Term papers are generally intended to describe an event, a concept, or argue a point. It is a written original work discussing a topic in detail, usually several typed pages in length, and is often due at the end of a semester. There is much overlap between the terms: research paper and term paper.

1. Writing Your Term
Paper
Principles of Ecology – Summer 2020

2. Objectives
● Learn how to access electronic databases of the primary literature
● Read original research, understand the results, and evaluate the
conclusions
● Synthesize information from various studies
● Understand how scientific writing differs from English composition
● Gain practice writing a scientific paper
● Gain in-depth knowledge about a topic that interests you

3. Part 1:
The Basics of Scientific
Writing

4. Reference the Book here
Everything in this section is taken directly from chapters three and four of this
book.

5. Use precise words
Scientific writing should always be precise because science is quantitative and
makes it clear what was done
Example: “Plants were kept in the cold overnight”
Revised: “Plants were kept at 0℃ overnight”

6. Use simple words
Don’t add complex words or phrases when a simple word will work - this will
also help in the 5pg paper where space is limiting
Example: “For the purpose of examining cell migration, we dissected mouse
brains”
Revised: “To examine cell migration, we dissected mouse brains”

7. Omit unnecessary words and phrases
Many sentences appear complex because they contain unnecessary words
and phrases that can make the writing confusing or redundant. You can
usually omit these entirely.
Example: “The sample size was not quite sufficiently large enough.”
Revised: “The sample size was inadequate (n = 2).”
Example: “In a previous study it was demonstrated that Iba 2 was detected in
monocytic cells.”
Revised: “Iba 1 was detected in monocytic cells (Lopez et al., 1995).

8. Examples of phrases to omit or avoid (also
avoid slang or casual words)
In the following examples, the words in
parenthesis can be omitted.
(already) existing at (the)
present (time)
(final) outcome estimated
(roughly) at
Each (individual) never (before)
Period (of time) (true) facts
Phrases to avoid Replacement
A considerable number of many
In many cases often
Regardless of the fact that Even though
In the absence of without
An adequate amount enough

9. Use correct nomenclature and terminology
Use the correct vocabulary, terms, and nomenclature to avoid being
misunderstood.
Use the scientific name throughout the paper, but pair it with the common
name in the beginning to introduce the animal.
Scientific names are always in italics. The genus is capitalized and the species
epithet is lowercase.
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta) predominantly nests in South
Florida. In Boca Raton, C. caretta….

10. Commonly misused terms
Affect- verb, meaning “to act on” or “to influence”
Effect- noun, meaning “a result” or “resultant condition” / verb, meaning “to
cause” or “to bring about”
Which - use with commas for non-defining (nonessential) sentences
That- use without commas for essential sentences. The phrase with “that”
cannot be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence

11. Choose the correct term
1. The increase in incubation temperature (affected/effected) hatching
success.
a. Affected
2. We examined the (affect/effect) of temperature on sea turtle nests.
a. Effect
3. The little dogs, (which/ that) are cute, recovered.
a. Which
4. Dogs (which/ that) were treated with the antidote recovered.
a. That

12. Establish importance
In general, the end of a sentence is more emphasized than the beginning of
the sentence because readers tend to remember the end more often.
Place old, familiar, and short information at the beginning of a sentence.
Place new, complex, or long information at the end of a sentence.
Each sentence should build upon the previous sentence. One should pick up
where the other left off.

13. Get to the subject of the main sentence
quickly
Example: Because high-resolution EM methods can show fine details of
oligomeric proteins or complexes such as ribosomes, these methods may
identify nucleic acid strand location.
Revision: High-resolution EM methods may identify where nucleic acid
strands are located because they show fine details of oligomeric proteins or
complexes such as ribosomes.

14. Use active verbs
Example: “An increase in temperature to 30℃ occurred”
Revision: “Temperature increased 30℃”

15. Avoid noun clusters
When nouns occur right after each other, it is difficult to determine how they
relate to each other and what the real meaning of the cluster is.
Example: “Cultured rats trachea epithelial cells...”
Revision: “Cultures of epithelial cells from the tracheas of rats...”

16. Use clear pronouns and prepositions
If you use a pronoun, be sure that it is very clear what noun it is replacing.
Example: “Gram+ bacteria do not respond to these drugs. Thus, they were of
no interest to us.”
Revision: “Gram+ bacteria do not respond to these drugs. Thus, these drugs
were of no interest to us.”
Make sure your prepositions are performing the function you intended.
“When we compare our results with those of Stacey et al., …”

17. Use correct parallel form
To write ideas in parallel form, use the same grammatical structure in both
parts of the sentence.
Example: “My dog likes to play fetch and chasing birds.”
Revision: “My dog likes to play fetch and to chase birds.”
OR “My dog likes playing fetch and chasing birds.”

18. Avoid errors in spelling, grammar, and
punctuation
Use Spell Check or Grammarly to catch common mistakes.
Grammarly can be downloaded and used on your web browser or computer
programs to catch any mistakes while you are typing. The basic plan is free.
Proofreading and having peers proofread is also very helpful for catching
mistakes.

