Library Guides: Biological Sciences: Writing & Citing

Guides for Scientific Writing

Writing scientific reports and papers differs from writing papers for general English classes. The books and resources below might be useful when writing papers in the Biological and Life Sciences. One style guide for Biological Sciences is:

Style Manual Committee, Council of Science Editors. Scientific style and format: the CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers Reston, VA: The Council; 2006. Malpass Library Reference, 2nd Floor REF T11 .S386 2006

The following guides on scientific writing are available online:

Using EndNote Basic
A guide to using Endnote Basic, a web-based resource available through the Libraries Web of Science account. It can be used to access, update, organize and maintain references to publications; import references from library catalogs, indexes and databases and the Internet; create and format references for bibliographies; and share references with colleagues.
How to Write Technical Reports: Understandable Structure, Good Design, Convincing Presentation
Hering, Lutz and Hering, Heike. How to write technical reports: understandable structure, good design, convincing presentation. Heidelberg: Springer; 2010.
Introduction to Scientific Publishing: Backgrounds, Concepts, Strategies
Öchsner, Andreas. Introduction to scientific publishing: backgrounds, concepts, strategies. Berlin; New York: Springer; 2013.
Mastering Scientific and Medical Writing: A Self-Help Guide
Rogers, Silvia M. Mastering scientific and medical writing: a self-help guide. Berlin: Springer; 2007.

Web Sites on Citation Styles

Council of Science Editors Writing Style Guide
The Writing Center at Colorado State University has developed a web site on writing and citing materials based on the book Scientific Style and Format.
Council of Science Editors Documentation Style
A guide to citation style from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Writing Center.