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A Student Handbook for Writing in Biology
Fifth Edition©2017 Karin Knisely
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Build your communication skills as they apply to the uniqe requirement of writing about biology with Student Handbook for Writing in Biology. Learn how to appropriately read technical literature, write scientific papers, prepare lab reports, and make oral presentations of scientific findings as the text guides you through the essential features for quality scientific communication.
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Contents
Preface XIII
Chapter 1 The Scientific Method 1
An Introduction to the Scientific Method 1
Ask a question 2
Look for answers to your question 2
Turn your question into a hypothesis 2
Design an experiment to test your hypothesis 3
Record data 5
Summarize numerical data 6
Analyze the data 7
Try to explain the results 7
Revise original hypotheses to take new findings into account 8
Share findings with other scientists 8
Chapter 2 Developing a Literature Search Strategy 9
Databases and Search Engines for Scientific Information 12
Comparison of databases 13
Database Search Strategies 15
and, or, or not 18Understand your topic 15
Define your research goals 16
Subdivide your topic into concepts 16
Choose effective keywords 17
Connect keywords with the operators
Use truncation symbols for multiple word endings 19
Search exact phrase 19
Use the same keywords in a different database or search engine 19
Evaluating Search Results 19
Finding related articles 23
Obtaining full-text articles 23
Managing References (Citations) 24
ProQuest RefWorks 24
Chapter 3 Reading and Writing Scientific Papers 31
Types of Scientific Communications 31
Hallmarks of Scientific Writing 32
Scientific Paper Format 32
Styles for Documenting References 34
Strategies for Reading Journal Articles 35
Acquire background information on the topic 36
Formulate questions 36
Read selectively 38
Recite 38
Review 38
Share your knowledge 39
Strategies for Reading Your Textbook 39
Survey the content 39
Go to class and take notes 40
Formulate questions 40
Read selectively 40
Recite 41
Review 41
Concept (mind) mapping 41
How to Succeed in College 42
Study Groups 43
Plagiarism 44
Information that does not have to be acknowledged 44
Information that has to be acknowledged 44
Paraphrasing the source text 45
The Benefits of Learning to Write Scientific Papers 46
Credibility and Reputation 47
Model Papers 47
Chapter 4 Step-by-Step Instructions for Preparing a Laboratory Report or Scientific Paper 49
Timetable 49
Format your report correctly 51
Computer savvy 51
Getting Started 53
Reread the laboratory exercise 53
Organization 53
Audience 53
Writing style 54
Start with the Materials and Methods Section 55
Tense 55
Voice 55
Level of detail 55
Do the Results Section Next 59
Preparing visuals 60
Tables 62
Line graphs (XY graphs) and scatterplots 64
Bar graphs 70
Pie graphs 72
Organizing your data 73
Writing the body of the Results section 75
Equations 80
Make Connections 81
Write the discussion 81
Write the introduction 84
Effective Advertising 87
Write the abstract 87
Write the title 88
Documenting Sources 89
The Name-Year system 90
The Citation-Sequence system 92
The Citation-Name system 94
Unpublished laboratory exercise 94
Personal communication 95
Internet sources 95
Journal articles 96
Databases 98
Homepages 99
Emails and discussion lists 101
Chapter 5 Revision 103
Getting Ready to Revise 103
Take a break 103
Slow down and concentrate 104
Think of your audience 104
Editing 104
Evaluate the overall structure 104
Do the math at least twice 105
Organize each section 106
Make coherent paragraphs 106
Write meaningful sentences 108
Choose your words carefully 112
Construct memorable visuals 120
Proofreading: The Home Stretch 121
Make subjects and verbs agree 121
Write in complete sentences 122
Revise run-on sentences 122
Spelling 124
Punctuation 125
Abbreviations 129
