Applying for I’m a Scientist and I’m an Engineer involves a particular challenge: Describe your work in one sentence, in a way that appeals to the average 13 year old.

One line to school them all.

Simple on the surface, yet potentially problematic. Over the years we’ve seen equal measures of elegant one liners and paragraphs of technical nonsense; and there’s no magic formula for getting it spot on.

And it matters. We ask school students who have taken part to help rate the one-sentence summaries, and we use these rating to help guide who gets places in the event.

But worry not. Our own advice can be found here. (TL;DR: Use precise, interesting language — but NOT jargon — that demonstrates the wider relevance of your work to society.)

And who better to provide more help than those whose sentences won them a place in the event? Here’s what scientist and engineer alumni had to say when we asked: What advice would you give someone writing the one sentence description of their work (ideally in one sentence!)?

Keep things compact

It has to be short, snappy and interesting enough to get the attention of morning London commuters rushing past you. – Natalie Garret

Don’t get bogged down in the details! Imagine you’re trying to get someone to invest in your research, what message would you want to sell to them ie. why are you doing what you’re doing? – Stuart Archer

Keep it clear, concise & interesting, with enough info to make the reader curious to learn more – Katie Mahon

Choose words wisely

What is going to get children to engage: the fact I measure cortical changes in neuronal potential or ‘I measure your brain whilst you’re sleeping?’ – Hayley Moulding

Still to this day when I have a question like this I imagine I am, yet again, explaining to my mum and sister (adult non-scientists) what I do. Kids appreciate when you speak to them like a ‘grown-up’ and so targeting my response to adult non-scientists seems to answer this question better rather than speaking down to kids – Martin Ward

Use only the most used ten-hundred words in this tongue. Easier said than done, but try: https://rt1000words.wpengine.com  – Roberto Trotta

Testing, testing, one two, one two

Send what you’d say to a younger friend/family member – if they can understand it the teenagers you’ll be talking to will too – Rehemat Bhatia

Have other people read it out loud…your granny, your toddler, your neighbour’s dog. Should be easy and interesting! – Hannah Grist

Make yourself matter

Show your enthusiasm for what you do and put your work into a bigger context, i.e. “I will solve the [blank] problem”. – Nikolai Adamski

And when all else fails…

In the words of one of my former supervisors: Make it sexy! – Anita Thomas

Resist temptation to tell them to google it themselves – Michael Graham

Done all that and got a knockout sentence? Great, use it on the application forms at imascientist.org.uk/scientist-apply and imanengineer.org.uk/engineer-apply

Good luck (not that you need it now)!

Thanks to all our event alumni for their advice on Twitter and the Alumni Group.