Biology in the News
Biology 101 Review Paper
1. Instructions:
Choose a topic of biological and/or environmental importance and summarize the works of an author(s) concerning that area.
• Each paper should summarize the article, making sure to cover the most important findings or to present the most important data. It is important that you convey the gist of the study or findings.
• The papers should be ~1 page of 1.5-spaced text (Times New Roman font 12).
• The purpose of the paper is for you to find something that you are interested in and relate it to biology. Information for the paper should come primarily from a literary source. That is, an article or news story and NOT WIKIPEDIA. The article must have an author’s name associated with it. If you need help doing additional research to find an author’s name or original publication source, you should go to the library and ask for Helpance. The reference librarians are eager to help you. The papers will be graded for comprehensiveness, clarity, and conciseness.
• The papers you reference in your review should be fully cited in the bibliography section at the end of the paper. The full citation should list the last names of each author, followed by their first and middle initial (if applicable), the date the paper or book was published, the title of the paper of the book, the publisher, and the pages covered by the paper or book.
2. Outline:
Your paper should follow a basic outline that includes an introduction, location, body, summary and conclusions, and bibliography:
Introduction:
The purpose of the introduction is to catch the attention of the reader and to make them understand the importance of the work; basically you are advertizing the rest of the paper. Introduce the area and briefly mention its significance-ask yourself “why should my readers be interested in this topic?”
Briefly explain what you are going to write about in the body of your paper.
Body of the text:
The body of the text should focus on subject you wish to cover, and the statements you wish to explain or argue. The text should be easy to follow and concisely cover the subject. Do not title the body simply as the “body”. Rather, separate it into the main topics you wish to cover.
Summary and Conclusion:
This section is designed to emphasize the main points of the body of the text and the possible significances of your findings. You should only state information that has been previously covered in your paper.
Bibliography or Works Cited:
This page should always be on a separate page with your paper submission or printed on back of the last page of your paper if they are printed two-sided. The bibliography section is the repository for the references you made in your paper. The references should be cited fully so that the readers will be able to locate the other works.
3. Citations
Summarizing other works and citations:
a. When summarizing the works of other authors, paraphrase as much as possible. That is, restate what the author is saying, or trying to say in your own words as best as possible.
For example, if the author writes “A newly discovered horse fly in Australia was so “bootylicious” with its golden-haired bum, there was only one name worthy of its beauty: Beyonce”, you should rewrite the sentence to say something like “A horse fly, with a remarkable golden butt, was recently found in Australia; the inspired scientist has decided to name it after Beyonce Knowles ”.
Notice that, I rearranged the sentence, and restated what the author wrote without completely copying what he wrote.
b. When stating a fact or data, such as “95% of all beetles are herbivorous” or “water’s life-giving properties come from its ability to form hydrogen bonds” you should follow up the statement by citing an author or source.
The standard method for referencing, or citing, an author is to write their last name and the date of the paper, in parenthesis: (Simmons, 1993). If there are multiple authors, write et al.: (Simmons et al, 1993). The sentence with the stated fact should therefore look like this:
“95% of all beetles are herbivorous (Simmons, 1993)”
c. I am including a few links here that discuss the proper use of quotations in papers, please take the time to watch the video or read the rules for when and how to use quotation marks: http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/quotation-marks.html
Below is an example of a journal article citation:
Seidemann, D.E., Shelton, K.L., Reader, J.M., Ross, L.M., and Viele, G.W., 1986, Ba-rich adularia from the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas: Implications for a postcollisional hydrothermal system, American Mineralogist 71, pp. 916-923
Below is an example of a book citation:
Shugart, S., 2003, Hot Springs National Park: A brief history of the park, National Park Service, 31 p.
When citing a web page, cite the date accessed and the web address (or URL), rather than the published date and page number:
Milligan, M., September 6, 2010, Do I have to travel all the way to Yellowstone, or can I see beautiful hot springs here in Utah?, Utah Geological Survey, http://geology.utah.gov/surveynotes/gladasked/gladsprg.htm
Citing and captioning figures:
When referring to a figure in the body of the text, abbreviate “Figure” to Fig. and put it in parentheses. For instance, “Figure 1” becomes “(Fig. 1)”. Here is an example used in a sentence:
“The town of Hot Springs is located in Garland County, AR (Fig. 1) near the southeastern border of the Ouachita Mountains, which formed ~262 million years ago (Seidemann et al., 1986).”
Beneath the figure itself, write “Figure” and then the number, followed by a short description of the figure. In the figure was taken from another paper, site that paper in the caption. For example:
“Figure 1. Location of Hot Springs and Garland County, Arkansas (Arkansas State Map, 1895)”
Current Events Paper Grading Rubric
Grading Criteria (possible points) Score
Paper is organized and proceeds in a logical manner.
Paper addresses the biological relevance of selected topic.
(12 points)
Use of proper grammar.
(3-6 points)
Paper source is appropriate peer reviewed scientific journal
or other reliable source of information.
(3-6 points)
Paper includes a complete and properly formatted bibliography and use of in text citations.
(3-6 points)
Paper meets page limit and formatting criteria, 1.5 spaced Times New Roman–12 point font, 1 inch margins, 2 p. maximum
(6 points)
TOTAL ____/36
