A Student Handbook for Writing in Biology

by Knisely, Karin

• ISBN13: 9781429234917
• ISBN10: 1429234911
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-04-07
• Publisher: Sinauer Associates is an imprint of Oxford University Press

Summary

This book provides practical advice to students who are learning to write according to the conventions in biology, including step-by-step guidance and numerous examples of faulty writing (along with revisions) to alert students to pitfalls when writing different sections of a scientific paper. Most of the sections are designed to stand alone so that readers can look up a topic in the index and find the answer to their question. Those who want to learn more about the topic have the option of reading related sections or entire chapters.Most first-year students have had little experience producing Greek letters and mathematical symbols, sub- and superscripted characters, graphs, tables, drawings, and equations. For exactly this reason, almost half of the book is devoted to Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint features that enable scientists to produce professional quality papers, graphs, posters, and oral presentations effectively and efficiently.

Table of Contents

1. The Scientific Method
An Introduction to the Scientific Method

 

2. Developing a Literature Search Strategy
Databases and Search Engines for Scientific Information
Database Search Strategies
Evaluating Search Results
Managing References (Citations)

 

3. Reading and Writing Scientific Papers
Types of Scientific Writing
Hallmarks of Scientific Writing
Scientific Paper Format
Styles for Documenting References
Strategies for Reading Journal Articles
Strategies for Reading your Textbook
Study Groups
Plagiarism
The Benefits of Learning to Write Scientific Papers
Credibility and Reputation
Model Papers

 

4. Step-by-Step Instructions for Preparing a Laboratory Report or Scientific Paper
Timetable
Getting Started
Start with the Materials and Methods Section
Do the Results Section Next
Make Connections
Effective Advertising
Documenting Sources

 

5. Revision
Getting Ready to Revise
Revise Again
The Biology Lab Report Checklist

 

6. A "Good" Sample Student Laboratory Report

Laboratory Report Mistakes

 

7. Poster Presentations
Why Posters?
Poster Format
Making a Poster in Microsoft PowerPoint 2007
Poster Content
Presenting Your Poster
Evaluation Form for Poster Presentations

 

8. Oral Presentations
Organization
Plan Ahead
Write the Text
Prepare the Visuals
Rehearsal
Delivery
Feedback

 

Appendix 1. Word Processing in Microsoft Word 2007
Introduction
Good Houskeeping
Increasing your Word Processing Efficiency
Commands in Word
Unfurling the Ribbon
Proofreading your Documents

 

Appendix 2. Making Graphs in Microsoft Excel 2007
Introduction
Commands in Excel 2007
Formulas in Excel 2007
Unfurling the Ribbon
Other Ribbon Tabs
Excel Terminology
Goodbye Chart Wizard, Hello Insert Charts
Plotting XY Graphs (Scatter Charts)
dding Data after Graph has been Made
Multiple Lines on an XY Graph
Trendlines
Plotting Bar Graphs
Pie Graphs
Error Bars and Variability

 

Appendix 3. Preparing Oral Presentations with Microsoft PowerPoint 2007
Views for Organizing and Writing your Presentation
Designs for New Presentations
Slide Layouts
Formatting Text
Sample Presentation
Illustrations
Navigating Among Slides in Normal View
Saving and Printing Presentations
Revising and Polishing Presentations
Delivering Presentations

 

Bibliography
Index