The College of New Jersey

Department of Biology

Research Paper Style Manual

2012 – 2013
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
WHY  RESEARCH  PAPERS? ......................................................................................................................................... 3  

THE  GOALS  OF  THE  STYLE  MANUAL .......................................................................................................................... 3  

RESEARCH  PAPER  SECTION-­SPECIFIC  GUIDELINES ................................................................................................. 3  

TITLE  PAGE ........................................................................................................................................................................... 5  

ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................................................. 5  
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5  
METHODS ............................................................................................................................................................................... 6  
RESULTS ................................................................................................................................................................................. 7  
DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................................................................... 9  
LITERATURE  CITED ............................................................................................................................................................10  
TABLES .................................................................................................................................................................................11  
FIGURES ................................................................................................................................................................................12  

WRITING  AND  ADDITIONAL  GUIDELINES ..............................................................................................................14  

SUGGESTED  RESOURCES  FOR  SCIENTIFIC  WRITING ..............................................................................................15  

ABBREVIATED  FORMATTING  CHECKLIST………………………………………………………………………………………16  

 STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION I
OVERVIEW
WHY RESEARCH PAPERS?
Peer-reviewed research papers are the primary way in which new scientific knowledge is
documented and communicated. This “primary literature” forms the foundation for future
research, as well as for the synthesis and communication of science in all other forms. As you
learn to write an effective research paper, you are essentially learning how to write a primary
scientific research paper, which requires the following three fundamental skills highlighted
below:
• Accurate reporting
• Effective communication
• Insightful interpretation and analysis of results in the context of other research

THE GOALS OF THE STYLE MANUAL

This Style Manual is intended to both provide formatting instructions, as well as appropriate
content and organization for each part of the research paper, that is used as the standard
throughout the entire 4-year Biology Curriculum. In addition, you can also use this Style
Manual as a companion to reading primary literature. One of the best ways to become a better
writer is to become a more attentive reader. The Style Manual has the following three goals:

1. Establish common formatting guidelines – “Why should I follow instructions?”

It is essential for you to realize that accurate reporting and effective communication is improved
when your paper organizes information in a very specific and predictable manner. As such, each
scientific journal requires authors to follow an exceedingly detailed list of formatting
instructions, which are generally similar (although not identical) among journals. Failure to
follow all instructions precisely results in rejection of a submitted paper.
Why are the instructions so exceedingly specific and inflexible? Reading a primary paper
involves assimilating and evaluating substantial technical detail, which is easier to accomplish
when that information is organized predictably. Here’s a useful analogy: whenever you walk
into an unfamiliar airport, regardless of what state or country you are in, you can rely on a certain
set of organizational standards to help you find your way around. At some point early after you
enter, you will encounter a board with departure and arrival times, as well as gate listings.
Beyond those, you can find ticket counters. Beyond those, security lines, then departure gates,
etc. That common organization aids your ability to navigate an unfamiliar airport, just as
common formatting aids in navigation through a research paper. Thus, the take home message is
the following:
FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. They are neither arbitrary, nor negotiable. This point cannot
be overemphasized, and the Biology Faculty have agreed that failure to accurately follow
basic formatting instructions could justify an assignment being returned without review (with
potential late penalties), just as in a professional setting.

3|Page
 STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION I
OVERVIEW

2. Explain the specific requirements for each research paper section

For every scientific paper you have three major objectives. First, you must identify your
purpose—the question you are trying to answer and your hypothesized answer to that question.
Next, you must clearly and accurately describe the procedures that were followed and the results
that were obtained. Finally, you must place these results in perspective by relating them to the
current state of knowledge and interpreting their significance in light of your original hypothesis.
The structure of the entire report should look like the following:
• Title Page
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Literature Cited
• Tables (with headings)
• Figures (with legends, which are detailed captions)

The Style Manual will treat each of these sub-sections separately because they require distinct
approaches to writing, as well as distinct information content.

4|Page
 TCNJ BIOLOGY STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION IV
FORMATTING CHECKLIST

TITLE PAGE
Include the title of your paper, your name, the course name, and the instructor’s name. The title
of your paper should reflect its scientific content, and not the nature of the assignment. E.g., “An
Assessment of Starch Metabolism in Banana Cells” is more appropriate than “Lab Report 1” or
“Bananas ‘n Scopes.” Also, do not put images or decorations on your title page.

