A short guide to writing about biology

Author(s)

    • Pechenik, Jan A.

Bibliographic Information

A short guide to writing about biology

Jan A. Pechenik

(Always learning)

Pearson, c2016

9th ed., global edition

  • pbk.

Available at  / 1 libraries

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Note

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

For courses in Writing Across the Curriculum or Writing About Biology. Developing the tools to effectively write about biology Teaching biology and strong writing skills simultaneously is a challenge, especially when students exhibit a range of abilities. The 9th Edition of A Short Guide to Writing about Biology provides tools to strengthen student writing and reinforce critical thinking. Written by a prominent biologist, this best-selling guide teaches students to express ideas clearly and concisely. It emphasizes writing as a way of examining, evaluating, and refining ideas: students learn to read critically, study, evaluate and report data, and communicate with clarity. Using a narrative style, the text is its own example of good analytical writing. In this new edition, students learn how to avoid plagiarism (Ch. 1 and 3), read and interpret data (Ch. 3, 4 and 9), prepare effective Materials and Methods sections in research reports and more (Ch. 9), and prepare manuscripts for submission (Ch 9). The text also provides advice on locating useful sources (Ch. 2), maintaining laboratory and field notebooks (Ch. 9), communicating with different audiences (Ch. 6 and 10), and crafting research proposals (Ch. 10), poster presentations (Ch. 11), and letters of application (Ch. 12).

Table of Contents

Part I General Advice about Writing and Reading Biology 1. 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 2. 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 3. 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 4. 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 5. 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 6. 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? 7. 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 8. Answering Essay Questions Basic Principles Applying the Principles Summary 9. 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 10. 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 11. Presenting Research Findi

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Details

  • NCID
    BB26795151
  • ISBN
    • 9781292120836
  • Country Code
    us
  • Title Language Code
    eng
  • Text Language Code
    eng
  • Place of Publication
    Boston
  • Pages/Volumes
    272 p.
  • Size
    22 cm
  • Classification
  • Subject Headings
  • Parent Bibliography ID
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