Biology: Writing and Citing - Biology

Most academic writing projects require you to gather, evaluate, and use the work of others.

When you draw upon the work of others, you must give proper credit. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism which is a serious breach of academic integrity. If you learn a few basic rules, you can quickly format your researched papers in accordance with the style required for your course.

Style guides are used to improve the quality and consistency of communications. They set standards for both writing and design, which leads to a unified presentation. Within academia, each discipline has its own documentation style. Biology courses usually require students to use either the Council of Science Editors (CSE) style or American Psychological Association (APA) style. Below are links to print books and web sources on APA and CSE styles.

APA Style 

For  help with APA style formatting and citations, see the following sites and resources.

• APA Style Quick Guide

• APA Style, Excelsior Online Writing Lab

• APA General Format - OWL at Purdue

• Sample Paper - OWL at Purdue
• Reference List Basic Rules - OWL at Purdue
• In-Text Citations - The Basics - OWL at Purdue
• APA Formatting and Citation, Scribbr
• Publication manual of the American Psychological Association 6th ed. - The APA Publication Manual, available in print in the BC3 Library, describes how to cite sources in APA style and how to format a paper in APA style, which includes formatting title pages, headings, tables, figures, bibliographies, and more.

CSE Style

Scientific style and format: the CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers - The CSE style guide is available in the print BC3 Library collection. The Council of Science Editors (CSE) is the leading professional association in science publishing. This guide seeks to encompass all areas of the sciences, and it includes references for citing a wide range of sources.

• Quick CSE Style Guide

  This online, freely available resource maintained by the University of Wisoncsin-Madison Writing Center provides a quick guide to CSE style.

Two web applications for organizing and managing sources are Zotero and Mendeley.

Zotero website

• Guide to Zotero Installation and Use, provided by the University of Oklahoma Libraries

Mendeley Reference Management System

• Mendeley Help Guides

FREE tutoring services are available to all BC3 students for most, but not all classes.

Tutoring Appointment Types

• Regular weekly appointments (set schedule)
• As needed (more flexibility, no set schedule)

Tutoring Options:

• In-person
• Online

How to Get Started

• Complete the online tutoring application or ask about tutoring services at the Academic Center for Enrichment (Main Campus) or the front desk at off-campus sites.