- Review Paper
Your term papers will be written in the form of mini-review articles. The following notes provide suggestions for how to organize your paper.
The Introduction: Begin with one or two introductory paragraphs that describe the system and the problems that it presents. If appropriate, explain the significance of this system to general issues in the study of symbioses (e.g., stability of mutualisms, specificity of parasitisms, etc.). Tell the reader what kinds of organisms are involved, without relying solely on their scientific names (e.g., do not assume that everyone knows that the Pterulaceae is a group of coral fungi), where they live, and what they do. If the organisms are economically or culturally important you may wish to briefly mention that also. After reading the introduction, the reader should understand the major questions that the paper will address, and be convinced that the system is interesting and worthy of study.
The main body of the text: Briefly recap the major research initiatives in the area, reviewing their successes and failures. You may organize this section chronologically (i.e., citing the oldest studies first), or according to the methods that were used. Do not describe experimental procedures or data in detail. Instead, emphasize general questions and major conclusions of prior studies. If possible, indicate connections between the studies, and point out conflicting results.
Conclusions: In the concluding section of the paper you should present a synthesis with a novel perspective regarding the state of the field. If appropriate, you may suggest new experimental approaches that could resolve remaining questions. Since this is a review, you should feel free to include speculative comments that could suggest hypotheses to be addressed later, but identify speculations as such. Return to that general topics raised in the introduction, addressing whether the work to date has succeeded in answering any of those general questions.
Abstract: Write this last. This should be about 150 words and should capture the major issues of the paper with minimal detail.
Title and headings: Choose your title carefully. It should be engaging and descriptive without being too long. Headings and subheadings are not required, but they can be very helpful to readers, and I recommend that you use them. Be creative in your use of headings and subheadings—for example, some could take the form of questions. Here is a possible title and set of headings and subheadings for an essay on evolution of mycorrhizal symbioses that also considers ecological and physiological observations:
EXAMPLE
Title: Host-Switching in Mycorrhizal Fungi: A Challenge to the Stability of Mutualisms? Abstract Introduction—Patterns of Diversity in Mycorrhizal Symbioses Prior Studies on Host-Fungus Associations in Mycorrhizae
Host Specificity in Mycorrhizal Basidiomycetes—Field Observations Plant-Specific Responses to Mycorrhizal Symbionts Molecular Phylogenetic Studies—How Common is Host Switching? Conclusions and Future Directions
This is a cooked-up example, but it shows that you can imply the logical structure and flow of your paper from the title and headings alone. A reader who skims the title and headings before reading your text would already have a framework in mind for organizing the information that you will present.
References: At least five primary research articles must be cited. Additional articles including reviews may be cited, up to a maximum of fifteen citations. A high quality bibliography is expected, but you should not attempt to cite every article on your chosen topic. Your reference list should contain mostly peer- reviewed primary research papers, but it should also include the most important review articles, books, and chapters in edited volumes. Do not cite internet sources unless they are peer-reviewed and archived.
Do not use footnotes. Direct quotations are not permitted. Cite references in the text in the form (Author, date) or Author (date). E.g., (Smith, 2010) or Smith (2010).
Tables and Figures: Use only if essential. Cite sources of any copyrighted materials. Length: The main text will be 2000 words, excluding the title, references, tables and figure captions.
Format:. Manuscript sections must be arranged in this order: Title, Author, Text, References, Table, Figure Captions, Figures.
