Biology Essay Writing Tips
It is common to be assigned to write biology essays, and especially biology classes that are prerequisite for nursing programs. An AP biology essay will be a requirement in an AP (Advanced Placement) biology class. A biology essay is a big undertaking, and should be started as soon as the assignment has been made. How should you structure your writing?
There are steps you can follow when starting to write. These steps will help you know what to do next, in a logical order.
- Select the right topic. Your topic should:
- Be interesting to you.
- Be unique; don’t choose something that has been written about a million times before.
- Be very specific, but common enough that there will be published works available for research purposes.
- Spawn a good research question that you can answer using supporting data, evidence and published findings.
- Formulate your research question. Your question should hold your reader captive and be something you are familiar enough with that you can write intelligently about it.
- Make your outline. Especially beginners find this step useful, but even seasoned writers know that making and using an outline is a real useful writing tool.
- Write the essay. Fill in the body of the essay with your writing based on your research.
- Proofread and revise. One of the most important steps. Even a really good essay will become a fail if it is full of errors. It just makes for annoying reading. Take time to make your essay error-free.
It is also very useful to consult biology essay examples to see how other winning essays were written.
Fishing for a great topic for your essay
Sometimes it may seem like you are fishing for great biology essay topics in the sea of possibilities. What topic makes a great marine biology essay? What if you find more than one you like? Where do you find ideas for topics in the first place?
Well, the best place to first start looking for an interesting topic is to think back to all the biology classes you have taken. What was a topic that really stood out to you? If this is your first biology class, browse through your books and see what’s coming up. Perhaps your instructor can give you some topic ideas.
You can also sit and think for ideas. Just think about why you are interested in biology. Is there something you’d like to know more about? Something you’d like to develop into a good research question?
Here are some general ideas to get you started thinking:
- Stem cell research;
- Advances in cancer treatment;
- Ethics and biology of animal research;
- Current signs of evolution and the implications.
Top tips for crafting a winning essay
Start early. Always give yourself as much time as possible to research and write; it greatly reduces the stress level that occurs when you are trying to put a great essay together in a very short amount of time.
Let someone else help you with the proofreading and editing. You can make the revisions yourself, but you really do need another pair of eyes looking at your essay. Get feedback that you can use to make meaningful revisions.