A Guide to Writing in the Biological Sciences The Scientific Paper

First page Abstract Introduction Methods Results Discussion Literature Cited Examples General Information A well-written scientific paper explains the scientist's motivation for doin an experiment! the experimental desi n and execution! and the meanin of the results" #cientific papers are written in a st$le that is exceedin l$ clear and concise" %heir purpose is to inform an audience of other scientists about an important issue and to document the particular approach the$ used to investi ate that issue" &lease do not thin' that ood En lish is not critical in science writin " In fact! scientists tr$ to be so concise that their En lish should be better than that of wor'ers in other disciplines( If En lish is not $our first lan ua e! then proofreadin b$ a native-spea'er mi ht be helpful" %he )ritin Center offers free assistance in En lish as a #econd Lan ua e" If $ou have read scientific papers! $ou will have noticed that a standard format is fre*uentl$ used" %his format allows a researcher to present information clearl$ and concisel$" +or this class! $ou should prepare $our paper in the accepted standard fashion" ,ou will learn short-cuts and various deviations from this format with experience" Althou h these descriptions are especiall$ adapted to help -eneral Ecolo $ students write papers for the Rhizobium experiment! the information presented will be useful to an$ student who wishes to write a scientific paper in the biolo ical sciences"

General organization %he followin sections should be included in $our report .see Examples/0 .1/ Abstract .2/ Introduction .3/ Methods .4/ Results .5/ Discussion .6/ Literature Cited 7ther sections can be included as necessar$" It is important to understand the differences between sections and to put information in the appropriate location" #tudents fre*uentl$ be in discussin their results in the Results section or present some of their results in the Discussion section" Readin scientific papers .such as the articles $ou will use as $our references for the Introduction and Discussion/ will ive $ou ood ideas and uidance as well" After all! these are peer-reviewed and published scientific papers! and the$ can serve as useful models for $our own writin " Remember to pa$ attention to issues of pla iarism! however" 7ne useful wa$ to avoid ma'in errors in this re ard is to read a section from $our source! then restate in writin what $ou remember of the main points" ,ou would then cite the source of that information in the text" +or excellent uidance on this topic! consult 8"E" McMillan's 199: boo'! Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences" #t" Martin's &ress! ;"," for further advice" McMillan .199:/ also ives thorou h instructions on how to write a scientific paper in biolo $" ,ou should examine articles in recent issues of Ecology and other <ournals as models of ood scientific writin "

Abstract
An abstract is a shortened version of the paper and should contain all information necessar$ for the reader to determine0 .1/ what the ob<ectives of the stud$ were= .2/ how the stud$ was done= .3/ what results were obtained= .4/ and the si nificance of the results" +re*uentl$! readers of a scientific <ournal will onl$ read the abstract! choosin to read at len th those papers that are most interestin to them" +or this reason! and because abstracts are fre*uentl$ made available to scientists b$ various computer abstractin services! this section should be written carefull$ and succinctl$ to have the reatest impact in as few words as possible" Althou h it appears as the first section in a paper! most scientists write the abstract section last" #ee examples of abstracts"

Introduction
Why is this study of scientific interest and what is your ob ecti!e" %his section discusses the results and conclusions of previousl$ published studies! to help explain wh$ the current stud$ is of scientific interest" %he Introduction is or ani>ed to move from eneral information to specific information" %his bac' round must be summari>ed succinctl$! but it should not be itemi>ed" %a'e care not to o too far afield in providin bac' round information= limit the introduction to studies that relate directl$ to the present stud$" Emphasi>e $our specific contribution to the topic" %he last sentences of the introduction should be a statement of ob<ectives and a statement of h$potheses" %his will be a ood transition to the next section! Methods! in which $ou will explain how $ou proceeded to meet $our ob<ectives and test $our h$potheses" +or example! $ou mi ht write the followin 0 ?7ur ob<ective was to determine if the relationship between le umes and nitro en-fixin bacteria is species-specific" )e h$pothesi>ed that le umes would row best when infected b$ the same Rhizobium species that it occurs with in the field"?