ABSTRACT
The abstract is a brief (usually < 250 words), one paragraph synopsis of your entire research
project. It should be a stand-alone entity from which a reader can elucidate all of the main points
of your research, thus allowing them to determine whether reading the paper will be useful for
them. Think of your abstract as providing one or two sentences that summarize each of the
subsequent main sections of your paper. Thus, it is often easiest to write your abstract after the
rest of the paper is completed. Specifically, your abstract should clearly and concisely answer the
following questions:
1) What is the broad problem, or knowledge gap that you are trying to fill?
2) What is the specific purpose of your research in light of that knowledge gap?
3) What specific hypothesis or hypotheses did you test?
5) Briefly, what was your general methodological strategy for testing that hypothesis?
6) What were your main results?
7) What are the broader implications of these results?

INTRODUCTION
Your introduction provides broad context for your research (what is the “big picture?”),
identifies your specific hypotheses, and briefly outlines your methodological rationale for testing
those hypotheses. A well-written introduction typically leads the reader from broad to specific
information, presenting a convincing argument that the research is important and that the
approach employed is sound. A good introduction should cover the following:
Broad Context
• Describe the general question, problem or gap in our knowledge, and explain why it is
important to consider.
• Describe the contributions of other studies to addressing this question/problem. What is
the current state of knowledge on the subject, and what new knowledge is required?
Refer to the Literature Cited section, below, for how to properly cite information from
other sources.
• Describe your specific goal, which should be to fill one or more of the knowledge gaps
you have just identified.

Study System/Organisms
• If the purpose of your investigation is to learn about a specific biological entity (e.g., a
particular organ, organism, ecosystem, etc.) because it is important in and of itself, then
your presentation of broad context, above, will have already provided necessary
background, and you can proceed to describing your hypotheses and strategy.

5|Page
 TCNJ BIOLOGY STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION IV
FORMATTING CHECKLIST
• On the other hand, if you are interested in investigating a general biological process (e.g.,
oogenesis, transcription in eukaryotes, optimal foraging by animals), then you must
explain and justify the model system you have chosen to consider. Your model might be
a traditional one such as Drosophila or yeast, or a less traditional model such as birds or
deciduous trees. If others have used this system in a similar way, you should cite a few of
these other studies to support your claim that the system is useful.

Specific Hypotheses and Predictions

• Explain your specific hypotheses and predictions. Your hypothesis is what you think the
answer to your question is. Your prediction is what you expect your specific data to look
like if your hypothesis turns out to be correct. For example, consider an experiment in
which you set up bird feeders, some of which are stationed near simulated predators:
 Question: Do nearby predators affect the foraging decisions of their prey?
 Hypothesis: Animals avoid eating in areas where predation risk is high,
instead preferring less risky foraging patches.
 Prediction: Birds will eat significantly less birdseed from feeders near a
fake owl than from feeders without a fake owl.
Notice how the hypothesis explains the behavior of animals. Hypotheses are proposed
explanations for how something works. Also notice that the prediction refers very
specifically to the data you expect to collect, if your hypothesis is correct. Note that in
some cases the research is experimental by design, as in this example, while in others it
may be an observational and descriptive study, without any experimental manipulations.
In either case you will have a general question, specific hypothesis, and prediction.
• After describing your hypotheses and predictions, give a brief summary of your
methodological strategy for testing these hypotheses. This summary helps prepare the
reader to evaluate the detailed Methods section, as described below.
• At the end of the Introduction, some authors choose to reveal the main findings of their
research, thus helping the reader interpret the forthcoming results in light of those
conclusions. Other authors wait until the Results and Discussion to first reveal the
outcome of their investigation. Check with your professor for their preference.

METHODS
It is essential to accurately and effectively communicate your procedures so that other scientists
can both evaluate the validity of your data collection and analytical methods, as well as repeat
your experiment if they so desire. In paragraph form, the methods section should clearly describe
the following:
• The study site (if experiments were not carried out in the lab, i.e., for an ecological study)
• The source and maintenance of your organisms or special materials
• The study design. For an experimental study, include the setup, treatment and response
variables; for an observational study describe the units of study, their locations, and any
relevant characteristics (for example, maple seedlings located along transects from the

