Table of Contents

Part I General Advice about Writing and Reading Biology

Introduction and General Rules
- What Lies Ahead?
- What Do Biologists Write About, and Why?
- The Keys to Success
- Avoiding Plagiarism
- On Using Computers in Writing
- On Using Computers for Data Storage, Analysis, and Presentation
- Summary
- Technology Tip 1. Using Shortcuts and AutoCorrect
Locating Useful Sources
- What Lies Ahead?
- Easy Ways to Access The Primary Literature
- Using Indexes
- Using Science Citation Index
- Using Current Contents Connect
- Using Medline and Other Databases
- Prowling the Internet
- Conducting Web Searches: Developing Productive Search Strategies
- Final Thoughts About Efficient Searching: Technology Isn’t Everything
- Closing Thoughts
- Summary
- Technology Tip 2. Using Search Engines E ffectively
General Advice on Reading, Note Taking, and Avoiding Plagiarism
- What Lies Ahead?
- Why Read and What to Read
- Effective Reading
- Reading Data: Plumbing the Depths of Figures and Tables
- Take Notes in Your Own Words
- Final Thoughts on Note Taking: Document Your Sources
- Summary
Reading and Writing About Statistical Analyses
- What Lies Ahead?
- Statistical Essentials
- Summary: Using Statistics to Test Hypotheses
- Moving Beyond p-Values
- Reading About Statistics
- Writing About Statistics
- Summary
Citing Sources and Listing References
- What Lies Ahead?
- Citing Sources
- Summary of Citation Format Rules
- Preparing the Literature Cited Section
- A Sample Literature Cited Section
- Technology Tip 3. Bibliographic Management S oftware
- Technology Tip 4. Producing Hanging Indents
Revising
- What Lies Ahead?
- 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 Reviewer
- Checklist
- Technology Tip 5. Tracking Changes Made to Documents 115

Part II Guidelines for Specific Tasks

Prelude: Why Are You Writing Papers and Proposals and Giving Talks?

Writing Summaries, Critiques, Essays,and Review Papers
- What Lies Ahead?
- Writing Summaries and Critiques
- Sample Student Summary
- Writing Essays and Review Papers
- Checklist for Essays and Review Papers
Answering Essay Questions
- Basic Principles
- Applying the Principles
- Summary
Writing Laboratory and Other Research Reports
- What Lies Ahead?
- Why Are You Doing This?
- The Purpose of Laboratory and Field Notebooks
- Components of the Research Report
- Where to Start
- When to Start
- Writing the Materials and Methods Section
- Writing The Results Section
- Citing Sources
- What to Do Next?
- Writing the Discussion Section
- Writing the Introduction Section
- Talking About Your Study Organism or Field Site
- Deciding on a Title
- Writing an Abstract
- Preparing an Acknowledgments Section
- Preparing the Literature Cited Section
- Preparing a Paper for Formal Publication
- A Note About Co-Authorship
- Checklist for the Final Draft
- Technology Tip 6. Using Computer Spreadsheets for Data Collection
- Technology Tip 7. Graphing with Excel
Writing Research Proposals
- What Lies Ahead?
- What Are Reviewers Looking For?
- Researching Your Topic
- What Makes a Good Research Question?
- Writing the Proposal
- Tightening the Logic
- The Life of a Real Research Proposal
- Checklist
Presenting Research Findings: Preparing Talks and Poster Presentations
- What Lies Ahead?
- Oral Presentations
- Writing the Talk
- Giving the Talk
- Dos and Don’ts for Oral Presentations
- Common PowerPoint® Errors
- Checklist for Being Judged
- Poster Presentations
- Checklist for Making Posters
Writing Letters of Application
- What Lies Ahead?
- Before You Start
- Preparing the CV
- Preparing the Cover Letter
- Getting Effective Letters of Recommendation

Appendix A Commonly Used Abbreviations

Appendix B Recommended Resources

Index

Short Guide to Writing about Biology, A, 9th edition

eTextbook features

Pearson+

Explore

Products & Services

Support

Extend Your Learning

About us