#ow to $ite Sources in the Introduction Section It is important to cite sources in the introduction section of $our paper as evidence of the claims $ou are ma'in " %here are wa$s of citin sources in the text so that the reader can find the full reference in the literature cited section at the end of the paper! $et the flow of the readin is not badl$ interrupted" @elow are some example of how this can be done0 ?#mith .19A3/ found that ;-fixin plants could be infected b$ several different species of Rhizobium"? ?)alnut trees are 'nown to be allelopathic .#mith 1949! @ond et al" 1955! Bones and -reen 1963/"? ?Althou h the presence of Rhizobium normall$ increases the rowth of le umes .; u$en 19A:/! the opposite effect has been observed .)ashin ton 1999/"? ;ote that articles b$ one or two authors are alwa$s cited in the text usin their last names" Cowever! if there are more than two authors! the last name of the 1 st author is iven followed b$ the abbreviation et al% which is Latin for ?and others?" %he second citation .above/ shows that it is acceptable! and encoura ed! to cite more than one source for a particular statement" %his ives the statement more validit$ in its context and su ests that $our research was thorou h" ;ote also that the three sources are ordered b$ publication date! so that the earliest citation comes first" Ma'e sure $ou ive a full citation in the Literature Cited section for all sources mentioned in the text" #ee examples of Introduction sections"

Methods
%his section provides all the methodolo ical details necessar$ for another scientist to duplicate $our wor'" It should be a narrative of the steps $ou too' in $our experiment or stud$! not a list of instructions such as $ou mi ht find in a coo'boo'" ,ou should assume that the other scientist has the same basic s'ills that $ou have! but does not 'now the specific details of $our experiment" +or example! it is unnecessar$ to write0 ?)e poured ;-free fertili>er solution into a raduated c$linder until the bottom of the meniscus was at the 3D ml line" )e poured the fertili>er onto the top of the soil in a pot and then repeated this procedure 24 times"?

Rather! $ou would assume that the scientist 'nows how to measure and add li*uids to pots and write0 ?)e added 3D ml of ;-free fertili>er to each of 24 pots"? An important part of writin a scientific paper is decidin what bits of information needs to be iven in detail" &o not 'uote or cite your laboratory manual( In the last para raph! provide a brief description of statistical tests $ou used . statistics are methods(/" @e sure not to include extraneous information! thou h! as scientists 'now all about null h$potheses and when to re<ect them" #ee the Results section for more information on statistics" #ee examples of Methods sections"

Results
%his section presents the results of the experiment but does not attempt to interpret their meanin " As with the Methods section! the tric' to writin a ood Results section is 'nowin what information to include or exclude" ,ou will not present the raw data that $ou collected! but rather $ou will summari>e the data with text! tables andEor fi ures" Fse the text of the paper to state the results of $our stud$! then refer the reader to a table or fi ure where the$ can see the data for themselves" +or example $ou ma$ write0 ?;itro en fertili>er si nificantl$ increased so$ bean total biomass .pGD"D5/ re ardless of the presence or absence of Rhizobium .%able 1/"? %he sentence above is well written because0 .i/ the result of addin nitro en is stated concisel$! .ii/ the word significantly is accompanied b$ the statistical probabilit$ level .pGD"D5/! .iii/ the scientific name Rhizobium is italici>ed! and .iv/ the reader is referred to a table where the data to support the statement can be found" ;ote that the measurement .total biomass! in this case/ is mentioned" ,ou must explicitl$ state the measure $ou are usin " Do not include the same data in both a table and a fi ure" It is best to present the data in a table unless there is visual information that can be ained b$ usin a fi ure" +or example! a fi ure is useful for reportin a re ression anal$sis .line raph/! or comparin the several treatment levels .bar raph with error bars/" Each table and fi ure has several lines of text in the le end .or caption/ that explain the information that is bein presented= this is! the$ are made to stand alone" A table's le end appears above it! while the le end for a fi ure appears below the fi ure" See e)amples0 a table and a fi ure" If $our table includes the results of a statistical anal$sis! be sure to provide the information necessar$ for the reader to properl$ evaluate the anal$sis .probabilit$ levels! de rees of freedom! sample si>e! etc"/" Additional tips on the Results section0

;umber tables and fi ures separatel$ be innin with 1 .i"e" %able 1! %able 2! +i ure 1! etc"/" Do not attempt to evaluate the results in this section" Report onl$ what $ou found= hold all discussion of the si nificance of the results for the Discussion section" It is not necessar$ to describe ever$ step of $our statistical anal$ses" #cientists understand all about null h$potheses! re<ection rules! and so forth and do not need to be reminded of them" Bust sa$ somethin li'e! ?Cone$bees did not use the flowers in proportion to their availabilit$ .X2 G :"9! pHD"D5! d"f"G 4! chi-s*uare test/"? Li'ewise! cite tables and fi ures without describin in detail how the data were manipulated" Explanations of this sort should appear in a le end or caption written on the same pa e as the fi ure or table" ,ou must refer in the text to each fi ure or table $ou include in $our paper" %ables enerall$ should report summar$-level data! such as means I standard deviations! rather than all $our raw data" A lon list of all $our individual observations will mean much less than a few concise! eas$-to-read tables or fi ures that brin out the main findin s of $our stud$" 7nl$ use a fi ure . raph/ when the data lend themselves to a ood visual representation" Avoid usin fi ures that show too man$ variables or trends at once! because the$ can be hard to understand"

