A Short Guide to Writing About Biology

by Pechenik, Jan A.

• ISBN13: 9780673525031
• ISBN10: 0673525031
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-12-01
• Publisher: Prentice Hall

Summary

Provides students with the tools needed to be successful writers in college and their profession, while emphasizing writing as a way of examining, evaluating, and sharing ideas. Students are taught how to read critically, study, evaluate and report data, and how to communicate information clearly and logically. Teaches students to think as biologists and to express ideas clearly and concisely through their writing. Courses preparing students for a profession in the field of biology.

Table of Contents

Preface	xv
Introduction and General Rules	1	(18)
What Do Biologists Write About, and Why?	1	(3)
The Keys to Success	4	(11)
On Using Computers in Writing	15	(2)
On Using Computers for Data Storage, Analysis, and Presentation	17	(1)
Summary	17	(2)
General Advice on Reading and Note-Taking	19	(33)
Effective Reading	19	(2)
Reading Data	21	(5)
Reading Text	26	(2)
Plagiarism and Note-Taking	28	(8)
Locating Useful Sources	36	(1)
Using Science Citation Index	37	(1)
Using Zoological Record	38	(4)
Using Biological Abstracts	42	(3)
Searching Computer Databases	45	(4)
Prowling the Internet	49	(1)
Using Current Contents	50	(1)
Closing Thoughts	51	(1)
Summary	51	(1)
Writing Laboratory Reports	52	(89)
Why Are You Doing This?	52	(1)
Organizing a Laboratory or Field Notebook	53	(5)
Components of The Laboratory Report	58	(2)
Where To Start	60	(1)
Writing The Materials and Methods Section	60	(1)
Determining the Correct Level of Detail	61	(4)
A Model Materials and Methods Section	65	(1)
Writing The Results Section	66	(1)
Summarizing Data Using Tables and Graphs	67	(2)
Constructing a Summary Table	69	(1)
To Graph or Not to Graph	69	(7)
Preparing Graphs	76	(2)
Connecting The Dots	78	(5)
Bar Graphs and Histograms	83	(2)
Preparing Tables	85	(2)
Self-Sufficient Graphs and Tables	87	(1)
Verbalizing Results	87	(4)
Writing About Numbers	91	(2)
Writing about Negative Results	93	(1)
In Anticipation	93	(2)
Citing Sources	95	(3)
Writing The Discussion Section	98	(1)
Expectations	99	(1)
Explaining Unexpected Results	100	(2)
Analysis of Specific Examples	102	(1)
Example 1	102	(1)
Student Presentation	102	(1)
Analysis	103	(1)
Example 2	104	(1)
Example 3	105	(1)
Student Presentation	105	(1)
Analysis	106	(1)
Example 4	106	(1)
Student Presentation	107	(1)
Analysis	108	(1)
Writing The Introduction Section	108	(1)
Stating the Question	109	(1)
An Aside: Studies Versus Experiments	110	(1)
Providing the Background	111	(5)
Deciding On a Title	116	(2)
Writing An Abstract	118	(1)
Preparing An Acknowledgments Section	119	(1)
Preparing The Literature Cited Section	120	(1)
Listing the References	120	(2)
Listing Journal References	122	(1)
Listing Items From The World Wide Web	122	(1)
Listing Book References	122	(1)
Listing an Article from a Book	122	(1)
Listing a Laboratory Manual or Handout	122	(2)
A Brief Discourse on Statistical Analysis	124	(1)
What You Need to Know about Tomatoes, Coins, and Random Events	124	(3)
Establishing a Null Hypothesis	127	(1)
Conducting the Analysis and Interpreting the Results	128	(5)
Summary	133	(1)
Incorporating Statistics into Your Laboratory Report	134	(1)
Example 1	134	(1)
Example 2	135	(1)
Preparing Papers For Formal Publication	136	(2)
Checklist For The Final Draft Of Your Laboratory Report	138	(3)
Writing Summaries and Critiques	141	(11)
Writing the First Draft	142	(1)
Writing the Summary	143	(1)
Sample Student Summary	144	(2)
Analysis of Student Summary	146	(1)
The Critique	147	(3)
Analysis of Student Critique	150	(1)
Concluding Thoughts	151	(1)
Writing Essays and Term Papers	152	(12)
Why Bother?	153	(1)
Getting Started	154	(1)
Researching your Topic	155	(1)
Writing the Paper	155	(5)
Example 1	160	(1)
Example 2	160	(1)
Citing Sources	161	(2)
Creating a Title	163	(1)
Revising	163	(1)
Writing Research Proposals	164	(10)
Researching your Topic	165	(2)
Writing the Proposal	167	(1)
Introduction	167	(2)
Background	169	(1)
Example 1	169	(2)
Example 2	171	(1)
Proposed Research	172	(1)
Citing References and Preparing the Literature Cited Section	173	(1)
The Life of a Real Research Proposal	173	(1)
Writing for a General Audience: Science Journalism	174	(9)
Science Journalism Based on Published Research	174	(5)
Journalism Based on an Interview	179	(4)
Preparing Oral Presentations	183	(12)
Talking About Published Research Papers	184	(1)
Preparing the Talk	184	(3)
Giving the Talk	187	(2)
Talking about Original Research	189	(1)
Talking about Proposed Research	190	(1)
The Listener's Responsibility	190	(1)
Preparing Effective Slides and Overheads	191	(4)
Writing Letters of Application	195	(14)
Before you Start	196	(1)
Preparing the Resume	196	(3)
Preparing the Cover Letter	199	(8)
Recruiting Effective Letters of Recommendation	207	(2)
Revising	209	(42)
Revising for Content	210	(3)
Revising for Clarity	213	(4)
The Dangers of ``It''	217	(3)
Revising for Completeness	220	(1)
Original Version	221	(1)
Revision 1	222	(1)
Revision 2	222	(1)
Revising For Conciseness	222	(2)
First Commandment: Eliminate Unnecessary Prepositions	224	(1)
Second Commandment: Avoid Weak Verbs	225	(1)
Third Commandment: Do Not Overuse the Passive Voice	226	(2)
Fourth Commandment: Make the Organism the Agent of the Action	228	(1)
Revising for Flow	229	(4)
Revising for Teleology And Anthropomorphism	233	(1)
Revising for Spelling Errors	234	(1)
Revising for Grammar and Proper word Usage	235	(6)
Becoming a Good Editor	241	(1)
Giving Criticism	242	(3)
Receiving Criticism	245	(1)
Fine-Tuning	245	(1)
Example	246	(1)
Sentences in Need of Revision	246	(5)
Answering Essay Questions	251	(7)
Writing a Poster Presentation	258	(9)
Layout of The Poster	261	(2)
Making The Poster	263	(4)
Appendix A Means, Variances, Standard Deviations, Standard Errors, and 95% Confidence Intervals	267	(3)
Appendix B Commonly Used Abbreviations	270	(2)
Appendix C Suggested References for Further Reading	272	(2)
Appendix D Revised Sample Sentences	274	(2)
Appendix E The Revised Sample Sentences in Final Form	276	(2)
Appendix F Some Computer Software for the Biological Sciences	278	(3)
Index	281