databases have two features to help you find search words as well as topics and sub-topics.
Use the "subject guide search" feature in databases to help you find good search terms. .
Use the "topic finder" to help you find good topics and sub-topics
The NSDL is an open access library of digital content relevant to all aspects of hard and applied sciences.
Writing the Essay
An essay in the sciences requires is more than just generating and presenting data. Analysis of the data is also essential. The main body of the essay should consist of an argument or evaluation based on the data or information presented . You can gather your own data through a variety of methods, or rely on secondary data. You should use graphs, tables, or diagrams to point out the significance of your findings.
You should ensure that the main body of the essay is well structured and has an obvious logical progression. You can use numbered and headed paragraphs to impose a clear structure. Your evaluation should show that you understand the the data they have collected and its significance to the world.
In your analysis, you should also describe and explain the limitations imposed on the research by factors such as
Students should also consider biological limitations such as:
Safety and Ethics in Choosing a Topic
In all cases where human subjects are used as the basis for an investigation, clear evidence of informed consent must be provided in accordance with the IB guidelines.
Some topics may be inadmissible because their means of investigation are unethical. For example, investigations that:
Some topics may be unsuitable because of safety issues. Adequate safety apparatus and qualified supervision is required for experiments involving dangerous substances such as:
Other topics may be unsuitable because the outcome is already well known and documented in standard textbooks.
Writing essays about biology can be difficult because it’s composed of many subtopics. Check out this article for our top essay examples and writing prompts .
Biology came from the Greek words “bios” (life) and “logos” (study). It’s why biology is the study of life or living organisms . Aside from being a natural science, it also has consolidated themes, such as cells making all organisms . Because it’s a broad topic , biology is divided into specialized fields such as botany, genetics, zoology, microbiology, medicine, and ecology.
Biologists consider living beings ‘ origin, evolution, growth, function, structure , and distribution. It’s a comprehensive subject, so there are many things you can write about in your essay. However, at the same time, you might find it challenging to focus on just one area.
Below are examples to give you an idea of how to write your essays about biology :
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2. my interests in biology by anonymous on essaywriting.expert, 3. essay on the importance of study of biology by akhila mol, 4. what biology means to me by anonymous on studymode.com, 5. how my biology teacher changed my perspective of learning the subject by sankalan bhattacharya, 1. biology in my everyday life, 2. something i realized because of biology, 3. my memorable biology class experience, 4. genetics’ role in people’s diseases, 5. my experience during the pandemic, 6. biology and health.
“Studying Biology is important for a number of reasons, but in particular because it is used in every field. If we did not have a good understanding of Biology then nobody would be able to understand how bodies work, and how life on earth functions.”
Wilkins shares her desire to study anatomy, a branch of biology, and expounds on what makes biology an essential field. Because biology lets people know more about the world, she digs into why she’s interested in anatomy, specifically to find ways to cure illnesses and develop technologies to discover new treatments. She ends her essay by relating biology to the existence of doctors and hospitals.
“It is known that education plays an important role in the life of any individual. It gives an opportunity to develop personality and gain specific skills, to get profound knowledge and experience in order to apply them practically in the future. As for me, my major goal is to study Biology in order to get appropriate knowledge and skills required for my future profession.”
The author shares why they want to study biology, referring to the human body as the “perfect machine” and curious about how it performs each of its systems’ functions. The writer also mentions how biology is critical to their future profession. They aim to help people with their health problems and relay their desire to research the brain to find more data on it.
“The study of biology owes great significance in human life, because man for its day-to-day requirements is dependent on plants and animals either directly or indirectly.”
Mol lists seven reasons why humans need biology in their daily lives. Her list includes health, diseases, agriculture, horticulture, food, animal breeding, and entertainment. She expounds on each point and how they affect a man during his time on Earth. She explains each relationship in a simple manner that’s easy to understand for the readers.
“Without biology, we would have no idea about an organism ’s makeup, or the most basic unit of life, a cell… Biology influences me in many ways. Biology influences me by teaching me why to take care of the environment, why I am to take care of my body, and by giving me a better overall view of all scientific areas of study.”
In this short essay, the writer lists down reasons why biology is essential. These reasons include taking care of the environment, one’s body, and others. The author also expounds on their reasons by presenting facts supporting biology’s importance to the world and human lives.
