Short Guide to Writing about Biology, A, Global Edition, 9th edition

Published by Pearson (April 6, 2016) © 2016

  • Jan A. Pechenik Tufts University
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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 emphasises 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).

  • Part I General Advice about Writing and Reading Biology
  • 1. Introduction and General Rules
  • 2. Locating Useful Sources
  • 3. General Advice on Reading, Note Taking, and Avoiding Plagiarism
  • 4. Reading and Writing About Statistical Analyses
  • 5. Citing Sources and Listing References
  • 6. Revising
  • Part II Guidelines for Specific Tasks
  • 7. Writing Summaries, Critiques, Essays, and Review Papers
  • 8. Answering Essay Questions
  • 9. Writing Laboratory and Other Research Reports
  • 10. Writing Research Proposals
  • 11. Presenting Research Findings: Preparing Talks and Poster Presentations
  • 12. Writing Letters of Application
  • Appendix A Commonly Used Abbreviations
  • Appendix B Recommended Resources
  • Index

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