Objective

A good term paper reviews primary scientific results, compares them, and makes a case for what we know and what we do not know.   Writing a good term paper thus requires the basic skills of reviewing evidence and making a case.

Making a case

Making a case (in any field or profession) involves (1) identifying the issues, (2) evaluating the evidence pro and con, and (3) reaching a conclusion (even a conclusion that no decison can be made at this time).

Furthermore, these steps must be presented in a way that persuades an audience.   The presentation must be focused, logical, and complete, but otherwise as simple as possible.

Honor code

A term paper should present the results of your reading in your own words.

Make a cover page, which includes your title, your name, and a signed statement of the Honor Code.

Four steps

The steps in writing a term paper are (1) choosing a focused topic, (2) finding relevant articles, (3) reading and thinking, and (4) writing.

Choosing a focused topic

This step is often the hardest.   First, consult current issues of scientific journals in the library (or online).   Skim articles to find several that interest you.   Then check some of the articles in these articles until you have identified a topic that both interests you and has enough to read.

Next, consult with a teacher (professor or teaching assistant) before you make a final decision about your paper.

A written proposal for a term paper (a paragraph stating the topic and 5-6 relevant references) must be approved by the professor at least one month before the term paper is due.

Finding relevant articles

About 10-12 articles are a reasonable goal for discussion in a 10-12 page term paper (no firm rules here because some papers are much more complex than others).   These articles might include one or two review articles (a published article that reviews primary papers) or chapters in books that serve as reveiw articles.

Restrict your choices to articles (including reviews and chapters) written by scientists.

You may, of couse, read other sources.   Nevertheless, the subject of your paper should be articles and books written by scientists.   A "scientist" in this context is anyone publishing original observations in order to understand how the world works (or usually how some part of the world works) ... and of course for us biologists the world includes its living organisms.

Reading and thinking

Remember that making a case requires hard thinking.   You must anticipate your audience's questions.   You must identify the strengths and weaknesses of the evidence.   You must come to a conclusion based on all the evidence and your evaluations of it.

Writing

Writing is the last step.   Ten or so pages is a reasonable goal.   There are no hard rules here.   Focus, logic, and clarity are more important than length.

The steps of writing are (1) outline, (2) draft, (3) revise, and (4) revise again.

Some rules for format

(1) Include a cover page as described above.

(2) Use simple sentences without complicated clauses.   When you revise, make sure that dependent clauses at the beginnings and ends of sentences make sense.   As a rule, avoid passive sentences (occasional use is often appropriate).

(3) Use your own words.   Do not use direct quotations.   Scientific papers rarely use direct quotations.   Except in special circumstances, scientists are not interested in other scientists' exact wordings.

(4) Include a citation for every statement (or group of statements) that is not common knowledge or your own original contribution.   Citations should follow the usual format for biological articles.   Pick any one of the articles you read and follow its format.

(5) At the end of your paper include a list of the articles you have actually read.

(6) Make a copy for yourself (or save a backup copy of your computer file) before submitting the paper.

Last-minute check-list

Your paper should have (for details see above) ...
(1) prior approval of a written proposal,
(2) a title page,
(3) simple writing,
(4) logical organization,
(5) two revisions,
(6) no direct quotations (except in special cases),
(7) correctly formatted citations, and
(8) sources and copies of the articles you have read.

The bottom line

The purpose of writing a paper and of following these suggestions is to give everyone a chance to read and to think about an exciting topic in Biology ... and to explain it to rest of us!

In your life you will meet many people -- employers, employees, friends, family -- who will expect a graduate of UNC to meet this challenge!