“He told that the syllabus may be a good way to prepare for an exam but our knowledge should not be limited to any syllabus and the questions that were asked in the examination were related to the topic only. He told that if we try to know things in detail and understand them properly then the interest in the subject will develop, otherwise, students will not treat the subject as a subject of their choice.
Bhattacharya shares his experience with a teacher with a unique teaching style. His Biology teacher from Class 7, before the era of the internet, don’t just carry one book to get all his lessons from. Instead, he has a notebook with the collated information from many books to teach his class.
Bhattacharya’s teacher taught them things that were not in the curriculum, even if following the curriculum would give him higher points in his evaluation. He only wanted his students to learn more and share with them why learning differs from just knowing.
Do you want to be sure you have an excellent essay? See our round-up of the best essay writing apps to help you check your output.
You don’t have to be a biology student to write an essay about the subject. If you’re looking for easy prompts to write about, here are some to get you started:
If mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell, who is the powerhouse of your classroom? Your home? Relate a biology topic to a similar structure in your life, then explain why you think they are the same.
For instance, you can compare your mother to mitochondria which generate the energy needed to power a cell. The cell being you. You can say that she gives you energy every day by being there and supporting you in whatever way she can. This prompt bodes for a creative and intriguing essay.
Relay a lesson you learned from biology and how it perfectly explained something you were once hesitant about. Such as being insecure about your big ears – only to know from a biology trivia that ears never stop growing. You can then share how this help lessen your insecurity because you now know large ears are normal.
Do you have a memory you won’t forget that happened during biology class? Narrate this story and explain why it’s something that left an impression on you. To give you an idea , you can talk about the first time you dissected an animal, where you first realized how complex organisms are and that they are made of many systems to function, no matter how small.
Gene action and heredity are evolving. If you have a genetic illness or know someone who has it, you can share your experience. Then explain what your genes have to do with the disease. Is it something you got from your parents? Did they inherit it from your grandparents? Finally, you can add what your parents’ and grandparents’ lives were like because of the disease.
Virology, another branch of biology, studies viruses and viral diseases. A recent example is the coronavirus pandemic, where more people realized the importance of knowing a virus’ origin, structure , and how they work. Write an essay where you explain how the pandemic operates, such as why people should wear masks, social distance, etc.
For this essay, you can write about how biology helps you care for your health. For example, you can include how biology helped doctors give you the appropriate diagnosis, how you had the opportunity to have the proper treatment, etc.
If you want to write on a related topic , here are essay topics about nature you can consider for your next essay.
Table of Contents
Topic choice.
Biology papers give us an opportunity of understanding forms that are complex in life. This, therefore, means you will have the chance to fully understand the plants as well as the animals found in the ecosystem. People are given assignments on biology so that they can fully research and have knowledge concerning the components of nature. An essay on biology also assists people in how to care for and tend to themselves. These biology papers also assist in fully understanding how the world and humanity are related. An essay on biology will, therefore, assist in answering queries and issues related to biology. The tips from our academic essay writing service may help a person to make the work professional without errors and mistakes. A primary element to keep in mind when writing biology papers is always to have a biology essay draft that will assist you all through the writing process. Biology essay topics need to be detailed so that they can be differentiated from other types of papers.
The topics of the biology papers determine the points that will be used in the article. This, therefore, means that the biology essay writing guide is dependent on the topic selected . Ensure that you fully understand what the biology essay writing expects from you and create a biology essay outline that will assist you in preparing an excellent piece. Biology essay outlining assists in the construction of detailed articles. Below are biology essay topics that one can use in biology essay writing.
These are some of the good biology essay topics that you can use to produce an article that is standard.
The outline for a biology essay gives you clear guidelines on how to go about writing the article. The biology essay draft should go in line with the topic that the writer has chosen.
The biology essay outlining is as illustrated below:
This page is located at the beginning of biology papers after the abstract and the title pages. The page shows the numbers as well as the subsections of the essay on biology.
The topics for a biology essay determine the research questions to be used. The research question shows what the article is trying to establish. Keep in mind that the question is not the same as the title.
The biology essay introduction is the most crucial part of the article, as it will determine whether the readers will want to read more of the piece or not.
