Complete Guide on How to Write a Compelling Biology Term Paper

Writing guide
Posted on January 4, 2019

A biology term paper is a type of research paper that is traditionally completed by students and based on the material they studied during the term. As a matter of fact, a mark for this particular paper defines the grade for the whole semester and, for that reason, this assignment is considered to be the most important among the others. Typically, the Biology term paper describes some events, significant concepts, or presents and evaluates some arguments related to natural sciences that study various living organisms, the similarities and differences in their physical structures, numerous chemical, biological, and physiological processes, stages of their development, and the history of evolution in general. The chosen topic should be discussed by the author of the paper in general, have three or more pages in length, and be submitted by students at the end of every semester. It happens that the term paper is misinterpreted as a research paper. Nonetheless, there is a significant difference between these two types of academic writing. Thus, the term paper discusses the information related to the course and provides its evaluation by the student while a research paper includes well-developed academic research and may include new arguments that have not been studied throughout the term.

Because the grade for the Biology term paper influences a semester mark considerably, it is highly advisable for students to follow the instructions strictly. In addition, it is necessary for students to do their best to make a precise examination of the chosen topic and add some personal evaluation of it showing the deep knowledge of the discussed issue to the professor. Thus, biology term paper writing may discuss the process of cloning, analyze its development through world history, evaluate its types, and characterize future tendencies of creating genetically identical creatures. If you have studied hormones, it is possible for you to include the evaluation of their different kinds in your academic writing, discuss their main functions, and define their role in the development and functioning of the whole living organism. Besides, there is a great number of other interesting topics to be chosen like the immune system of humans and its sophisticated structure or plant pathology that discovers diseases in trees and plants.

Furthermore, it is important for you to provide personal thoughts on the issue and add some considerations on it, both summarizing the information and giving a new, fresh look at the topic in general. With the help of the Biology term paper, the professors traditionally evaluate your proficiency in this science and expect you to perform your best. Besides, it is a great opportunity to add some additional scores to your final grade and prepare a significant ground for the academic activity in the future as the term paper may be developed into a thesis or a dissertation and support you for a degree or even a professional qualification. In order to develop a well-constructed Biology term paper, it is essential to follow some steps that will help you to choose a topic, create a thesis statement, and proofread the text.

The Aspects of Picking the Mind-Blowing Topics

biological levels

The first step to complete the assignment is to choose the topic. If there is a list of topics provided by your professor, pick up the most captivating of them. Thus, you should be interested in discussing the topic; otherwise, it would be difficult to write this assignment and express valuable thoughts and considerations to the point. In the majority of cases, students should choose the topic by themselves, and it is a chance to develop the paper on the unusual and captivating issue that motivates you to read a significant amount of related material and think of new approaches to the discussed issue. Thus, choosing a topic is considered to be the most important step for your academic writing as it sets the tone for the whole Biology term paper and defines its academic value.

You should take into account that not every topic is easy to evaluate. Some of them are too complicated or include too much information to examine. Besides, it happens that the chosen topic is not covered in books and articles. As a result, it would be difficult for you to complete the assignment on such a topic as there would be no particular information for you to evaluate.

Here are easy and useful tips you can use to choose the most appropriate biology term paper topic:

  • Take a sheet of paper and put down as many keywords as you can and brainstorm them. This way, you will be able to think of a topic of the paper, its title, and the thesis statement, the three most important parts of the academic work. The keywords may be related to various kinds of diseases, life cycles of different creatures, the effect of global warming and different natural environment on this life cycle, types of genes, allergies, and many other topics you have covered during your term at the educational establishment.
  • Look through the notes you have made during the term. It happens that you will be interested in the topic you have covered at the beginning of the semester or the issue you have forgotten about. Besides, lecture notes usually include a significant amount of relevant information and may help you to develop the topic or provide some supportive facts and pieces of evidence. Thus, you will have a guideline to follow and several arguments to be evaluated thoroughly.
  • Find related material and look through it. The general background information that is usually presented in dictionaries, books, newspapers, and specialized journals may help you to think of a good topic for your Biology term paper and to consider related issues. This approach also helps to find some valuable sources and create a well-developed work.
  • Develop the topic for your paper from the thesis statement. Your thesis should be a lengthy and comprehensive sentence that provides the answer to the main questions. Besides, it is necessary for the thesis statement to introduce to the audience the purpose of the paper and give the general idea about the discussed material.

Besides, you can choose one of the topics mentioned below:

  • The Advantages and Disadvantages of Cloning and Its Development in the Nearest Future;
  • Stem Cells as the Main Possible Cure for Cancer;
  • The Immune System and Its Main Functions;
  • Causes of the Downs Syndrome and Its Impact on the Development of the Person;
  • Types of Genetic Disorders, Their Major Characteristics, and Evaluation;
  • Causes, Effects, and Treatments of Anemia;
  • Genetic Modification of the Products and Their Impact on the Living Organisms;
  • Genetic Engineering as the Key to the Treatment of Deadly Diseases in the Future;
  • The Algorithm of Work for Disease-Causing Organisms and the Major Mechanisms of Their Elimination.