6|Page
 TCNJ BIOLOGY STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION IV
FORMATTING CHECKLIST
forest edge to the forest interior, located in four second-growth forest stands on the TCNJ
campus, etc.)
• The procedures you used to collect your data (but omit descriptions of common-sense
techniques—refer to the primary literature for a sense of essential details)
• Sample sizes
• Quantities of all reagents, with concentrations specified as well (e.g., 5 ml of a 5M NaCl
solution. If you just write 5 ml of NaCl, the quantity is meaningless.)
• The analytical approaches you used to evaluate your hypotheses. Be sure to describe the
analyses in the same order that they appear (or are mentioned) in your results section,
which helps the reader understand your project in a logical and organized format. Be
sure that you have organized the methods (and therefore results) so that you explain the
experiments in a logical flow – and therefore NOT necessarily in actual chronological
order (e.g., if you first performed a PCR, and then collected embryos for staining, and
then ran the PCR reactions on the gel, you would NOT write your methods/results that
way; instead you would describe how you did the PCR and ran the samples on a gel, and
THEN you would introduce the next part of the experiment, where you collected embryos
for staining). Also, any analysis that is mentioned in the methods must have results, and
it follows that these results should be discussed.

While you should avoid giving specific or lengthy details of procedures, you should provide
enough details to allow another person to understand exactly what you did. If your methods
match, or are a modified version of what has been done in another study, it is appropriate to
briefly describe your procedures, and then direct your reader to the other relevant source for
more detail. Never include a description of every step or a list of materials/supplies used.
For more complicated projects, it is often helpful to divide the methods into sub-sections with
descriptive headings. This approach can help delineate different types of methods (e.g.,
collection and care of animals, experimental design, data collection, analyses, etc.)
The methods section should be written in past tense (i.e., “100 g of mushrooms were
homogenized in 200 ml of cold water.” ); do not write the methods in the imperative (i.e., do not
say “Homogenize the spinach in cold buffer solution”, as if you were giving instructions).

RESULTS
The goal of the results is to clearly and concisely describe your analytical results, supported by
relevant statistical information and figures and/or tables. To do this, state the biological result,
and then in parentheses provide the relevant statistics (statistic; degrees of freedom; p value;
figure and/or table reference if applicable). State your results in simple, declarative statements of
what your analyses revealed. E.g.:
“Standard length differed among lakes, with North Rolly Lake having much larger fish
than those in the other three lakes (F = 9.65; d.f. = 2, 57; p = 0.012; Figure 4).”
Alternatively, if you have a number of similar statistics to report, you can report them
collectively in a table, instead of parenthetically in the text. E.g.:
“Standard lengths differed among each of the six pairs of lakes, with the deeper lakes
always having the larger fish then their neighboring shallow lake (Table 1).”

7|Page
 TCNJ BIOLOGY STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION IV
FORMATTING CHECKLIST
Statistical information should only be reported once to avoid redundancy. Never report the
same information in both the paragraph and in a table, nor in both a table and a figure.
Readers will be confused if they see the same information multiple times.

Additional guidelines for the results section:

• This section is written in past tense, and you should avoid making the investigators the
subject of any sentence. In other words, eliminate all uses of phrases like “We found
that….” E.g.,
 Worst: “We found that photosynthetic rates differed between the two types
of plants (F = 2.35; d.f. = 1, 57; p = 0.032; Figure 1).”
 Better: “Photosynthetic rates differed between the two types of plants (F =
2.35; d.f. = 1, 57; p = 0.032; Figure 1).”
 Best: “On average, Arabidopsis strain A had a higher photosynthetic rate
than strain B (F = 2.35; d.f. = 1, 57; p = 0.032; Figure 1).”
This last example is best because it not only makes the result, rather than the investigator,
the subject of the sentence, but it also specifically states what the nature of the difference
was between the two strains. That is, not only were the two strains different, but strain A
had a higher photosynthetic rate than strain B.
• Do use simple, declarative statements that clearly state the outcome of each analysis.
Each of these statements should end with a parenthetical reports of statistics, and/or a
reference to figures or tables.
• Do not include information from references in this section. The results is all about what
you found in the present study--leave the synthesis of other research for the Discussion.
• Do not attempt to evaluate the results in this section. Report only what you found; hold
all discussion of the significance of the results for the discussion section.
• Do not describe every step of your statistical analyses. Scientists understand all about
null hypotheses, rejection rules for p-values, and so forth.
• By convention, any p-value less than 0.001 is reported as “p < 0.001.” If p > 0.001,
report the exact value as in the examples above.
• Do not provide a complete list or table of raw data.
• Do refer in the text to each figure or table you include in your paper, and number them in
the order in which they are referred in the text. Number tables and figures separately
beginning with 1 (i.e. Table 1, Table 2, Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.).
• Although they are referred to in the results section, place all figures and tables after the
literature cited. While it might seem unusual, this placement avoids annoying conflicts
in word processing programs between text and images that can disrupt formatting. More
information on formatting figures and tables will appear below.