The study section gives you the chance of illustrating how the data was selected as well as its reliability.
The end of the article should be firm and sum up the whole article. The conclusion is a formal way how to conclude a biology essay. The conclusion restates the points for emphasis and makes the final argument clear. This section also gives you the chance of drawing connections between the points and questions being discussed. The conclusion for a biology essay also gives room for you to show your engagement with the essay on biology on a personal ground. The conclusion should be in a position of reformulating a new hypothesis as well as comparing the content to the secondary sources used. You can finish up the biology essay by stating the significance of the statistical tests done.
Making citations is an essential issue in biology papers. There are quite some formatting and citation styles ranging from APA to MLA. You should, therefore, be keen on the style specified. Referencing styles depends on the academic discipline that one is in. For instance, APA is used in psychology, education, and sciences
Archetti M 2000. The origin of autumn colors by coevolution. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 205: 625–63
Sources can either be secondary or primary. The primary source refers to any work that can be accessed originally. The secondary source refers to the works that have been original, but have been produced by another person. Examples of secondary sources include books , encyclopedias, and journals among other recreated works. You can use both the primary and secondary data to make your biology paper a success.
Once the essay on biology has been written, a revision is necessary to ensure the content is in order. A standard method of review is proofreading. Proofreading gives you the chance to analyze your work and correct errors that are avoidable.
Each year we invite IB alumni to share their experiences, interests and advice with our global community in the graduate voices series. We welcome Diploma Programme (DP) graduate Lim Hui Yuan to share some tips and advice to DP students completing their extended essays after completing her DP education at Hwa Chong International School .
By Lim Hui Yuan
I’m sure all the current and past IB students know the hardship of completing an Extended Essay (EE). And for those who are not familiar with EE, it is actually “ an independent, self-directed piece of research ”, which culminates into a 4,000-word paper.
To many (including me), EE was a real boot camp training because of the effort and tenacity it requires one to possess. Well, it was quite daunting a time for me, BUT—I have to admit that I learned a lot from messing up my project. Looking back, the nine months I spent on my EE was indeed an endurance experience.
Here are my takeaways from almost failing my Biology EE. Some of them might be relevant to other EE subjects, but they mainly revolve around the challenges I personally faced.
They always say, “follow your heart”
“Pick a project topic that you are interested in.”
Sometimes, we might not even know what our heart wants and where our interests actually lie. We students face a dilemma when choosing an EE subject or topic in the same way we are confused when standing at the junction of deciding which university path to choose.
There is a plethora of topics that we could work on, but not all of them could keep us motivated for more than half a year. I chose, “The Efficacy of Natural Plant Extracts and Commercial Disinfectants in Reducing Bacterial Growth.”
I like to think of it like becoming a gardener. Your project starts off small, you have to nurture it, and once the research topic is settled, it just keeps growing. In the end, you’ll have an EE that has grown from just a tiny seed into a big plant you are really proud of.
Nevertheless, I came to realise that no matter what topic you choose, as long as you pour your heart into it, you will not regret the outcome.
Asking yourself, “ why do I want to do this project?” helps to keep you on the right track (even if the answer was “to get a good grade”).
After diving into my biology EE, I realised how easy it was to carry out experiments in class compared to conducting your research project. There’s no lab manual you can simply refer to. Instead, you have to create your own recipe , adapting from previous work. And since it’s your own custom-made experiment, you can never predict how the results will turn out.
As much as you try to fix the controlled variables, it seems like you can’t control the outcome of the study.
In my case, I expected some of the plant extracts to show antibacterial properties. However, I underestimated how mischievous the bacteria can be, contaminating all my plant samples.
I took the success of the experiment for granted.
This bump went on for over five months. At one point, I was so traumatised by the lack of progress that I couldn’t bring myself into the lab. Frustrated and drained, I was on the verge of giving up.
Here’s when you should take a breather to flush away the negative emotions and reset everything—including your impression of the project itself.
Just as the wise Ryan Higa mentioned, “ here’s a bridge; now, get over it ”.
Whatever will happen has happened and all you can do is to move on.
After getting yourself ready for a fresh start, you should turn on troubleshoot mode and make amendments to your procedures. Try to pinpoint the problem and then search for plausible solutions to tackle it. The trial and error method is the only way!
