Genetics 2450

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Introductory Material

 

General Guidelines for Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences
(from pages 7-8 in printed manual)

 

Adapted from: McMillan, V. E., 1997 Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences, 2nd ed. Bedford Books, Boston MA. 198 pp. 

From Chapter 4 Writing a Research Paper:

• Abstract

   

  • Summarize the major points of the paper.

     

    • The Abstract is a short passage that summarizes the major elements of the paper: objectives, methods, results, and conclusions. It is typically written as a single paragraph. In the case of published works, a good Abstract helps researchers assess the relevance of a paper to their own research, and thus decide whether or not they should read it completely. Scanning the Abstracts of papers is also one way that scientists, when pressed for time, keep abreast of recent literature.
      Although readers see the Abstract first, it is easiest to write it last, once you have a good overview of the paper. One way to write an Abstract is to list, one by one, all the important points covered in each section of the paper. Write complete sentences if you can. Make successive revisions, paring the list down bit by bit, omitting peripheral topics and details, until you have revealed the �skeleton� of the study.

     

  • Be specific and concise.

   

  • Make the Abstract able to stand alone and still make sense to the reader.

   

• Introduction

   

  • The Introduction of a research paper sets the stage for your scientific argument. It places your work in a broad theoretical context and gives readers enough information to appreciate your objectives. A good Introduction �hooks� its readers, interesting them in the study and its potential significance. Thus you, as a writer, must have a firm grasp of the aims, principal findings, and relevance of your research. You may find that the Introduction is easiest to write after you have drafted the Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion sections and have a clearer understanding of just what you are introducing.

   

  • Orient the reader by summarizing pertinent literature in your field.

   

  • An effective way to organize the Introduction is to proceed from the general to the specific, starting with a review of current knowledge about the topic and narrowing down to your specific research problem. Introduce key concepts, define specialized terms, and explain important hypotheses or controversies. As you do, document your writing by citing key references in the field - more general ones first, followed by studies closest to your own research. In this way you can sketch out a framework for the study, orient your readers, and prepare them for what is to follow.

   

  • Do not make the Introduction too broad or too detailed.

    This is not the place to show off your knowledge about the subject, list every available reference, or repeat material found in any elementary text. Most published papers have short Introductions (often only a few paragraphs) because the writer is addressing readers with backgrounds similar to his or her own. It wastes journal space and the reader�s time to give an exhaustive literature review. Similarly, in a paper for a course, write for your classmates and your instructor - people with at least a beginning knowledge of the subject. Discuss only the most relevant concepts and references, and get into the paper.

     

  • Explain the rationale for the study and your major objectives.

    After explaining the broad theoretical context, you are ready to clarify the special contribution your own study makes. How does your work fit in with that of other researchers? What special problem does your study address? In other words, why (apart from course requirements) are you writing the paper in the first place? Most authors end the Introduction by stating the purpose of the study.

     

• Materials and Methods

   

  • Include enough information so that your study can be repeated.Your methodology provides the context for evaluating the data. How you made your measurements, what controls you used, what variables you did and did not consider - all these things are important in molding your interpretation of the results. The credibility of your scientific argument depends, in part, on how clearly and precisely you have outlined and justified your procedures.

     

    Furthermore, one of the strengths of the scientific method is that results should be reproducible using similar Materials and Methods. It is not uncommon for a scientist to repeat someone else�s experiment and get different results. These conflicting data then point to factors that may have been overlooked, perhaps suggesting different interpretations of the data.
    
    Finally, a complete and detailed Materials and Methods section can be enormously helpful to others working in the same field who may need to use similar procedures to address their own scientific problems.

     

  • What kinds of information should you include!?

    
    � Give complete taxonomic information about the organisms you used: species names as well as subspecies, strains, and so on, if necessary. Specify how the organisms were obtained, and include other information pertinent to the study, such as age, sex, size,, physiological state, or rearing conditions.

    
    � Describe your apparatus, tools, sampling devices, growth chambers, or other equipment. Avoid brand names, unless necessary. If some materials are hard to obtain, specify where you purchased them.
    Specify the composition, source, and quantities of chemical substances, growth media, test solutions, and so on. Because they are more widely understood, use generic rather than brand names.

    
    � If detailed information about any of the materials is available in a standard journal, then avoid repetition by referring the reader to this source.

    
    � Describe the procedures in detail. Do not forget crucial details such as temperature conditions, pH, duration of observation periods, sampling dates, and arbitrary criteria used to make particular assessments or measurements. If you used a method that has already been described in a standard journal, you need not repeat all this information in your own paper; just cite the reference. However, if the reference is hard to obtain (for example, The Barnes County Science Newsletter), or if you altered someone else�s methods, then supply full information about your procedures.

    
    � For field studies, specify where and when the work was carried out. Describe features of the study site relevant to your research, and include maps, drawings, or photographs where necessary. If published information already exists on the area, cite sources.

    
    � Commonly used statistical methods generally need no explanation or citation; just state for what purpose you used them. If you used less familiar or more involved procedures, cite references explaining them in detail and give enough information to make your data meaningful to the reader.
    
    � Organize your material logically.

    
    � Use specific, informative language.

    
    � Omit unnecessary information.

     

• Results

   

  • Summarize and illustrate your findings.
    
    The Results section should (1) summarize your data, emphasizing important patterns or trends, and (2) illustrate and support your generalizations with explanatory details, statistics, examples or representative (or atypical) cases, and references to tables and/or figures. To convey the results clearly, your writing must be well organized. Present the data in a logical order, if possible in the order in which you described your Materials and Methods. Use the past tense. If the Results section is long and includes many different topics, consider using subheadings to make the text easier for the reader to grasp

  • Do not interpret the data or draw major conclusions.

   

  • Integrate quantitative data with the text.

   

  • Omit peripheral information and unnecessary details.

   

• Discussion

   

  • Interpret your results, supporting your conclusions with evidence.
    In the Results you reported your findings; now, in the Discussion, you need to tell the reader what you think your findings mean. Do the data support your original hypothesis! Why or why not! Refer to your data, citing tables or figures where necessary; use these materials as evidence to support you major argument or thesis. Here is the place, too, to discuss the work of other researchers. Are your findings consistent with theirs! How do your results fit into the bigger picture!

    • Do not present every conceivable explanation.

    • Recognize the importance of �negative� results.

    • Make your prose convey confidence and authority.

    • Use a coherent, logical organization.

    • Instead of proceeding from the general to the specific, as the Introduction does, the Discussion moves from the specific to the general.

From Chapter 7 Drafting and Revising

• Improve logic, continuity, and balance.

• Omit unnecessary material.

• Check for completeness and consistency.

• Present paragraphs as coherent units of thought.

• Make paragraphs work as integrated parts of the text.

• Vary your sentences.

• Use words that say precisely what you mean.

• Avoid slang.

• Avoid vague use of this, that, it, and which.

• Make each verb agree with its subject.

• Avoid wordiness.