Numbers 129
Format 132
Get Feedback 133
Tips for being a good peer reviewer 134
Have an informal discussion with your peer reviewer 135
Feedback from your instructor 135
Biology Lab Report Checklist 138
Chapter 6 Sample Student Laboratory Reports 141
A "Good" Sample Student Lab Report 141
Laboratory Report Errors 149
A Lab Report in Need of Revision 154
Chapter 7 Poster Presentations 163
Why Posters? 163
Poster Format 164
Layout 164
Appearance 164
Font (type size and appearance) 165
Nuts and bolts 166
Making a Poster in Microsoft PowerPoint 166
Design 166
Adding text, images, and graphs 166
Aligning objects 168
Proofread your work 168
Final printing 169
Poster Content 169
Title banner 169
Introduction 170
Materials and methods 170
Results 170
Discussion or Conclusions 171
Literature citations 171
Acknowledgments 171
Presenting Your Poster 172
Evaluation Form for Poster Presentations 172
Sample Posters 172
Chapter 8 Oral Presentations 173
Structure 173
Plan Ahead 174
Prepare the First Draft 175
Make the Slides Audience-Friendly 175
Focus on one idea at a time 176
Write complete thoughts 176
Use more visuals and fewer words 177
Keep graphs simple 177
Make text easy to read 179
Provide ample white space 179
Use animation feature to build slide content 180
Appeal to your listeners’ multiple senses 180
Deal proactively with lapses in audience attention 180
Rehearsal 181
Delivery 182
Presentation style 182
Interacting with the audience 183
Group presentations 184
Fielding listener questions 184
Slide Decks as References 184
Feedback 185
Appendix 1 Word Processing in Microsoft Word 189
Introduction 189
Good Housekeeping 190
Organizing your files in folders 190
Accessing files and folders quickly 191
Naming your files 192
Saving your documents 192
Backing up your files 193
AutoCorrect 193
Long words 194
Expressions with sub- or superscripts 196
Italicize scientific names of organisms automatically 196
Endnotes in Citation-Sequence System 197
Equations 198
Feedback Using Comments and Track Changes 199
Format Painter 201
Formatting Documents 201
Margins 201
Paragraphs 202
Page numbers 203
Proofreading Your Documents 204
Spelling and grammar 204
Prevent section headings from separating from their body 204
Prevent figures and tables from separating from their caption 205
Errant blank pages 205
Finally, print a hard copy 205
Sub- and superscripts 205
Symbols 206
Tables 208
Appendix 2 Making Graphs in Microsoft Excel 213
Introduction 213
Handling computer files 214
Formulas in Excel 214
Writing formulas 215
Copying formulas using the fill handle 220
Copying cell values, but not the formula 220
Formatting the Spreadsheet 220
Wrap text 220
Increase or decrease decimal 220
Format cells 221
Sort data 221
Tables 221
The Page Layout tab 223
Views 223
Adding worksheets to the same file 224
Plotting XY Graphs (Scatter Charts) 224
Saving and Applying Chart Templates 236
Adding Data after Graph Has Been Formatted 237
To incorporate additional data points in the same series 237
To incorporate additional lines on the same graph 237
To change the legend titles 238
Multiple Lines on an XY Graph 239
Plotting Bar Graphs 239
Clustered Column Charts 245
Pie Graphs 246
Error Bars and Variability 249
Adding error bars about the means 251
Data analysis with error bars 253
Appendix 3 Preparing Oral Presentations with Microsoft PowerPoint 255
Introduction 255
Handling computer files 257
Planning Your Presentation 258
Designing Slides 258
Selecting a theme 258
Choosing a slide size 260
Views 260
Slide layouts 260
Reusing slides from other presentations 261
Adding animation 262
Importing Excel graphs 263
Working with shapes 263
Adding videos 265
Text formatting shortcuts 266
Delivering Presentations 267
Presenter View 267
Rehearsal 267
Resources at the presentation site 269
Presenter tools 270
Speaker notes, handouts, and sharing electronic presentations 272
Bibliography 273
Index 277
Karin Knisely
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