Biology writing is a promising career path and a skill that individuals with varying levels of expertise can hone. This comprehensive guide aims to equip aspiring and seasoned biology writers with current essential knowledge about the guidelines and techniques necessary to excel in this field. By following the expert tips in this guide, you can refine your writing abilities, develop strong and relevant scientific vocabularies, and produce persuasive and informative pieces that captivate your readers.
Whether you are a seasoned professional or simply an enthusiast looking to expand your skills, this guide will be invaluable in your endeavors to become a successful biology writer.
It is always a dream for every science scholar to have their paper published in reputable journals. Shockingly, more than 60% of published articles were initially rejected. How can you be among the slim 30% of publications accepted at the first submission? The first thing a biologist must do is understand scientific writing conventions. How do you format your biology paper? What are the various types of writing in biology? What are the common mistakes to avoid in biology research writing? This free, short guide to writing about biology will answer all these questions to boost your academic and scientific writing in biological sciences.
What is Scientific Writing?
Scientific writing involves technical writing to communicate scientific concepts to other scientists in written form, such as a presentation, book, essay, or a document. A scientific writer broadly writes about physical and life sciences like biology, chemistry, and physics. Excellent biology and scientific writing skills promote professional success across various aspects of life. This form of writing comprises extensive research and the use of exact words to communicate summarized findings, peer reviews, or grant requests for future projects. Other reasons for scientific writing include seeking professional school admission and employment opportunities like biology writing jobs
Background Information on Writing in Biology
According to Statista.com, the United States recorded over 49.4 thousand writers and authors in 2021 alone. Studies have shown that professional biologists spend more than 50% of their time writing. Scientists require an expert approach when writing their manuscripts; students do the same when writing their academic assignments.
Everyone has the potential to be the next J.K. Rowling or James Patterson, the two biggest personalities who have made their fortunes from writing. Anyone can become a good biology writer and reach their goals if they work hard and stay focused.
A good biologist should be able to analyze information critically, make decisions based on evidence, use proper citations, pay attention to details, and organize their writing. Biology and general scientific writing are important aspects of a scientist’s job because they help them learn more about science beyond what they learn in school.
Audience and Things to Write About in Writing Biology Articles
Even in the biological sciences, you can find interesting things to write about. In reality, the reverse is true of good writing. Skilled scientific writers can make their work more interesting because they know how to convey their message to their audience. Whether presenting results from basic or applied research, the author must work hard to capture the audience’s attention and demonstrate why they should care about what they have to say. The quality of the published work is directly proportional to the writing competency levels of the writers. In other words, people will assume that a writer’s expertise is substandard if they generate awful writing.
Researchers in the biological sciences usually write for other scientists in their field or for a more general scientific audience. Scientific writing can be anything from an abstract to a lab report to a long manuscript that explains the results of a study. People are becoming more aware of how important it is to share scientific findings with the general public. Because of this, biologists communicate their findings to people outside of the scientific community more and more. As opposed to “scientific writing,” this is what we call “writing about science.”
How much do you earn for publishing your Biology paper in a journal?
Journal authors usually don’t receive payment for their published works. However, some journal authors pay journal authors depending on their pre-agreement arrangements. Authors may sometimes receive payment for their articles through an honorarium or royalty payment. Journal authors benefit from the increased visibility and recognition of publishing in a reputable journal and the opportunity to share their research with a wider audience.
9 Major Types of Writing in Biology
Biology takes many forms, from scientific and academic writing to professional writing like journals and magazines. To be good at professional biology research writing, you must know the different kinds of writing used in the biological sciences. This section explores the major types of biology writing and offers tips for mastering each. This section encompasses all aspects of scientific writing papers in the biological sciences, including microbiology research, molecular biology writing, biotechnology writing, and cell biology authoring.
1. Biology Research Proposals
Biology research proposals are subject to peer-review and consist of a brief justification for the study, a problem statement, proposed study procedures, research questions or hypotheses, expected outcomes, and potential implications. The National Science Foundation (NSF) acknowledges that certain research proposals may have wider implications than others depending on the researcher’s approach.
