Short Guide to Writing About Biology, A

by Pechenik, Jan A.

• ISBN13: 9780321159816
• ISBN10: 0321159810
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Longman

Summary

This best-selling writing guide teaches readers to think as biologists and to express that thinking clearly and concisely through their writing. Emphasizing writing as a means to examining, evaluating, sharing and refining ideas, this text teaches individuals to communicate information accurately, logically, concisely and unambiguously. Comprehensive coverage of how to read and evaluate articles, interpret and describe the results of statistical tests, maintain laboratory and field notebooks, and communicate information concisely and convincingly to professional and general audiences, this book is a "must have" for any biology student. Individuals who want to pursue a career in the biological sciences.

Table of Contents

Preface

General Advice About Writing and Reading Biology

Introduction and General Rules

What Do Biologists Write About, and Why?

The Keys to Success

On Using Computers in Writing

On Using Computers for Data Storage, Analysis, and Presentation

Summary

Why Read and What to Read: General Advice on Reading and Note-Taking

Effective Reading

Reading Data: Plumbing the Depths of Figures and Tables

Reading Text: Summarize As You Go

Plagiarism and Note-Taking

Final Thoughts on Note-Taking: Document Your Sources

Locating Useful Sources

Closing Thoughts

Summary

Reading and Writing about Statistical Analysis

Statistical Essentials

Summary: Doing Statistics

Reading About Statistics

Writing About Statistics

Citing Sources and Listing References

Citing Sources

Summary of Citation Format Rules

Preparing the Literature Cited Section

Sample Literature Cited Section

Revising

Preparing the Draft for Surgery

Plotting Idea Maps

Revising for Content

Revising for Clarity

Revising for Completeness

Revising for Conciseness

Revising for Flow

Revising for Teleology and Anthropomorphism

Revising for Spelling Errors

Revising for Grammar and Proper Word Usage

Becoming a Good Editor

Summary and Checklist

Guidelines for Specific Critiques

Writing Summaries and Critiques

Writing the First Draft

Writing the Summary

Sample Student Summary

Writing the Critique

Concluding Thoughts

Writing Essays and Term Papers

Why Bother?

Getting Started

Developing a Thesis Statement

Researching Your Topic

Writing the Paper

Citing Sources

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