#ee examples of Results sections"

DISCUSSION
In this section! $ou are free to explain what the results mean or wh$ the$ differ from what other wor'ers have found" ,ou should interpret $our results in li ht of other published results! b$ addin additional information from sources $ou cited in the Introduction section as well as b$ introducin new sources" Ma'e sure $ou provide accurate citations" Relate $our discussion bac' to the ob<ectives and *uestions $ou raised in the Introduction section" Cowever! do not simpl$ re-state the ob<ectives" Ma'e statements that s$nthesi>e all the evidence .includin previous wor' and the current wor'/" Do not ma'e statements that are too broad0 it is unli'el$! for example! that throu h one Rhi>obium-le ume experiment! $ou will discover that there is no s$mbiosis between the two or anisms" Limit $our conclusions to those that $our data can actuall$ support! such as ?)e did not find a si nificant effect of Rhi>obium inoculate on so$bean biomass in this experiment"? ,ou can then proceed to speculate on wh$ this occurred and whether $ou expected this to occur! based on other wor'ers' findin s" #u est future directions for research! new methods! explanations for deviations from previousl$ published results! etc" If necessar$! note problems with the methods and explain anomalies in the data" Do not simpl$ list the problems but provide thou htful discussion about the implications of the errors in terms of $our conclusions"

#ow to $ite Sources in the &iscussion Section

It is important to cite sources in the discussion section of $our paper as evidence of the claims $ou are ma'in " %here are wa$s of citin sources in the text so that the reader can find the full reference in the literature cited section at the end of the paper! $et the flow of the readin is not badl$ interrupted" @elow are some example of how this can be done0 ?#mith .19A3/ found that ;-fixin plants could be infected b$ several different species of Rhizobium"? ?)alnut trees are 'nown to be allelopathic .#mith 1949! @ond et al" 1955! Bones and -reen 1963/"? ?Althou h the presence of Rhizobium normall$ increases the rowth of le umes .; u$en 19A:/! the opposite effect has been observed .)ashin ton 1999/"? ;ote that articles b$ one or two authors are alwa$s cited in the text usin their last names" Cowever! if there are more than two authors! the last name of the 1 st author is iven followed b$ the abbreviation et al% which is Latin for ?and others?" %he second citation .above/ shows that it is acceptable! and encoura ed! to cite more than one source for a particular statement" %his ives the statement more validit$ in its context and su ests that $our research was thorou h" ;ote also that the three sources are ordered b$ publication date! so that the earliest citation comes first" Ma'e sure $ou ive a full citation in the Literature Cited section for all sources mentioned in the text" #ee examples of Discussion sections"

LIT
%his is the last section of the paper" Cere $ou should provide an alphabetical listin of all the published wor' $ou cited in the text of the paper" %his does not mean ever$ article $ou found in $our research= onl$ include the wor's $ou actuall$ cited in the text of $our paper" A standard format is used both to cite literature in the text and to list these studies in the Literature Cited section" Consult McMillan .19AA/ or a recent issue of Ecology for uidance" C$pothetical examples of the format used in the <ournal Ecology are below0 D<or<evic! M"! D")" -abriel and @"-" Rolfe" 19A:" Rhi>obium0 Refined parasite of le umes" Annual Review of &h$topatholo $ 250 145-16A" Bones! I" B" and @" B" -reen" 1963" Inhibitor$ a ents in walnut trees" &lant &h$siolo $ :D01D1-152" MacArthur! R"C" and E"7" )ilson" 196:" %he %heor$ of Island @io eo raph$" &rinceton Fniversit$ &ress! &rinceton! ;"B" #mith! E" A" 1949" Allelopath$ in walnuts" American Bournal of @otan$ 3501D66-1D:1" Cere is a dissection of the first entr$! in the format for Ecology0