Teaching students or assisting in resolving a societal problem based on scientific study findings is one example of a broader impact. Undergraduates in biology can find several minor grant opportunities. Learning to write grants is an excellent way for students to practice justifying their research.
2. Biology Laboratory Notebooks
A laboratory notebook is a record-keeping tool used in scientific research to document experimental procedures, observations, data, and other relevant information. It is a legal document and a scientific record of the research done in the lab. Notable settings that require the use of lab notebooks include providing evidence in patent applications, legal disputes, and academic publications. Writing a laboratory notebook provides technical references and resources for other scientists using the laboratory.
Lab notebooks offer a genuine, reliable record of the research conducted by a single researcher. A scientist’s laboratory notebook is an authentic record of their research efforts. Its contents will naturally vary from one researcher to the next. Yet, when a scientist leaves a laboratory, they leave behind the notebook because it belongs to the laboratory. The writer(s) of the laboratory notebook should include legible, trustworthy, and detailed information.
Laboratory notebooks are typically tamper-proof and include numbered pages, dates, pre-printed grids, and spaces for signatures and witness statements. In addition to research data, laboratory notebooks may also have notes about instrumentation, reagents, fixing problems, and other important details that could affect the validity and replicability of the research.
3. Biology Laboratory Reports
A laboratory report is a formal document that presents the results and analysis of a scientific experiment or investigation conducted in a laboratory setting. Writing a biology lab report includes a title, an abstract, a one-sentence summary of the experiment’s objectives, an introduction, sections on materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusions, references, and, if needed, appendices.
Biology lab reports also include tables, graphs, and other visual aids to make the information clear and understandable. Scientific lab reports communicate the experimental procedures, results, and conclusions to the scientific community in a standardized format, allowing others to verify and build upon the findings. Scientists, researchers, or students in many areas of biology, such as molecular biology, biotechnology, developmental biology, microbiology, and cell biology, can write lab reports.
4. Biology Research Manuscripts
A biology research manuscript is a primary literature describing scientific experimental results. They can be full-length reports or short notes. Full-length reports communicate long experiments more completely, whereas short notes highlight notable results. Besides the standard sections of a biology paper, research manuscripts also have acknowledgments of technical and financial aid and a bibliography.
5. Biology Review Papers
Review papers are a type of secondary literature that provides a detailed and thorough overview of all the published research on a certain topic in biology. They are valuable resources for scientists who are new to a field. The authors of the review collect and analyze the primary literature. They then present their findings in a way that is clear, well-structured, and backed up by proper references.
6. Scientific Primary Literature Critiques
A critique of primary literature involves evaluating the content and quality of a publication. To do a thorough review, the writer must first put the paper in its proper context, figure out its main point, and analyze its methods and results in detail. In general, authors of critiques must assess the manuscript’s readability and adherence to established guidelines per the Short Guide to Writing About Biology, 9th Edition. Critiques of primary literature usually discuss the pros and cons of the experiment’s setup and the scientific style used.
7. Abstract
An abstract summarizes a research paper or poster, highlighting each section’s most important parts. Abstracts usually have a short introduction, the main goals, the method, the most important results, and a short explanation of the data. In many fields, it is also appropriate to include a sentence or two on the implications of the research. In practical circumstances, you must compose an abstract when applying to present your research paper at scientific conferences.
8. Scientific Posters
A poster in scientific writing presents a visual display of research findings. It combines text, graphics, and images to concisely and clearly summarize the data collected. Posters are a popular form of scientific communication at conferences. Posters capture the audience’s attention and effectively convey the key points of the research. Biology posters should scientific and full of useful information that helps the audience understand the biology research as a type of paper in the biological sciences.
9. Writing About Science
Writing about science requires the same set of skills as scientific writing. However, it employs a more accessible language and style to increase reader engagement. You can write about science in blog posts, persuasive essays, tweets, discussion forums, or informative pieces that translate scientific journal articles. Although writing improvement approaches apply to scientific writing and writing about science, certain conventions, such as using SI units, citing primary literature, and using scientific names, appear more often in scientific writing.
4 Forms of Evidence in writing in the biological sciences
When writing in biology, evidence is crucial to support arguments and conclusions. Sources of evidence in biology writing include primary literature, secondary and mainstream sources, and data. Understanding how professional biologists write can help you see how the same practices apply to your writing for biology papers.
