draft must be uploaded by the mentor by July 29. Students and mentors will develop a set of mutually convenient deadlines for initial story drafts, but see the weekly schedule for suggested dates.

When you email the final draft of your story to your mentor/editor after addressing editing comments, include these items:

  • A Google Doc containing:
    • The final draft of the story
    • Fact-checking report
    • Student’s mini-bio
    • All images in preferred placement
    • Captions, alt text, and credit info for all graphics, including student headshot if applicable
  • Images as .jpg or .png files (up to 3)
  • Informal headshot to be posted with the story (optional)

PUBLICATION: During the final submission, mentors will select if a student wishes to have their story considered for publication with one of the new outlets that have agreed to consider student stories. The full list of outlets will be provided before the start of the program. Students, have a conversation with your mentor about whether you want to have yours considered, and what your first choice outlet is. Note that publication is not guaranteed. All completed assignments will be reviewed for publication on the NASW Student Newsroom, a section of nasw.org that highlights student reporting projects, or other venues. Submissions may be subject to light copyediting. 

 

The mentor’s role as editor 

Mentors will work with students and serve as their editors as they prepare a news story for possible publication at the end of the program. Please approach the editing in as thorough a manner as you can, with as many rounds of editing with the student as needed. The final piece should be of the standard that it could be published in a reputable science news outlet. Remember that, if published in the NASW Student Newsroom, your name will be on this story too.

Exact timing and medium is to be determined by each mentor and student pair for mutual convenience, but all stories must be submitted by the mentor no later than Wednesday, July 29, using the provided Google Doc template. A suggested weekly schedule is provided to help mentors and students stay on track.

Finding a story

During the kickoff event, you will meet with your student for the first time. Students will have been asked to submit a few story ideas during registration, and you can discuss what direction they should take. From there, mentors will help guide students on ways to approach reporting and writing the proposed story. Other students may need more assistance refining their story angle. For these students, mentors can help brainstorm places the students might seek a story or sources. Encourage the students to review the resources in this guide. During this session, you should also work together to set some reasonable check-in points or deadlines, e.g. for a first draft. See the schedule for a suggested timeframe.

Reviewing the first draft

Please review the first draft of the story as soon as possible and work with your student to identify gaps in reporting, additional sources needed, and how to structure the piece. Work with the student on identifying credible data sources and ensuring that all data sources are named in the story. Ask the student if they have any questions about what goes into a fact checking report, which should be included in their second and final drafts. Remind your student that for the second draft, they should include their mini-bio and images/graphics/alt text to go with the story. Feel free to discuss other topics and questions that the student may raise, such as general career guidance.

Second draft

Please offer feedback to the student on whether they have adequately addressed your editing comments and incorporated any additional reporting to make the story publication-ready. You can be of help by double-checking that captions and credit info are included, too. Lastly, review the student’s fact-checking report and ask the student to address any issues.

Final draft

Submit your student’s final draft along with all images to the Student Story Submission form by 11:59 p.m. July 29, 2026, as a Google Doc using this template. The submission process should take no longer than 10 minutes.

Check that you have received these materials from your student:

  • A document containing:
    • The final draft of the story
    • Fact-checking report
    • Student’s mini-bio
    • All images in preferred placement
    • Captions, alt text, and credit info for all graphics, including student headshot if applicable
  • Images as .jpg or .png files (up to 3)
  • Informal headshot to be posted with the story (optional)
     

Pitching to an external outlet 

Have a conversation with your student about whether they would like their stories to be considered for publication in a science news outlet other than the NASW Student Newsroom. Indicate the student's choice on the submission form when you upload the story. For the outlets that have agreed to review student pitches, the NASW Education Committee will coordinate on behalf of students.

The full list of outlets accepting student pitches will be provided before the start of the 2026 program. Please note that this is an opportunity for the student to have their writing considered by a news outlet, but there is no guarantee a story will be accepted. Students wishing to pursue publication outside of this list should do so on their own and have you indicate such on the story submission form. In previous years, students had their stories published in Scientific American, Science News Explores, Eos, the Indianapolis Star, and other outlets.

Resources

Careers

Ethics and diversity

Science writing fundamentals

Pitches and freelancing

Fact-checking

Editing

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