Imagine beginning to piece a puzzle together; you usually know what the big picture looks like first before connecting the parts. The same applies to your EE. Plan ahead.
Set mini-deadlines as you draft your action plan. The timeline is essential so that you don’t feel too overwhelmed by a load of work (especially when you have a month left to write your EE after getting your results, which was exactly my case).
Be careful not to be too optimistic with the progress of your experiments. I expected and planned that mine would take at most two months to finish, but I completely neglected some time factors such as time needed for the bacteria to incubate, to make the agar plates, the opening hours of the lab (which leaves me only a few hours after school), and of course , failures.
You may have a supervisor to nag you about your EE progress. However, once you’re out of high school, nobody will be there to alarm you and snoozing off will cost you more than just your grades.
If it weren’t for my EE supervisor and friends, I would’ve given up.
My EE supervisor kept encouraging me and taught me how to endure an initial lack of results, and I’ve learned since then that this is actually a norm of scientific research . One of my best friends, who was also doing a biology EE, took his time to teach me how to write a biology EE amidst his busy schedule (you know who you are, thank you!).
Remember to discuss your difficulties to your advisor or friends; they’ll be your pillar of support.
EE is not only here to prepare you for undergraduate research, but also provide a resilient attitude for life, in general.
Honestly, I’m quite grateful that I faced so many problems during the process. It feels like playing a game with many obstacles and overcoming each hurdle leads you to a higher-level ranking. I am, by no means, a “Legend”, but I’ve certainly passed the “Rookie” level.
P.S. Remember to pat yourself on the back after completing your EE. After all, you’ve shed blood, sweat and tears into raising your seedling into a plant.
Lim Hui Yuan is a graduate of Hwa Chong International School , Singapore. She is currently pursuing her degree in science, specifically a major in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, at the University of Hong Kong. She likes to experiment with new things and loves dancing and cooking. Also, you can find her binge-watching dramas most of the time.
To hear more from Diploma Programme (DP) graduates check out these IB programme stories. If you are an IB grad and want to share your story, write to us at [email protected] . We appreciate your support in sharing IB stories and invite you to connect with us on LinkedIn , Twitter and now Instagram !
If you enjoyed this story, consider reading more below:
#alumnistory , Graduate Voices , Top stories
Table of Contents
Writing effectively in the scientific realm is integral to any decent education. However, it is frequently ignored in favor of more theoretical topics in introductory science classes.
It is also crucial to have excellent presentation skills if you want to achieve any level of success in the sciences. Moreover, graduate students must write several scientific papers to enter the scientific workforce as a professional.
It is, therefore, crucial that students work with research paper writing services to do my statistics homework and have a firm grounding in scientific writing to advance in their academic careers.
Most biology students are so preoccupied with the scientific method that they neglect developing their writing skills. As a result, the first step is to tell you not to skip the step of writing a quality scientific paper.
Writing essays in the sciences is not the same as in an English or art class.
Such factors can complicate the already challenging task of creating a scientific paper. That is, more so when dealing with novel or technically complex material.
However, a good essay can help you learn more about the subject as you have to write and submit an article that makes sense and is supported by research. Here are six useful tips for writing an excellent biology essay.
Your work must be valuable and interesting to the reader to score highly. It’s up to you to decide on a subject. For starters, it is essential to maintain focus on a topic you are eager to investigate. Determine what it is that you would like to learn more about.
While you may have a lot of ideas floating around in your head, you might find that they evaporate once you put pen to paper. This is why, while you study for your college courses with the help of a persuasive essay writer , who you can find by checking out objective essay writing service reviews online, you should always have a notebook at hand. Here you can jot down any ideas that come to you.
Using a brainstorming method is the most efficient means of choosing the topic. Try to generate 30–50 viable choices. Based on your study, narrow that down to a manageable handful.
To get started on a paper, you need to establish a plan. The standard format for student essays is five paragraphs, although instructors may provide additional guidelines. If you just start writing, you probably won’t be able to keep the basic idea and build solid arguments.
The outline will serve as a guide as you write, so it’s best to start with that. Ignore aesthetic concerns. No one would bother if your professor didn’t specifically ask for a copy of your plan.