The writing style for scientific articles incorporates peer-reviewed literature to support the study’s justification in the introduction, describes the methodology used in the methods section, and places the work within a broader context or comparison in the discussion section.
Even though writers of biology papers may also use mainstream sources, these sources do not replace peer-reviewed literature. Peer-reviewed literature is available in two forms: primary and secondary. The data in the results section provides evidence to support any speculations mentioned in the discussion section. You can think of the evidence used in biology writing as falling into four categories: primary sources, secondary sources, mainstream sources, and data.
1. Evidence from Primary Sources
Primary sources, usually scholarly articles, are the first written record of a study and include the original data and ideas. These papers undergo peer review by the scientific community before publication, although the review quality may vary. A standard primary literature paper has an abstract, an introduction, methods, results, and a discussion. The abstract serves as a stand-alone summary of the entire study. Still, it’s important to read the primary source, not just the abstract, because it might not tell the whole story.
2. Evidence from Secondary Sources
Secondary sources, also called review papers, are pieces of writing that collect and combine information from primary sources. These sources may reorganize or change data, look for links between different publications, or do metadata analyses on data from other sources. These analyses aim to identify patterns in data produced by other researchers. Some secondary sources, especially those in book chapters, may undergo peer review. However, secondary sources have less original information or ideas than primary sources.
3. Evidence from Mainstream Sources
Newspapers, encyclopedias, and textbooks are examples of mainstream sources that don’t go through peer review and give general or background information about science instead of reporting on new discoveries. Writing about science often relies on review summaries, science translation websites, and other sources to support a story. Institutional or government websites can be a good source of information for biologists. Still, before using them as sources, one should check these sources for accuracy, authority, currency, objectivity, and coverage. For instance, Wikipedia cannot be a reliable source. Laboratory reports may refer to textbooks or lab manuals.
Evidence from Research Data
In research papers, scientific writers present information in different ways, such as tables, graphs, photos of gels, or diagrams. Biology writers can change these presentations to make them clearer. Still, they must be careful not to change the truth of the data or misrepresent the interpretation of these results. Regardless of the form, proper labeling and descriptions must provide context. Each presentation of data should be self-sufficient and understandable outside of the paper.
Instead of giving raw data, authors of numerical analysis should give means along with a measure of variation, usually one standard deviation (SD) or standard error (SE). After performing statistical significance tests, scientific research writers should report the P value and the right test statistic (such as F for ANOVA, R for correlation analyses, and R2 for regression). In agarose or polyacrylamide gel images, the bands must be clear and, if necessary, labeled with their molecular weight.
Biology Writing Guidelines for Biology Manuscripts
Are there set standards for writing in the biological sciences? No, biology as a subject comprises many fields that can overlap or develop their own writing standards. As scientific research becomes increasingly multidisciplinary, new forms of biology writing are emerging. In biology, no central body or system regulates writing style like in other fields (such as psychology or history).
Like those in journals, biology papers often use unique formatting for citations and bibliographies. For instance, a biochemistry journal would have a different formatting style from a molecular biology paper. But all biological science papers must use ideas from peer-reviewed or scholarly articles and sources that are up-to-date, clear, and correct. Also, the standard format for peer-reviewed publications is constant all of biology’s main fields.
How can one avoid manuscript rejections? Follow the guidelines under this section.
General Rules when Submitting Manuscript for Publication
There are rules about biological articles’ structure, presentation, and coherence (i.e., figures, citations, notations, tense, voice, etc.). Biologists don’t earn revenue when they publish in the usual venues for disseminating their research findings, such as peer-reviewed journals. In fact, many journals have page charges for articles. Hence, every word counts! A biologist needs to understand how to summarize their findings in as few words as possible while still getting the point across.
When sending a paper to a journal, authors must read the journal’s “Guide to Authors” and follow its instructions to increase the chances of the peer-reviewers accepting the papers. The manuscript authors still have a chance to resubmit their papers elsewhere after making all the necessary corrections per the laid-down publication standards. All the papers you’ll write for your biology disciplines will follow the same format as those published in scholarly journals.
