How to Write About Biology: The Essential Guide for Students

This handbook shows biology students in particular how to read more thoughtfully and think more carefully about what they read and observe and then translate those skills into effective and accurate writing. Science students often lack writing skills and in this book students are shown painlessly how to improve and develop their own writing and get their thoughts across clearly and concisely. Key features include: coverage of every aspect of writing in biology, including lab reports, essay papers, research proposals, job and graduate study applications and oral presentations; a separate chapter on critical reading and note-taking to highlight strategies for developing a clear understanding of the subject; a special section on improving punctuation, word choice, spelling and grammar - painlessly and humourously; advice on how to answer exam questions, including essays and multiple choice; and examples of good and bad biology writing compared throughout.

The logical development of ideas and the clear, precise and succinct communication of those ideas through writing are among the most difficult, but most important, skills that a biology student must master.  How to Write About Biology shows students how to meet the demands of writing at all levels of biology. Some of the key features of this compact guide include:

• Coverage of every aspect of writing in biology - lab reports, essays, project reports, research papers, job and graduate applications, drawings, oral presentations.
• Advice on how to tackle examination questions of all types.
• A special section on improving punctuation, grammer, spelling and word choice - painlessly!.
• A section on critical reading and notetaking that highlights strategies for developing a clear understanding of the subject.
• Examples of good and bad biology writing throughout.
• Advice on the use of computers in searching primary and secondary sources, and in preparing reports, graphs and tables.

How to Write About Biology  is a highly accessible guide, and is essential for students of any biology- related subject - including genetics, microbiology, molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology, zoology, marine biology, botany, ecology, anatomy and physiology, allied health, medicine, dentistry, environmental science, and more.

Jan Pechenik is a professor in the Department of Biology at Tufts University, Massachusetts.

Bernard Lamb is a reader in genetics in the Biology Department at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London.  He is also the Chairman of the London Branch of the Queen's English Society.