Ecology
General Guidelines: Science essays are short, formal writings for a specialist audience and, hence, they typically appear in a “serious” tone. (Science is supposed to be serious, and so is science writing.) You may consider these essays as mini-reviews on specific subjects, being secondary literature in nature. If you take a visit to some of the leading scientific journals (such as Nature and Science), you will find many good examples of science essays.
Here are two of such examples: 2 Gao J, Yao T, Masson-Delmotte V, Steen-Larsen HC, Wang W. 2019. Collapsing glaciers threaten Asia’s water supplies. Nature, 356: 19-21. Breeze E., 2018. Sweet and juicy: Identification and origins of the Dry alleles in sorghum.
The Plant Cell, 30: 2234-2235. (This essay is an introduction to a full-length paper by Zhang et al. published in the same issue of the journal, pp. 2286-2307). Steps of writing a science essay: o Choose a topic that you are familiar with or have a strong interest, and give a suitable title. o Produce an outline and decide on the coverage. o Research your subject through collecting and reading literature. o Structure your essay through careful organization. o Use relevant results/evidence, and be critical on the information available.
o Figure out how to present your work, and produce a good draft. o Perform multiple revisions. These steps do not always work in a linear order, but you will need to go back and forth to substantiate any points as necessary. • Topic and subject: suitable and substantial. (10 points) •
Information from reliable sources (mainly peer-reviewed primary and secondary literature) and cited properly. A professionally created list of references is included. (20 points) • Satisfactory integration of information, in-depth understanding of subject, coherence maintained. (20 points) • Presentation logical and smooth. (10 points) • A complete story told. (10 points) • Free from errors in grammar and spelling. (10 points) • Length suitable. (10 points)