8|Page
 TCNJ BIOLOGY STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION IV
FORMATTING CHECKLIST
• Avoid making a table/figure the subject of a sentence. For example, “Amalase activity
was highest in the 35oC treatment (Fig. 1)” is preferred over “Figure 1 shows that…”

DISCUSSION
The discussion is the place for you to explain your results in plain language, interpreting them
both in the context of your original hypotheses and of previously published work. Your results
are also likely to point to new avenues of research, which you might choose to propose in the
Do not simply restate the results in the discussion; instead discuss the key findings and their
biological significance. The organizational structure of a good discussion is a mirror image of
that presented in the introduction. Now, your narrative will proceed from specific interpretations
of your results in light of your hypotheses, all the way to implications for the broad context with
which you began your introduction. To construct a well-written discussion you should do the
following:
Interpret the results of your analyses in light of your questions/hypothesis
• Reiterate your main findings in plain language (i.e., describe the main outcome(s) of your
analyses).
• Discuss whether these results support or refute your hypotheses
• Discuss whether your results are consistent with what others have found, if similar
experiments/studies exist. If they are consistent, then you can be more confident that your
results represent a general principle, and aren’t specific to the limited conditions of your
experiment. If they are not consistent, propose some explanations for the discrepancies.
Do not simply attribute unexpected results to human error—generate and discuss
alternate hypotheses to explain your results. If our initial hypotheses were always correct,
then we would never both running any experiments.
• Discuss any limitations or shortcomings to your approach, and how you might remedy
them in future studies.

Discuss remaining/newly open questions

• Often, some or all of your results might contradict your expectations, or lead to more
questions that might be the subject of further experiment. Discuss any such situations,
and suggest ways to possibly clarify the issues with further work. It’s important to
remember that we tested our particular hypothesis over a very limited set of conditions in
a single species—thus, we cannot generalize to all species, and all resource levels from
our single study. The best we can do is draw conclusions from our own limited
experiment, and then relate it to the findings of others. In other words, where should
your research go from here?
• If others have done similar studies and your results contradict theirs, you might discuss
why you think the results differ.

Summary/Conclusion/Broader Implications
• There is considerable latitude here, but a common formula is to briefly summarize your
findings again in light of your broad question, and discuss the general relevance of the

9|Page
 TCNJ BIOLOGY STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION IV
FORMATTING CHECKLIST
work and question. In many ways, you are reiterating the points you made in the
beginning of your introduction, but now you’ve actually run the experiment so hopefully
you have new insights into what we know about the topic.

LITERATURE CITED

Formatting In-Text Citations

The references contained within a scientific paper are the framework for the paper, and without
them, the paper is incomplete, and is in fact an example of plagiarism. Whenever you write
anything that is not an original thought, you must include a reference to the source in
parentheses in the body of the paper, using the (author, date) format. Do not include titles of
references in the text citation. Page numbers may be included when citing a book. For example:

• For a single author: Several genes, such as x, y, and z, are activated in the organizer region
of Xenopus embryos (Smith, 1982).
• When two authors are present: Several genes, such as x, y, and z, are activated in the
organizer region of Xenopus embryos (Smith and Jones, 1982).
• For three or more authors: Several genes, such as x, y, and z, are activated in the
organizer region of Xenopus embryos (Smith et al., 1982).
• For a book: Several genes, such as x, y, and z, are activated in the organizer region of
Xenopus embryos (Smith et al., 1982, pp. 23-24).
To find valuable reference material, be sure to look on the library web site (or Google Scholar)
[http://www.tcnj.edu/~library/research/index.html]. You may use any biological reference index
that you are comfortable using. Cite only peer reviewed primary literature, or scientific
secondary literature (review papers, textbooks). Lecture notes and websites are not appropriate
(although they may be helpful starting points for your research). It is also helpful to look
through the Literature Cited of a paper you find.
You are encouraged to learn to use a reference management software package to help you
organize your references, and to build citation lists within your paper. For example, Refworks is a
free reference management system available through the TCNJ Library that will automatically
create reference lists for you as you cite references within your paper. See the following website
for information and simple tutorials, or ask a librarian for help:

http://www.tcnj.edu/~library/research/name/RefWorks.html

Formatting the Literature Cited

In the literature cited, list all of the references that you have cited, and only the references you
have cited. Journals vary widely on the exact format for references, so we will adhere to a
relatively common format, which is detailed below. Citations should be listed alphabetically by
the last name of each first author.

