2015 Essay Questions - Biology (Page 2 of 4) in pdf

Guidelines for Writing Essays

Here are a few guidelines for you to follow when you write your papers. For a more thorough

introduction to writing about science please consult Jan A. Pechenik's A Short Guide to Writing

about Biology (Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc.) or Karin Knisely’s Writing in

Biology (Sinauer/MacMillan).

1. Papers must be typed (12 point font) and double-spaced with a one-inch margin on all four

sides.

2. Library research is expected and citations must follow general scientific usage. Generally

ideas are paraphrased rather than quoted, but all paraphrased ideas must be credited to the

original author. You do this in one of two ways in the body of your papers: 1. (Author, date)

if author is not part of the sentence . . . or 2. Author (date) if author is used in the sentence.

Example Citations Within the Essay:

a. The spurge group is the largest genus within the order Euphorbiales (Curtis, 1975).

b. Felgenhauer and Abele (1985) believe that grapsid crabs probably have the widest

ecological distribution among decapod crustaceans.

Example Citation References in the Literature Cited Section

This section must appear at the end of each essay and there must be a full reference for

each citation made in the body of your paper.

a. Books:

Curtis, E.W. 1975. Bermuda - a floral sampler. Bermuda Press Ltd., Bermuda. 52p.

b. Journals:

Felgenhauer, B.E. and L.G. Abele. 1983. Branchial water movement in the grapsid crab

Sesarma teticulatum Say. Journal of Crustacean Biology 3:187- 195.

There must be a one-to-one correspondence between literature cited in the text of your papers

and the alphabetized references in the "Literature Cited" section at the end of your essays.

3. There should be NO quotations (paraphrase instead!) or footnotes, under any circumstances.

4. The length of EACH of the essays should be about five pages but no more than six pages.

The total number of pages, then, will be approximately ten and not more than twelve for the

two essays.

5. Try to make your essays a synthesis of 1) what you have learned in other courses, 2) what

you have learned about Tropical Biology by reading, and 3) what you learned about San

Salvador through your own observations while there (this is where thorough, detailed field

notes are invaluable). We do not want essays that could have been written without your ever

having been to the Bahamas. We do not want essays that reflect no reading on your part. All

three components are critical to each essay!

6. You should keep a copy of your essays before you turn them in. This would be critical should

a package be "lost" in the mail, etc.

7. All three papers must be turned in by June 29, 2015, to Dr. Booth. If you plan to mail your

papers to the University, the postmark must read no later than the given date. Lateness will

result in substantial grading penalties. There are NO acceptable excuses for late papers!

2015 Essay Questions - Biology Page 2