Interdisciplinary Nature of Biology Writing
Biology is a complex and varied field that overlaps with many other areas of study, such as chemistry, physics, math, and even the social sciences. Biology is the study of life at many different levels, from the molecular (like DNA and RNA sequences) to the micro (like how cells work) to the macro (like human ecology). The intersection of these diverse fields has resulted in groundbreaking discoveries like translational medicine, molecular neuroscience, and molecular ecology.
So, writing in biology is inherently interdisciplinary, and authors must be able to explain complicated ideas to people with different backgrounds and levels of knowledge. No matter their field, authors of articles for biology magazines and manuscripts must follow the publication’s rules. Whether you’re a scientist, a student, or a science writer, it’s important to understand how writing in the biological sciences relates to other fields.
What are some of the Conventions in Biology Writing?
Even though there are no hard-and-fast rules for writing in biology, scientific papers usually follow a set of conventions that you should use in your papers. The following are some of the conventions of writing in the biological sciences.
1. Who is the Audience for Biology Papers?
Most scientific papers are written in the English language. Still, it’s important to remember that English is only a few scientists’ first languages. So, writers must use proper English without colloquialisms, jargon, slang from a certain region, or cultural references. Most of the time, biologists write about their audience in the third person to keep a formal and professional tone.
2. How does Writing Differ Between Biology Disciplines?
The style and level of creativity in titles of scientific manuscripts and posters differ across sub-disciplines in biology. Ecologists use clever metaphors to explain science, while people who write about cell and molecular biology usually use standard technical language. Ecologists like to write in the active voice, while cell biologists only write in the passive voice. Molecular biologists also use passive voice but use active voice sparingly for emphasis.
These conventions can be explained by ecologists studying organisms that exhibit action. At the same time, inanimate objects are more common in cell and molecular biology (e.g., “the spider moved” vs. “sodium hydroxide was added; the gel bands were illuminated”).
3. Do You Quote or Paraphrase When Writing in Biology?
Biology writers are not free to quote, as they also need to follow the conventions of academic and professional writing. Quoting should be used sparingly, and most of the text (99.9%) should be paraphrased in the writer’s own words. When quoting, it’s important to use the right format and citation, such as quotation marks and a citation that shows the source of the quote. Direct quotes should be used when the wording is noteworthy, or the author’s original phrasing is essential.
4. Five Major Formatting and Citation Style in writing in biology
No one citation style applies to all areas of writing in biology. It is necessary to follow the specific guidelines the publisher, professor, or client provides. Most institutions provide their respective guidelines in the student handbook for writing in biology. On the other hand, every publisher has rules that authors of biology papers must follow when sending their manuscripts. If none are given, commonly used styles include CSE, APA, AMA, Vancouver, or Harvard.
Council of Science Editors (CSE) is biologists’ most preferred formatting and citation style. Still, it is not the only recommended style.
When citing peer-reviewed primary literature, biologists usually include the author, year, title, journal, volume (issue), and page numbers. Parenthetical notation often refers to sources, figures, or statistical support within the text. Sources are typically cited in a “Name and Year” format, sometimes with a comma depending on the journal or style.
Statistical tests, programs, and instrumental parameters can also be included in parentheses. It is recommended to consult examples from the target journal, school, or client. Footnotes are rarely used in scientific papers, but some publications may use a numbered reference superscript to refer to the list of references.
5. How to avoid having your manuscript rejected?
i. Concentrate on clear and relevant objectives
Good papers should make huge contribution to the specific area of study. This can be demonstrated by explaining to your reviewers and audiences the specific objectives you want to achieve.
ii. Select the right journal and adhere to its rules
Not all journals will fit your research paper. Take your time to go through various journals, read their requirements and focus on formatting your paper to meet the its guidelines.
iii. Discuss your results
Most manuscripts get rejected because of focusing only on presenting findings instead of critically explaining these research findings. You must discuss and interpret your findings to convince readers, editors, and review bench.
iv. Craft a clear and compelling abstract
An abstract is the first section your audience will see. Again, you will present your research abstract to the publisher before sending the whole manuscript for consideration. Ideally, and abstract is your selling section of the paper. Therefore, it should be written concisely and precisely to encourage reviewers and readers.
