Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences

1. Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences An introduction to Biological research and paper writing

2. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft • Scientific names • Genus species • May be abbreviated G. species • Always italicized • Don’t use the, a, or an directly before a scientific name • Don’t pluralize • Anything above the genus is capitalized but not italicized

3. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft • Time • Generally use the military time • Examples 7:30 am = 0730 12:00noon = 1200 7:30pm = 1930 12:00midnight = 0000 (rarely seen as 2400)

4. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft • Symbols and Abbreviations • See pages 83 an 84 for common abbreviations that are allowed in scientific writing.

5. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft • Manuscript • Font: 12 point Arial or Times New Roman • Margins: 1 inch on each side • Left Alligned • Indent new paragraphs with one tab (5 spaces) • Page numbers on each page in upper right corner (Title page is 1, but don’t number it) • Use heading for each section

6. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft • Title Page • No page number (but it is considered 1) • Center title 1/3 of the way down the page. • Name and course info 2/3 of the way down the page • Date on the last line of the page

7. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft • Figures and Tables • All tables and figures get their own page at the end of literature cited section OR • Place them directly in the text (don’t mess up formatting!)

8. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft PROOFREAD!!!!