Artistic mediums such as sketches, paint, and mind maps can prove very valuable. You can use whichever tools you like to give your document structure.
Eliminate any plausible but unhelpful concepts that don’t relate to your study subject. You can repurpose them in another one of your papers. The outline can be revised and updated as much as necessary.
In this section, your readers will learn the basics of the topic at hand. Here, you should briefly review any relevant prior research.
The essay’s purpose needs to be stated explicitly so that your readers understand where the narrative is going. Your introduction should be well-organized and brief (no more than two pages).
The body comprises the major conclusion drawn from your study or your own view or stance on the matter. This section needs to describe the experiment in-depth, highlight the most important results, and explain how and why those results were obtained.
Writers and students penning essays based on their personal opinions should back up their claims with research and theory. Citations and references are required as a result.
Students could also include relevant charts, graphs, and pictures. The illustrations must have clear titles and explanations. The axis of the graph must also be described.
Clearly outline the main arguments and explain your thinking.
Additionally, you can suggest new lines of inquiry into the matter, which may lead to the discovery of hitherto unknown answers. It’s crucial to ensure your conclusion is structured similarly to your introduction.
The last paragraph should be a short restatement of its primary themes. Remember, the latter section of your paper should be just as concise as the first.
Refrain from passing off someone’s writing as your own. Although there are other accepted styles for doing this, the American Psychological Association (APA) format is the most popular. If you need assistance locating credible references, any the best research paper writing service can help.
The topic you choose should have everything to do with the material you’re discussing in your essay. If you don’t, it’ll seem haphazard and awkward or, at best, forced into the report. If you don’t have a firm grip on your scientific subject, it will reflect poorly on your overall essay.
To capture the reader’s interest in your paper, start with a surprising or humorous fact.
The information you give can either back up your essay’s thesis or serve as a component of the body of evidence you describe in your expository paper.
Simply being a good writer isn’t enough to create a fantastic essay. As you prepare to write your biology paper, these are a few things you should keep in mind.
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A review essay for the biological sciences serves to discuss and synthesize key findings on a particular subject. Review papers are helpful to the writer and their colleagues in gaining critical awareness in specialized fields that may or may not be their own.
This guide explains what a review essay is and identifies several approaches to writing a review essay. Although much of the information is geared directly to the biological sciences, it is generally applicable to review essays in all fields.
A review essay is a synthesis of primary sources (mainly research papers presented in academic journals) on a given topic. A biological review essay demonstrates that the writer has thorough understanding of the literature and can formulate a useful analysis. While no new research is presented by the writer, the field benefits from the review by recieving a new perspective. There are several approaches one may take when writing a biological review:
A State of the art review
A state of the art review considers mainly the most current research in a given area. The review may offer new perspectives on an issue or point out an area in need of further research.
A Historical review
A historical review is a survey of the development of a particular field of study. It may examine the early stages of the field, key findings to present, key theoretical models and their evolution, etc.
A Comparison of perspectives review
A comparison of perspectives review contrasts various ways of looking at a certain topic. If in fact there is a debate over some process or idea, a comparison of perspectives review may illustrate the research that supports both sides. A comparison of perspectives review may introduce a new perspective by way of comparing it to another.
A Synthesis of two fields review
Many times researchers in different fields may be working on similar problems. A synthesis of two fields review provides insights into a given topic based on a review of the literature from two or more disciplines.
A Theoretical model building review
A theoretical model building review examines the literature within a given area with the intention of developing new theoretical assumptions.
This guide will inform you of certain things not to miss when writing a review essay. It will also give you some information about using and documenting your sources.
When writing a review essay it is important to keep the scope of the topic narrow enough so that you can discuss it thoroughly. For example a topic such as air quality in factories could be narrowed significantly to something like carbon dioxide levels in auto manufacturing plants .
A good way to narrow your focus is to start with a broad topic that is of some interest to you, then read some of the literature in the field. Look for a thread of the discussion that points to a more specific topic.
A review essay is not a pure summary of the information you read for your review. You are required to analyze, synthesize, and interpret the information you read in some meaningful way.
It is not enough to simply present the material you have found, you must go beyond that and explain its relevance and significance to the topic at hand.
Establish a clear thesis from the onset of your writing and examine which pieces of your reading help you in developing and supporting the ideas in your thesis.
