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Neurobiology, how to write your paper
What is necessary in your Paper
back to Paper Topics
I. You must write about 2 original scientific works
A. must be from scientific jounals
1. like:
Behavioural Brain Research
Brain, Behavior and Evolution
Brain Research
Hormones and Behavior
Journal of Neuroendocrinology
Journal of Neuroscience
Neuroendocrinology
Neuroscience
B. not from books, encyclopedias, the internet
C. You must choose papers different from those anyone else chooses
1. no 2 students may have the same paper
II. Do not write more than 2 pages
A. part of the lesson is how to condense complex issues into
the salient ideas from each work
III. 1st paragraph of the paper: Background and significance
A. Give the necessary background to understand the experiments
in the papers
B. just one paragraph for both papers
1. combine background information
a. make your first connection between the 2 papers
C. Draw this information from the Introduction of the papers you have chosen
IV. 2nd paragraph of the paper: Why was each work undertaken?
A. Write a sentence or two for each paper describing why the
experiments were done
B. A sentence at the end of the paragraphs should integrate
the value of the 2 papers together
V. 3rd - ? paragraphs: Describe the Take Home Messages from each paper
A. do not only repeat the results
B. use Results and Discussion to describe and interpret the value
of the outcome of the experiments
VI. last paragraph: Integration
A. in this paragraph, link the significant results of the 2 papers
together
B. What do they mean when taken together?
C. What are the overall conclusions?
Some Hints for Writing:
Never begin a sentence with an abbreviation or an acronym
Always define an abbreviation or acronym the first time you use it
e.g. Serotonin (5-HT) is an indoleamine.
Be careful not to use nouns as adjectives
Stay away from scientific jargon, unless it is absolutely necessary
Clear and simple is almost always better than complex
usually keep your sentences short and to the point
RULES FOR BETTER WRITING (Humor)
each of these is funny because it breaks the grammatical rule it is
espousing. If it isn't funny to you, check your paper for the mistake it suggests.
1. Verbs HAS to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.
4. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
5. Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat)
6. Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.
7. Be more or less specific.
8. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually)unnecessary.
9. Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
10. No sentence fragments.
11. Contractions aren't necessary and shouldn't be used.
12. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
13. Do not be redundant; do not use more words than necessary; it's
highly superfluous.
14. One should NEVER generalize.
15. Comparisons are as bad as clichés.
16. Don't use no double negatives.
17. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be ignored.
21. Eliminate commas, that are, not necessary. Parenthetical words
however should be enclosed in commas.
22. Never use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.
23. Kill all exclamation points!!!
24. Use words correctly, irregardless of how others use them.
25. Understatement is always the absolute best way to put forth earth
shaking ideas.
26. Use the apostrophe in it's proper place and omit it when its not needed.
27. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "I hate
quotations. Tell me what you know."
28. If you've heard it once, you've heard it a thousand times: Resist
hyperbole; not one writer in a million can use it correctly.
29. Puns are for children, not groan readers.
30. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
31. Even IF a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
32. Who needs rhetorical questions?
33. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
1st draft due: Mar 20 - 24
