1. Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences
An introduction to Biological research and paper writing

2. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft
Scientific names
Genus species
May be abbreviated G. species
Always italicized
Don’t use the, a, or an directly before a scientific name
Don’t pluralize
Anything above the genus is capitalized but not italicized

3. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft
Time
Generally use the military time
Examples
7:30 am =
12:00noon = 1200
7:30pm =
12:00midnight = 0000 (rarely seen as 2400)

4. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft
Symbols and Abbreviations
See pages 83 an 84 for common abbreviations that are allowed in scientific writing.

5. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft
Manuscript
Font: 12 point Arial or Times New Roman
Margins: 1 inch on each side
Left Alligned
Indent new paragraphs with one tab (5 spaces)
Page numbers on each page in upper right corner (Title page is 1, but don’t number it)
Use heading for each section

6. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft
Title Page
No page number (but it is considered 1)
Center title 1/3 of the way down the page.
Name and course info 2/3 of the way down the page
Date on the last line of the page

7. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft
Figures and Tables
All tables and figures get their own page at the end of literature cited section OR
Place them directly in the text (don’t mess up formatting!)

8. Chapter Eight: Preparing the Final Draft
PROOFREAD!!!!