Journal articles
Author(s). Year. Article title in sentence capitalization format. Journal Title. Volume:pages.

10 | P a g e
 TCNJ BIOLOGY STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION IV
FORMATTING CHECKLIST
Johnson, P. T. J., D. E. Stanton, E. R. Preu, K. J. Forshay, and S. R. Carpenter. 2006.
Dining on disease: how interactions between infection and environment affect predation
risk. Ecology. 87:1973–1980.
Note that the first author is listed last name, initials but that the remaining authors are listed
with their initials preceeding their last name.
Where consecutive papers have the same exact authors and years, then designate them “a”
and “b.” E.g.,
Ostfeld, R. S., and F. Keesing. 2000a. The function of biodiversity in the ecology of
vector-borne zoonotic diseases. Canadian Journal of Zoology. 78:2061–2078.
Ostfeld, R. S., and F. Keesing. 2000b. Biodiversity and disease risk: The case of Lyme
disease. Conservation Biology. 14:722–728.

Where consecutive papers have the same first author, but different additional authors, then
alphabetize them by the second author. E.g.,

Foster, S. A. and J. A. Baker. 2004. Evolution in parallel: new insights from a classic
system. Trends in Ecology & Evolution. 19:456-459.

Foster, S. and S. Ploch. 1990. Determinants of variation in antipredator behavior of

territorial male threespine stickleback in the wild. Ethology. 84:281-294.

Books with an author (i.e., not an edited volume)

Author(s). Year. Book Title Italicized in all Caps. Publisher, Place.
Clark, J. S. 2007. Models for Ecological Data. Princeton University Press, Princeton.

Chapter from an edited book

Author(s). Year. Chapter title in sentence case caps. Pp x-y in Book Title Italicized in all
Caps. Editors. Publisher, Place.

Schlichting, C. D. 2004. The role of phenotypic plasticity in diversification. Pp. 191-200

in Phenotypic Plasticity: Functional and Conceptual Approaches. T. J. DeWitt and S. M.
Scheiner, eds. Oxford University Press, New York.

Thesis
Author. Year. Thesis Title Italicized in All Caps. Thesis Type. Institution, Place.

Wund, M. A. 2005. Learning in the Development of Phenotypically Plastic Bat

Echolocation. Ph.D. Thesis. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

TABLES
Tables generally should report summary-level data, such as means ± standard deviations, test
statistics, and possibly p-values, rather than all your raw data. A long list of all your individual

11 | P a g e
 TCNJ BIOLOGY STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION IV
FORMATTING CHECKLIST
observations will mean much less than a few concise, easy-to-read tables or figures that bring out
the main findings of your study. Tables should have a brief, but descriptive heading. E.g.,

Table 1. Body size parameters (mean ± sd) of stickleback fish

in four Alaskan lakes.
Population N Length (mm) Mass (g)

Beverly Lake 32 34.7 + 2.0 1.6 + 0.1

Long Lake 30 36.4 + 2.2 1.8 + 0.1
Whale Lake 31 31.2 + 2.6 0.9 + 0.1
Willow Lake 34 33.1 + 2.4 1.2 + 0.1

Table 2. Results from four analyses of variance

comparing characteristics among four populations of
stickleback fish.
Character F d.f. p
Length 2.324 1, 123 0.046
Mass 2.564 1, 123 0.039
Pelvic Spine Length 1.126 1, 123 0.064
Dorsal Spine Length 1.157 1, 123 0.122

FIGURES
When presenting data, graphs are often far more informative than tables, so you need to practice
deciding when to use one or the other in your research paper. This decision may involve
presenting the data several ways and picking the most informative format. Use a figure (graph,
gel image, map, etc.) when information lends itself to good visual representation. Most figures
depict data and are therefore associated with the Results, but figures can also effectively
communicate methodologies (e.g., a diagram illustrating some sort of technique, or a map
indicating a study plot) or conceptual models. Whichever the case, aim for simple, elegant
figures in order to clearly present your information. It is important to choose the appropriate type
of graph to represent the appropriate type of data (e.g., histograms for distributions of
observations among categories, scatter plots to show the relationship between two variables, line
graphs to show the repeated observations of the same sample over time). While it is not
appropriate to report the same data in both a figure and a table, or in the main text and a table,
information can be repeated between the main text and a figure legend (e.g., sample sizes).