19. Paragraph Structure
Sentences need to be properly organized within the paragraph so that the
reader isn’t lost along the way.
A well-written paragraph generally
● Gives an overview in the first sentence and then goes into more detail.
● This topic sentence states the main idea of the paragraph and points
going to make.

20. Paragraph Structure Example (include quantitative info)
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted from a variety of man-made
and natural sources. Man-made sources include motor vehicles, chemical
plants, refineries, factories, consumer and commercial products, and other
industrial sources. Natural sources responsible for biogenic VOC emissions
include oak, citrus, eucalyptus, pine, spruce, maple, hickory, fir, and
cottonwood. The overall relative contributions of man-made versus natural
sources of VOCs have not been clearly established, but the relative
contributions of these source groups vary depending on geography.

21. Make your sentences cohesive
The end of one sentence should flow naturally into the beginning of the next.
Example: “Important pathogens can be found in the genus Yersinia. Yersinia
contains several species. One species, Y. pestis, is the cause of the bubonic
plague.”

22. Use key terms to create continuity
Key terms are words or short phrases used to identify important ideas in a
sentence, a paragraph, or the paper as a whole. Repeating and linking key
terms ensures that the topic of the work cannot be missed, that relationships
between topics are clear, and creates flow in a paragraph.
Example: “Infectious diseases related to travel may be caused by gram-
positive organisms. One such organism, Staphylococcus aureus, can cause
cellulitis, purulent arthritis, and suppurative lymphadenitis.”

23. Use transitions to indicate logical relationships
between sentences and even paragraphs
Usage Transition word Transition phrase Transition sentence
addition also, furthermore, in
addition
In addition to X, we.. Further experiments
showed that...
Comparison likewise, similarly As seen in... When A is compared
with B...
Contrast But, however, X, on the other hand Although X differed..
Example For example, To illustrate X... An example of this is
Result Consequently, hence As a result of... Evidence for X was...
Summary In brief, in conclusion In summary… To summarize..

24. Condensing
● A well written paragraph should be concise
● Only include sentences or phrases that contribute to the overall meaning
● Avoid unnecessary repetition
● Use simple/straightforward phrases
Example: Jones et al., showed that intracellular calcium is released when
adipocytes are stimulated with insulin.
Revision: Intracellular calcium is released when adipocytes are stimulated with
insulin (Jones et al., 1996).

25. Condensing (2 strategies)
(1) Omit “it...that” phrases:
● “It is interesting to note that
dogs evolved from wolves.”
● “In light of the fact that dogs
evolved from wolves.”
(2) Change negative expressions to positive
Negative Positive
Do not overlook Note
Not different Similar
Not many Few
Not the same Different

26. Part 2:
Structuring Your Essay

27. Title Page
The title page should have the
title of your paper, your name,
and your school.
When creating page headers, be
sure to check “different on title
page” to ensure that your title
page will not have your running
header or page number.

28. Introduction-1st Paragraph (50% first pg)
● Starts with a sentence that introduces and emphasizes the topic -
important to have a hook-capture interest of the reader
● In the following sentences, provide details that justify why your topic is
important, try to make this quantitative
● Your topic sentence should be at a college level
○ Example: “I am writing this paper about why it is important to stop
global warming”
○ Revision: “Stopping the advance of global warming is essential
because…”

29. Introduction
● The thesis sentence should go at the end of your introductory paragraph
● The thesis sentence should introduce your main subpoints in the order
that you will discuss them in the paper
● The paper should be arranged by subtopic, not by the papers that you
have read.
● Each subtopic should relate back to the main topic.

30. Body Paragraphs
(~6-8 paragraphs-in 5pg paper)
● Each body paragraph should start with a topic sentence that introduces
your subtopic.
● Each paragraph should contain one complete idea
● Body paragraphs should use quantitative data from your sources to
quantitatively and/or substantively support your point(s)
● Body paragraphs should end with a transition sentence into the next
body paragraph.

31. Conclusion (<or= ~50% of last pg)
● The conclusion should synthesize all of your subtopics and relate them
back to the main topic
● It should add relevant new information or synthesis, rather than restate
what was already mentioned in prior paragraphs
● It can also focus on solutions or next steps based on the prior information

32. Part 3:
Learning by Example

33. Checklist
● Five full pages, (Double spaced, Times New Roman size 12 font)
● Cover page with title. Reference page at the end. (not included in 5 pgs)
● Well-developed paragraphs with topic sentences and transitional
sentences. No headings!
● Direct, straightforward writing style (scientific writing)
● Introduction includes a justification of the title and all of the subtopics
that will be discussed
● Body paragraphs include scientific data as support for your ideas
● Each paragraph relates back to the main topic and flows nicely from the
intro paragraph to body, between paragraphs and between sentences
● The conclusion should synthesize and/or look forward.
● The paper should not have spelling or grammatical errors

34. Resources
1. FAU Writing Center: https://www.fau.edu/coronavirus/services/
2. Dr. Koch’s Discussion Sessions on the Term Papers T/Th (11:15 am- 12:55
pm) on Webex