A review essay reviews the academic body of literature—articles and research presented in academic journals. Lay periodicals such as, Discover , Scientific America , or Popular Science , are not adequate sources for an academic review essay.
If you are having trouble finding the academic journals in your field, ask one of your professors or a reference librarian.
The material that you discuss in a review essay is obviously not your own, therefore it is crucial to document your sources properly. Proper documentation is crucial for two reasons: 1. It prevents the writer from being accused of plagiarism and 2. It gives the reader the opportunity to locate the sources the writer has reviewed because they may find them valuable in their own academic pursuits. Proper documentation depends on which style guide you are following.
No one wants to read a paper that is simply a string of quotes; reserve direct quotations for when you want to create a big impact. Often times the way a quote is written will not fit with the language or the style of your paper so paraphrase the authors words carefully and verbage as necessary to create a well formed paragraph.
The title you choose for your review essay should give some indication of what lies ahead for the reader. You might consider the process you took in narrowing your topic to help you with your title—think of the title as something specific rather than a vague representation of your paper's topic. For example the title Wastewater Treatment might be more informative if rewritten as The Removal of Cloroform Bacteria as Practiced by California's Municipal Water Treatment Facilities .
More than likely your audience will be your academic peers, therefore you can make a couple assumptions and choose a writing style that suits the audience. Though your audience may lack the detailed knowledge you have about your topic, they do have similar background knowledge to you. You can assume that you audience understands much of the technical language you have to use to write about your topic and you do not have to go into great detail about background information.
This guide explains each section of a review essay and gives specific information about what should be included in each.
On the title page include the title, your name, and the date. Your instructor may have additional requirements (such as the course number, etc.) so be sure to follow the guidelines on the assignment sheet. Professional journals may also have more specific requirements for the title page.
An abstract is a brief summary of your review. The abstract should include only the main points of your review. Think of the abstract as a chance for the reader to preview your paper and decide if they want to read on for the details.
The introduction of your review should accomplish three things:
The discussion section is the body of your paper. The discussion section contains information that develops and supports your thesis. While there is no particular form that a discussion section must take there are several considerations that a writer must follow when building a discussion.
A review essay is not a pure summary of the information you read for your review. You are required to analyze, synthesize, and interpret the information you read in some meaningful way. It is not enough to simply present the material you have found, you must go beyond that and explain its relevance and significance to the topic at hand. Establish a clear thesis from the onset of your writing and examine which pieces of your reading help you in developing and supporting the ideas in your thesis.
Because the conclusions section often gets left for last it is often the weakest part of a student review essay. It is as crucial a part of the paper as any and should be treated as such.
A good conclusion should illustrate the key connections between your major points and your thesis as well as they key connections between your thesis and the broader discussion—what is the significance of your paper in a larger context? Make some conclusions —where have you arrived as a result of writing this paper?
Be careful not to present any new information in the conclusion section.
Here you report all the works you have cited in your paper. The format for a references page varies by discipline as does how you should cite your references within the paper.
Bastek, Neal. (1999). Review Essays for the Biological Sciences. Writing@CSU . Colorado State University. https://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=79
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
Biology is a branch of science that deals with living organisms and their vital processes. Biology encompasses diverse fields, including botany , conservation , ecology , evolution , genetics , marine biology , medicine , microbiology , molecular biology , physiology , and zoology .
As a field of science , biology helps us understand the living world and the ways its many species (including humans ) function, evolve, and interact. Advances in medicine , agriculture , biotechnology , and many other areas of biology have brought improvements in the quality of life. Fields such as genetics and evolution give insight into the past and can help shape the future, and research in ecology and conservation inform how we can protect this planet’s precious biodiversity .
Biology graduates can hold a wide range of jobs, some of which may require additional education. A person with a degree in biology could work in agriculture , health care, biotechnology , education, environmental conservation, research, forensic science , policy, science communication, and many other areas.
biology , study of living things and their vital processes. The field deals with all the physicochemical aspects of life . The modern tendency toward cross-disciplinary research and the unification of scientific knowledge and investigation from different fields has resulted in significant overlap of the field of biology with other scientific disciplines . Modern principles of other fields— chemistry , medicine , and physics , for example—are integrated with those of biology in areas such as biochemistry , biomedicine, and biophysics .
