GENERAL ADVICE ABOUT WRITING AND READING BIOLOGY.
1. 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.
2. General Advice on Reading and Note-Taking. Effective Reading.
Reading Data.
Reading Text.
Plagiarism and Note-Taking.
Final Thoughts on Note-Taking.
Locating Useful Sources.
Closing Thoughts.
Summary.
3. Reading and Writing about Statistical Analysis. Statistical Essentials.
Summary.
Reading about Statistics.
Writing about Statistics.
4. Citing Sources and Listing References. Citing Sources.
Preparing the Literature Cited Section.
Sample Literature Cited Section.
5. 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.
6. Writing Summaries and Critiques. Writing the First Draft.
Writing the Summary.
Sample Student Summary.
Writing the Critique.
Concluding Thoughts.
7. Writing Essays and Term Papers. Why Bother?
Getting Started.
researching Your Topic.
Writing the Paper.
Citing Sources.
Creating a Title.
Revising.
8. Writing Laboratory and Other Research Reports. Why Are You Doing This?
The Purpose of Laboratory and Field Notebooks.
Components of the Research Report.
Where to Start.
Writing the Materials and Methods Section.
Writing the Results Section.
Citing Sources.
Writing the Discussion Section.
Writing the Introduction Section.
Deciding on a Title.
Writing an Abstract.
Preparing an Acknowledgements Section.
Preparing the Literature Cited Section.
Preparing Papers for Formal Publication.
Checklist for the Final Draft of Your Research Report.
9. Answering Essay Questions. Basic Principles.
10. Writing Research Proposals. Researching Your Topic.
What Makes a Good Research Question.
Writing the Proposal.
Tightening the Logic.
The Life of a Real Research Proposal.
11. Writing a Poster Presentation. Layout of the Poster.
Making the Poster.
Checklist for Making Posters.
12. Writing for a General Audience: Science Journalism. Science Journalism Based on Published Research.
Journalism Based on an Interview.
13. Preparing Oral Presentations. Talking about Published Research Papers.
Talking about Original Research.
Talking about Proposed Research.
The Listener's Responsibility.
Preparing Effective Slides and Overheads.
Getting Fancy, or Not.
14. Writing Letters of Application. Before You Start.
Preparing the Resume.
Preparing the Cover Letter.
Recruiting Effective Letters of Recommendation.
Appendix A. The Disassembled Paragraph Reconstituted (from Chapter 4).
Appendix B. Revised Sample Sentences.
Appendix C. The Revised Sample Sentences in Final Form.
Appendix D. Commonly Used Abbreviations.
Appendix E. Suggested References for Further Reading.
Appendix F. Some Computer Software for the Biological Sciences.
Index. 