v. Your manuscript should be original and non-plagiarized
This doesn’t mean that every part of your research should be new. Instead, you should present the main aspect of your biology paper with prove of originality. Where applicable, provide references for other peoples’ concepts or your previous work. Ethical writing in biology disregards recycling and rewrapping of other people’s work or your past projects. Submitting a manuscript with new research increases its chances of being accepted.
vi. Most importantly, proofread your work before submission
After writing your biology paper, you should edit and proofread all parts of the paper. Validate arguments and revising where necessary. You can hire a biology editor and proofreader freelancer from platforms such as premierlance.com. This way, you can reduce the chances of your paper being rejected as early as the manuscript submission stage.
6. How Does a Manuscript Become a Publication?
When a reputable scientific journal accepts a manuscript for publication, it is called a “publication.” This process typically involves a rigorous peer-review process in which experts evaluate the manuscript in the field and provide feedback on the quality and validity of the research. Can I submit a rejected paper to another journal? Before a manuscript is accepted for publication, the author may have to make changes and resubmit it more than once.
Once the manuscript has been accepted, it will be proofread and set up for print or online publication. The final published version of the manuscript will typically include a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and be indexed in databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and Embase, allowing other researchers to discover and cite the work.
Some papers can also be published before they are fully reviewed and accepted by the journal publisher. These are referred to as preprints.
Bonus Tip: Common Mistakes to Avoid in Biology Writing
Writing Latin Names in Biology Papers
In biology writing, pay attention to formatting when using Latin. For ecology, you should always put an organism’s genus and species in italics or underlines and capitalize the genus but not the species. In molecular biology, the rules for formatting genes and the things they make are different and must be used consistently throughout the text. You can find specific formatting information for different species on dedicated websites like genenames.org for humans, flybase.org for flies, and the National Center for Biotechnology Information for bacteria.
Using Chemical Formulae when writing in the biological sciences
Use correct spelling and formatting of characters when writing chemical formulae; for example, MgCl2 should have the subscript.
Tense and Voice for writing in biology
A biology writer should use the active voice and past tense. The active voice shows that the action is done by the subject of the sentence, while the past tense shows that the action happened in the past. It is also important to pay attention to the person (preferably 1st or 3rd, not 2nd) and subject/verb agreement, considering both the number and tense.
Using Units when Writing in Biology
In biology writing, it is required to use metric or SI units of measure. In case of conversion, you can use online tools such as goconvert.com.
Other Common Mistakes to Avoid in Writing in Biology
- In biology writing, “Because” implies you want to give a reason, and “since” means the time. Unlike in other disciplines, where you can use “because” and “since” interchangeably when writing biology papers, you should avoid using “since” to mean “because.”
- Avoid “While” in your biology papers when contrasting items or concepts since “While” means things happening simultaneously. Use phrases like “Whereas” or “Although” instead of “while” when contrasting.
- E.g., vs., i.e.:- e.g., refers to “for example” (Latin exempli gratia and precedes an example. i.e., on the other hand, means “that is” (Latin id est) and precedes a clarification or explanation.
- Species is a word that is both plural and singular.
- Use “Data” in the plural case, e.g., “Data are…”
Last Words on Biology Writing
Although the above guidelines emphasize writing in biology, this article is an all-inclusive guideline for scientific writing. You learn the fundamentals of scientific research writing in life and physical sciences like physics, biology, and chemistry. Writing a biology paper can be hard, but using the tools and ideas in this guide can make an informative and interesting paper.
From learning the basic structure and details of writing different types of biology papers to understanding how to cite and format them, this complete guide has made it easier to understand all the tricks and tips you can use to do well in writing biology papers. Also, you can determine what you expect from your biology writer for every specific type of scientific writing.
Whether you are a freelance writer, a researcher, or a student, these guidelines for scientific writing will help you create content that engages your target audience and correctly adds new, reliable information to the scientific field. So, use these tips and tricks immediately to turn your ideas into good scientific papers.
If you are looking for a professional writer in biology and healthcare or need editing and proofreading of your manuscripts and other articles, don’t hesitate to contact me here.
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