II. Introduction

Define an interesting question(s)
Describe its dimensions- its significance for the area, its relationship to broader questions in in pure or applied biology such as medicine or agriculture, implications for understanding other fields of biology, etc
Outline how you intend to address different aspects of the question(s) by defining subtopics and linking them with a compelling logic.

III. Subtopics ? use subheadings and write about each aspect. These sections will form a major portion of the paper

IV. Overview-summary- Conclusion ? review the evidence and clarify what you have discovered or learned. Include a section about what is still unknown and where the research might go or what additional information you would want about the topic

V. Literature cited ? include a well formatted citation section. If you use web sources (it is likely a few will be necessary, make sure you use the correct citation style for internet sources, here is one source of information http://library.osu.edu/how-to-find/ask-us/how-do-i-cite-references/cse-citation-guide)

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I know you all can write fairly well, so I expect that grammar, spelling and basic organization will be fine, especially if you get someone to check it for you.

However this paper is hard work and perhaps unlike anything you have been asked to do before. It will take many hours of careful reading and writing to produce a high quality paper.

I will especially look for the use of citations in the paper to support your statements. I will give a much better grade to a paper that has only 1500 words but cites 20 papers from primary literature showing the has student synthesized the information than I will to a 4000 word paper with 8 citations from web sites that are clearly not from the primary literature. I will value your paper more if it supports a statement with citations to several papers than a paper that simply restates what you read in each journal article ?say one or two paragraphs per paper.

Please feel free to ask any questions as you go.