Term Report

The purpose of the term paper is to allow you to learn as much as you can about an appropriate topic that interests you. This is also to encourage the ability to research a topic and think critically about it. Information for your paper will be obtained from hardcopy (library) sources and from the internet. This handout should give you enough
information to write a professional-quality paper.
Basic Requirements
The text of your paper will be 5-10 pages long (written text), double- spaced with a 10-12 size font that is easy to read (This is a Times New Roman, size 12 – Please don’t use hard to read fonts!!)
A quality paper earning maximum points must have the following
characteristics:
1. Your paper will have a title page with your name, the title of the paper, the semester and year, and the class title or number (e.g. General Biology or Biol-107). Failure to provide a title page will cost 10% of the total points.
2. The paper will have one inch margins (more or less) all the way around, and the pages will be numbered from the first text page.
3. You will use a minimum of three scientific sources. One must be from an internet site and one must come from a hard copy source (read online is ok). All three sources must be reputable and scientific. (National Geographic is good – National Enquirer isn’t!). Failure to use appropriate sources will cost 10% of the total points.
4. You will have in-text citations (APA style) of all resources used for your paper, and the paper will be written in your own words (see paragraph on plagiarism). Use this handout for APA style citing and referencing.
5. All cited material will be listed in the reference section using APA style as per my handout.
6. You will staple a rough draft to the back of your term paper. The rough draft must show signs of editing. The rough draft may be hand-written or typed but must be hand corrected.
7. No folders will be used – just a staple. Large papers may need a couple of staples and a large clip.
8. A quality paper will be professional in nature and scientifically objective. If you are critically analyzing a controversial biological topic, all personal opinions must be reserved for the very end of the paper.
Topics General Biology (Biol-107): Any biological phenomenon, any disease (human or otherwise), any organism (or group of organisms), or other area of biology is appropriate.
You may write a biography of a biologist (famous or otherwise), or critically analyze a controversial topic in biology (be objective!).
Paul Sykes, Ph.D.
2 Marine Biology (Biol-115): Any biological phenomenon occurring in the ocean, any oceanographic phenomenon affecting marine organisms, any marine organism (or group of marine organisms), or other area of marine biology is appropriate. You may write a biography of a marine biologist (famous or otherwise), or critically analyze a
controversial topic in marine biology (be objective!).
In-Text Citations and References
Even though you will write this paper in your own words, you must give credit to the author(s) from whom you obtained the information. The following examples demonstrate the APA style for in-text citations. Note that the author’s last name and year are given