Biology is subdivided into separate branches for convenience of study, though all the subdivisions are interrelated by basic principles. Thus, while it is custom to separate the study of plants ( botany ) from that of animals ( zoology ), and the study of the structure of organisms ( morphology ) from that of function ( physiology ), all living things share in common certain biological phenomena—for example, various means of reproduction , cell division , and the transmission of genetic material.
Biology is often approached on the basis of levels that deal with fundamental units of life. At the level of molecular biology , for example, life is regarded as a manifestation of chemical and energy transformations that occur among the many chemical constituents that compose an organism. As a result of the development of increasingly powerful and precise laboratory instruments and techniques, it is possible to understand and define with high precision and accuracy not only the ultimate physiochemical organization (ultrastructure) of the molecules in living matter but also the way living matter reproduces at the molecular level. Especially crucial to those advances was the rise of genomics in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Cell biology is the study of cells—the fundamental units of structure and function in living organisms. Cells were first observed in the 17th century, when the compound microscope was invented. Before that time, the individual organism was studied as a whole in a field known as organismic biology; that area of research remains an important component of the biological sciences. Population biology deals with groups or populations of organisms that inhabit a given area or region. Included at that level are studies of the roles that specific kinds of plants and animals play in the complex and self-perpetuating interrelationships that exist between the living and the nonliving world, as well as studies of the built-in controls that maintain those relationships naturally. Those broadly based levels— molecules , cells, whole organisms, and populations—may be further subdivided for study, giving rise to specializations such as morphology , taxonomy , biophysics, biochemistry, genetics , epigenetics , and ecology . A field of biology may be especially concerned with the investigation of one kind of living thing—for example, the study of birds in ornithology , the study of fishes in ichthyology , or the study of microorganisms in microbiology .
Biological principles.
The concept of homeostasis —that living things maintain a constant internal environment—was first suggested in the 19th century by French physiologist Claude Bernard , who stated that “all the vital mechanisms, varied as they are, have only one object: that of preserving constant the conditions of life.”
As originally conceived by Bernard, homeostasis applied to the struggle of a single organism to survive. The concept was later extended to include any biological system from the cell to the entire biosphere , all the areas of Earth inhabited by living things.
All living organisms, regardless of their uniqueness, have certain biological, chemical, and physical characteristics in common. All, for example, are composed of basic units known as cells and of the same chemical substances, which, when analyzed, exhibit noteworthy similarities, even in such disparate organisms as bacteria and humans . Furthermore, since the action of any organism is determined by the manner in which its cells interact and since all cells interact in much the same way, the basic functioning of all organisms is also similar.
There is not only unity of basic living substance and functioning but also unity of origin of all living things. According to a theory proposed in 1855 by German pathologist Rudolf Virchow , “all living cells arise from pre-existing living cells.” That theory appears to be true for all living things at the present time under existing environmental conditions. If, however, life originated on Earth more than once in the past, the fact that all organisms have a sameness of basic structure, composition , and function would seem to indicate that only one original type succeeded.
A common origin of life would explain why in humans or bacteria—and in all forms of life in between—the same chemical substance, deoxyribonucleic acid ( DNA ), in the form of genes accounts for the ability of all living matter to replicate itself exactly and to transmit genetic information from parent to offspring. Furthermore, the mechanisms for that transmittal follow a pattern that is the same in all organisms.
Whenever a change in a gene (a mutation ) occurs, there is a change of some kind in the organism that contains the gene. It is this universal phenomenon that gives rise to the differences ( variations ) in populations of organisms from which nature selects for survival those that are best able to cope with changing conditions in the environment .
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Course: biology archive > unit 1.
Properties of life, 1. organization, 2. metabolism, 3. homeostasis, 5. reproduction, 6. response, 7. evolution, is this the definitive list, separating living and non-living things, what counts as life is still being defined., what do you think, works cited:.
Suggestions for further reading, want to join the conversation.
by Antony W
March 13, 2023
Biology Extended Essay is an assignment that requires you to explore biological issue relevant to you and your environment.
Your focus should be on a particular biological emphasis within a broader context of scientific investigation. Given that the focus is on a biological system, you’ll have to make an analytical argument as you write the essay.