Before You Start Writing the Paper: Pre-Writing Tips

biosphere

Read the instructions provided by the professor thoroughly as, here, the main demands for your assignment regarding the format of the paper, the number of sources and pages are indicated. Thus, the next step after choosing a topic is to conduct thorough research. First of all, look through the lecture notes, recommended books and articles because they may include the most valuable information. While searching for the material, you should also visit the student library and search for reliable sources such as books, peer-reviewed articles, journals, magazines, and official reports. Besides, you can surf the Internet to find relevant facts and pieces of evidence to support your topic as, nowadays, there is a significant number of online resources that can help you to create the basis for your term paper and develop it properly.

Next, look through the material with a sheet of paper and put down the titles of the books and articles, their authors, and dates of publishing because you will need this information while creating the reference list. To save interesting Internet resources, you can bookmark them and store the information on your computer. Do not forget to use sources that have been published recently as they contain up-to-date information on the topic, when the resources published many years ago can provide irrelevant data that may spoil your paper. Another pre-writing tip is to create an outline. Define the main paragraphs of the paper and put down the man issues you are about to discuss. As a result, this approach will save a significant amount of your time and will prevent you from making structural errors.

Finally, you should take into consideration that your term paper is required to have a particular formatting style. If you are not acquainted with APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other formatting styles, check their samples on the Internet and bookmark the one you need.

The Basic Structure of the Biology Term Paper

Each term paper, as well as any other academic paper, has a particular structure:

  • A cover page. Traditionally, a cover page includes the title, the name of the student, the professor’s name, the course number, the name of the educational institution, and the date of submission;
  • An abstract page. Sometimes, the instructions require the paper to have an abstract page. This part of the term paper presents a short description of the discussed topic to the audience. Besides, this part usually explains the scientific value of the chosen topic and mentions its main issues;
  • Introduction. This section of the term paper introduces the topic to the audience and grasps the attention with the thesis statement. Traditionally, the introduction is only one paragraph long and provides a comprehensive evaluation of the topic;
  • Body paragraphs. You should think of three or more well-developed body paragraphs with citations, examples, and your thoughts on the point. In these parts, your main purpose is to convince the audience and prove your arguments.
  • Conclusion. As well as the introduction, the conclusion usually consists of one comprehensive paragraph that includes the restatement of the thesis, the summary of the provided arguments, and some possible solutions.
  • Reference list. Here, you should mention all the used sources, format them correspondingly, and arrange in the alphabetic order.
  • Additional information (if necessary). After the reference list, it is possible to include tables, graphs, and relevant pictures.

Tips from Our Experts on How to Proofread Your Biology Term Paper Wisely

The final block of biology term paper writing tips is related to proofreading. Detecting and correcting errors is considered to be one of the most important steps as it defines the quality of the final paper. These are the tips you should follow in order to proofread your term paper properly:

  • Read the whole paper aloud. This approach allows detecting minor and major grammar mistakes and various spelling errors. Besides, it helps to recognize repetitious words and phrases, unnecessary articles and strange word combinations. To save time, you can use one of the free online checkers that highlight errors and provide possible substitutions to the repetitious words;
  • Check the structure of your term paper. Thus, it should include all the necessary parts: the title page, the abstract page, the introduction part, the body paragraphs, the conclusion, the reference page, and additional materials (if required);
  • Check all the facts and evidence included in the paper which are taken from the reliable sources;
  • Check the format of the paper. The paper should be arranged in correspondence to the format mentioned in the professor’s instructions. Find the sample on the Internet and set the same margins, line spacing, font, and font size for your term paper. Do not forget about the reference list and in-text citations as they should correspond to the chosen format as well;
  • Check the paper for plagiarism. Nowadays, it is possible to do it with a great variety of online plagiarism checkers available for free.

Follow these easy and useful biology term paper writing prompts, and you are expected to get a high grade for your term paper and improve your final semester grade significantly. If you need extra biology assignment help from experts, please contact our service immediately.

References

  • A Biology Term Paper: Coming Up With Excellent Topics. (2018). Retrieved from
    http://openscrolls.org/a-biology-term-paper-coming-up-with-excellent-topics.html
  • Haq, M. (2017). Biological Research Paper Topics. Retrieved from
    https://sciencing.com/biological-research-paper-topics-4149.html
  • How to Select a Research Topic. (2018). Retrieved from
    https://www.umflint.edu/library/how-select-research-topic
  • How to Write Guide: Sections of the Paper. (2011). Retrieved from
    http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWsections.html
  • Writing Scientific Papers. (2018). Retrieved from
    https://www.colby.edu/biology/BI17x/writing_papers.html
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