Figures should be constructed with intention, meaning that every choice of color and detail
should be made to convey some important piece of information. For example, there is no need to
use 3-D bars in a histogram if there is no z-axis. Only use different symbols if those symbols
represent different entities. Stylistic embellishments for no other purpose can only lead to
confusion. Clearly label all axes with what was measured, and the units of measurement.

12 | P a g e
 TCNJ BIOLOGY STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION IV
FORMATTING CHECKLIST
Figure legends are written in paragraph form, and should explain each relevant element of the
figure so that the reader knows how to interpret what they see. For example, in a graph depicting
some aspect of your results, explain what was measured and how the symbols on the graph
represent those measurements (e.g., identify points as means, identify what types of error bars
were used, and indicate sample sizes). E.g.,

Figure 1. Reaction norm graphs depicting differences in A) the size-adjusted length of the three
longest gill rakers on the 1st gill arch, and B) the size adjusted width spanned by those three gill
rakers for two populations of threespine stickleback fish. Open circles: Mud Bay, closed circles:
Rabbit Slough. Values are LS means adjusted for head centroid size, + 95% C.I. N = 45 for all
population x treatment groups.

Figure 2. Abundance of Nam8 protein in various strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as

determined by Western blot. S. cerevisiae extract (50 µg total protein) was separated by 10%
SDS-PAGE and blots were probed with α-Nam8 antibodies. Extracts shown are from wildtype
S. cerevisiae, a strain lacking the NAM8 gene (nam8Δ), and a strain that overexpresses the NAM8
gene (O/X Nam8). The position of the Nam8 protein is indicated by an arrowhead.

13 | P a g e
 TCNJ BIOLOGY STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION IV
FORMATTING CHECKLIST
SCIENTIFIC WRITING, GRAMMAR, AND PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE
For all research papers, you should be able to utilize a style of writing, called scientific writing.
This style is a form of technical communication that is designed to relay information that can be
interpreted the same way by multiple readers and/or observers. The goal is to report your
findings and conclusions clearly, and with as few words as necessary. Your audience (usually
other scientists) is not interested in flowery prose; they want to know your findings. You should
try to convey relevant information so that all readers of the report will understand your
conclusions. In this light, it is the same as writing assembly instructions in that multiple readers
should achieve the same end result after reading your research paper.
Proper grammar is also very important to achieve clarity and understanding. For this endeavor,
your writing should be in complete sentences and easily understood. It should conform to the
conventions of standard written English (sentence form, grammar, spelling, etc.). Your ideas will
have little impact if they are not communicated well. Remember that scientific terminology very
often has precise meaning. Be certain you choose your words and punctuation correctly and
wisely. The worst mistake in science is allowing a misinterpretation of results due to lack of
clarity (that includes poor grammar)!
Paragraph structure is as important to good writing as sentence structure and grammar. Make
sure to break your ideas into individual paragraphs. Each paragraph should follow a single idea
or theme, and should flow logically into the next. The opening sentence is the most important
sentence of your paragraphs, as it is the “theme” of the paragraph. The opening sentence should
be a statement regarding what the paragraph is going to describe. Following the opening should
be four to six sentences that continue that theme. The opening sentence should be a strong
statement that is followed by evidence using referenced studies to support your main idea. Try
to break up paragraphs that are too long and lengthen paragraphs that are too short.

ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES FOR WRITING YOUR RESEARCH PAPER

1. Italicize the genus and species name (when you are handwriting genus and species name,
underline them, instead). Spell out genus the first time it is used; thereafter, abbreviate it
using just the first letter. E.g.:
Drosophila melanogaster
Danio rerio
Crotalis horridus
Orconectes rusticus (first time)
O. rusticus (after the first time)
2. Common names do not need to be capitalized unless their name includes a proper noun. E.g.:
black-capped chickadee
white-tailed deer
Bonaparte’s gull
Thompson’s gazelle

14 | P a g e
 TCNJ BIOLOGY STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION IV
FORMATTING CHECKLIST
3. Present all measurements as an Arabic numeral followed by an abbreviation of the units. Do
not write out the number or the units. The only instance in which you should write out the
number is if it is the first word of a sentence.
Incorrect: “The trees were ten meters apart.”
Correct: “The trees were 10 m apart.”
Correct: “Fifty-six trees were measured.”
4. When writing numbers, you should spell out every number that starts a sentence. In addition,
spell out all numbers one through nine, unless the number is a measurement. For numbers
greater than ten, you can write the number. E.g.,
Incorrect: “57 birds were included in the analysis.”
Correct: “Fifty-seven birds were included in the analysis.”
Incorrect: “We used 5 temperature conditions.”
Correct: “We used five temperature conditions.”
Correct: “Out of 63 birds captured, 57 were included in the analysis.”

6. Number all pages except for the title page.

7. The text should be double-spaced, other than the abstract, literature cited, or legends, which
should be single-spaced. Use 11- or 12-point type. Margins should be set to 1” for top,
bottom and sides of the page.
8. Avoid unnecessary use of direct quotes. In most cases you should paraphrase (and then
cite) the reference. You should use direct quotes only if a reference says something in an
unusual way or if a statement is so contrary to current understanding that you want to prove
that you did not misunderstand the original text.
9. Do not apologize for bad lab technique. Often, experimental results do not conform to
expected results. This deviation is sometimes due to error on the part of the experimenter, but
it also may be due to some detail beyond the control of the experimenter, or that your original
hypothesis was in fact not correct (that’s how science works). Whichever the case, you
should state this in your Discussion, but do not apologize.
10. Use only left justify for your report.
11. Follow all instructions.
12. Seriously, follow all instructions.

SUGGESTED RESOURCES FOR SCIENTIFIC WRITING

Hofman, A. H. 2009. Scientific Writing and Communication: Papers, Proposals and
Presentations. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Katz, M. J. 2009. From Research to Manuscript: a Guide to Scientific Writing (2nd Ed.).
Springer, New York.
Matthews, J. R., J. M. Bowen and R. W. Matthews. 2005. Successful Scientific Writing: A Step
by Step Guide for Biological and Medical Sciences. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge.

15 | P a g e
 TCNJ BIOLOGY STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION IV
FORMATTING CHECKLIST
ABBREVIATED FORMATTING CHECKLIST
The following checklist will help you to quickly assess whether your research paper complies
with the basic specifications laid out in the Style Manual.

Refer to
Section Yes? No? page(s):

Whole Document
Title Page Present 4
Abstract Present 4
Intro Present 4-5
Methods Present 5-6
Results Present 6-7
Discussion Present 7-8
Literature Cited Present 8-10
Tables Present (if applicable) 10-11
Figures Present (if applicable) 11-12
all pages numbered 14
1 inch margins 14
Double Spaced text 14
Single spaced abstract 14
All scientific names italicized and capitalized
properly 14
Common names capitalized correctly 14
Numbers and units formatted properly 14
References cited properly 8-9
Direct quotes only used when essential 14

Introduction 4-5
Broad context provided
Study system described
Hypotheses/predictions stated
Methodological approach briefly summarized

Methods 5-6
Written in past tense
3rd person used
Methods thoroughly described (refer to list in
text)

16 | P a g e
 TCNJ BIOLOGY STYLE MANUAL -- SECTION IV
FORMATTING CHECKLIST
Refer to
Section Yes? No? page(s):

Results 6-7
Written in past tense
Statistics reported correctly
All figures/tables referenced
Statistics/results reported in text not
redundant with figures/tables
Bulleted list (pg. 7) followed

Discussion 7-8
Results interpreted in light of original
hypotheses
Remaining/new questions discussed
Findings summarized, broader implications
discussed

Literature Cited 8-10

All citations in text included in Literature
Cited
All citations in Literature Cited are cited in
the text at least once
All citations formatted properly

Tables/Figures 10-12
Tables/figures numbered according to the
order they are referenced in the text
All tables have headings
All figures have legends
All figure axes are clearly labeled, with units
Figures do not contain un-informative stylistic
embellishments

17 | P a g e