+irstauthor! M"! D")" #econdauthor and @"-" %hirdauthor" ,ear" Article title with onl$ the first letter capitali>ed" Bournal Article %itle with Important )ords in Caps volumeJ.issueJ if there is one/0 firstpa e-lastpa e" ;otice some of the followin details0 - the list is alphabeti>ed= - no first or middle names are listed .the author's first and middle initials are used instead/= - onl$ the first word in the title of the <ournal article .except for proper nouns/ is capitali>ed= - different <ournals use different st$les for Literature Cited sections" ,ou should pa$ careful attention to details of formattin when $ou write $our own Literature Cited section" +or papers published in <ournals $ou must provide the date! title! <ournal name! volume number! and pa e numbers" +or boo's $ou need the publication date! title! publisher! and place of publication" Permissible $itations In This $ourse *General +cology, BI-. /012 ,ou are re*uired to cite A sources from peer-reviewed scientific <ournals" )e have provided $ou several references that $ou can access b$ electronic reserve" Cowever! $ou must locate and cite at least 3 new references .in addition to the ones we provide/" 7ne of the sources can be from a text boo' or a scientific ma a>ine such as Scientific American or Smithsonian" ;ote that ma a>ine articles do not have the information or ani>ed into sections .e" " abstract! introduction! methods! etc"/" ,ou cannot cite web sites unless the$ are peer-reviewed! archived online publications"

EX
,ou will need Acrobat Reader from Adobe to view the examples below" It is a free download available at www"adobe"com" %he examples below are from student papers from @I7L 3D:" %he authors raciousl$ ranted us permission to use them here"

Abstract
%his abstract is a first draft" %he author included an in-text citation! which $ou should never use in the abstract" ;ote that the lan ua e should be more precise and scientific" %he scientific names of or anisms should be used! instead of usin onl$ the common name .here! white clover/" %his second abstract is an excellent! polished example" %he title is shown as well! since it is appropriate and concise" ;ote that this abstract is detailed and thorou h! but without containin too much information"

Introduction

%his excerpt from an Introduction section is a first draft" It needs wor'0 the lan ua e is too collo*uial and not scientific enou h" )hen information is presented! it is not properl$ cited" %he section should start with eneral information and proceed to more specific details" %his example does that! <ust not in the correct st$le" %his passa e from a different Introduction section properl$ proceeds from the eneral to the specific" It cites authors in the text as is customar$" %he lan ua e is direct! and the content is accurate" %he author clearl$ understands the information she is presentin "

3ethods
%his part of a Methods section is an excellent description of the stud$'s experimental desi n" It is thorou h without bein too descriptive or word$" %he author includes detailed information but not thin s that t$pical scientists would find unnecessar$" %his para raph from a Methods section describes the data collection and statistical anal$sis phase of the experiment" It is included here as an example to remind $ou that this section is not limited to the experimental desi n"

4esults
%his portion of a Results section is included because it shows $ou how to describe results and reference a table in the text" ;otice also that the table shown has a ood le end and summari>es the raw data well! with mean I standard deviation" Tables %he ood features of %able 1 are0 .i/ it is numbered , .ii/ the le end explains 'e$ details of the experiment! .iii/ it is clear that the error term is standard deviation! and .iv/ it explains the meanin of unusual abbreviations"

%able 1" -as exchan e characteristics of an Orontium aquaticum plant before and after 1: d inside a flow-throu h cuvette" 8alues are meansI standard deviations" &&+DGphotos$ntheticall$-active photon flux densit$" Experimental %reatment @efore &hotos$nthesis .Kmol
-2 --2 -1

After 11"A I 2"4 531 I 24 34"1 I 1"6 6: I 5 5

s /

-1

14": I D": 641 I 5: 3A"2 I 1"5 46 I 15 3

&&+D .Kmol m s / Ambient LC72M .&a/ Relative Cumidit$ .N/ ;umber of Leaves Measured

%his table needs a little wor'0 it does a ood <ob b$ summari>in the raw data and the results of statistics! but it does not provide enou h information on what statistical test and si nificance level were used" Figures

%his fi ure is useful because the reader ains additional information from seein the data in a raphic displa$" %hat is one main re*uirement for presentin $our results in a fi ure instead of a table" ;ote also that the le end appears below the fi ure and that the le end describes the important points of the fi ure"

&iscussion
@oth of these excerpts from Discussion sections .Example one and Example two/ illustrate the 'inds of statements that can be made to explain the results" ;ote that the authors limit their conclusions to this experiment! without enerali>in about all Rhizobium-le ume relationships" %he authors describe possible scientific explanations for their results"

.iterature $ited
%his example of a Literature Cited section shows some common errors! includin not followin the format of the <ournal Ecolo $ as re*uired" In addition! the comments b$ the reviewer point out that all authors cited in the text must be referenced here= conversel$ all authors listed in the Literature Cited section must actuall$ be referenced in the text"

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