1. Research and use a minimum of five references (journal, book, article…).
2. NEVER use Wikipedia as your reference,
3. DO follow the APA guidelines for your references, (i.e. NO footnotes!).
4. Do include in-text citations throughout your text at the end of any sentence that introduces new information about your topic from a reference. All in-text citations should be listed in APA format as well.
5. Submit a paper that is double-spaced, 10 or 12 pt font, one-inch margins,
6. Do use hyphens in words that need one. (ex: forty-five)
7. Do include a well-defined (obvious, stand-alone paragraph) introduction and conclusion..
8. Do understand that the minimum number of sentences required to make a paragraph is 3.
9. Do NOT include a lot of direct quotes. A quote that is a small phrase (about 5-6 words) long is the maximum length.
10. Do NOT include bulleted lists in the middle of paper.
11. Do NOT include long, run-on sentences.
12. Do not introduce paper with the words, “My assignment was to research X, Y, Z…” We all know what the assignment was. Begin writing about your topic from the very start. In addition, avoid writing in the first or second person all together (i.e. I, me, you, we, etc.). Simply state the facts of the research and avoid personal references or “addressing your reader”.
13. Science is not the subject where flowery, poetic words are appreciated. This is great in English class, but not in Biology. In science, we want the facts and conclusions, and nothing more.