In this guide, you’ll learn exactly what you need to know about the IB Biology Extended Essay . Our goal with this lesson is to give you the most important information about the subject so that you can get the assignment done right.
Biology in IB Extended Essay is the examination of living organisms and their life processes. The assignment integrates biological theories and examines the nature of the subject.
While you can approach a Biology EE from varying viewpoints, the treatment of the material used in your investigation must be 100% biological.
The topic you choose to explore in your IB Biology Extended Essay shouldn’t be too broad or too narrow. Make sure you choose a focused topic that’s easy to investigate and easy to explain.
Your teacher expects you to explain how you arrived at your research question, and the best way to do that is to outline the aspects you wish to consider in the essay.
You may also have to formulate one or more hypothesis based on the research question.
The EE guide on the subject recommends that you choose your topics carefully, making sure you refrain from inappropriate topics such as those that are likely to inflict pain, involve the use of dangerous substances, or linked to safety concern.
You should avoid topics whose outcome are either obvious or already well known and documented in textbooks.
You will need to do primary and secondary research for your Biology Extended Essay.
For primary research, you can collect data from fieldwork, surveys, biological drawings, and biological observations.
If you’ve picked topic that requires practical work, you may have to conduct multiple, extensive fieldwork or do lab tests. In such a case, you will have to provide a detailed explanation of the experimental research procedures sued.
When it comes to secondary research, you get data or information from literature.
Some students restate the information they collect from secondary sources, but doing so often adds little or no value to a Biology Extended Essay.
Therefore, the right approach is to analyze the data or information in an original way to add a new dimension and value to your research and to the essay at large.
Whether you do primary research, secondary research, or a combination of both, you need to make sure you have access to enough data or information to answer your research question.
The first step to writing a comprehensive, 4,000-word essay in Biology EE is to use the right scientific techniques to analyze the data you collect during research.
You then have to present your argument or evaluation based on the analysis you’ve completed.
You can include graphs, tables, and diagrams, and make sure you point out their significance in the essay so they’re easy to understand.
As with any other EE, your Biology essay should have a good structure and demonstrate a logical progression. Feel free to use headings and subheadings in the essay because it imposes a concise structure.
Your evaluation of the research questions should demonstrate that you not only understand the results from your experiments but also can explain their significance in a wider academic context.
Since you aren’t sure about what to expect from biological experiments, you may have to account for anomalies or unexpected results in your investigation.
In such a case, you have to provide explanations for the expected outcome and give an alternative explanation for such findings.
The subject also allows you to propose slight or major changes to the hypothesis presented in the essay, in which case you will have to suggest relevant approaches to testing the new changes.
Writing your EE in Biology also requires that you undertake a critical evaluation of the work that you have already done.
The evaluation helps you to identify and explain the limitation of your research by a number of factors including the reliability and validity of statistics, the precision of experimenting equipment and the reliability of sources.
You also need to consider biological limitations of your research. Such limitations are likely to arise from the inability to generalize based on a single form of an organism or problems of control and repeatability when using living organisms in your research.
It’s important to keep in mind that a Biology Extended Essay is not an extension of the Internal Assessment in the same subject. There are a few differences that set the two assignments apart, and it’s important to know them before you start working on the essay.
The student has to analyze the aspects of Biology not covered in the syllabus | The Internal Assessment focuses on the biology aspects taught in the syllabus |
In Biology EE, you have to develop a theoretical framework for the topic you choose to examine | Instead of creating a theoretical framework for the topic, you focus on the application of the methods used to solve a problem |
A student can use primary sources, secondary sources, or both. This means they can base their research on already existing literature | This assignment includes data collection an analysis, which a student can’t base purely on literature review |
The assignment focuses on the ability of an IB student to evaluate scientific arguments. | The assignment assesses the student’s ability to apply scientific methods to solve a biological problem |
Do you need help with your Extended Essay in Biology? Our team of IB experts is here to help you write the 4,000-word essay, even if it’s on a complex topic. You can click here to learn more.
About the author
Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.
Don’t know what to write about in your essay on biology? Looking for good biology essay examples for inspiration? This article has all you need!
A biology essay is a type of academic paper that focuses on a particular topic of biology. It can discuss animal life, cycles in biology, or a botanic subject. You will need to demonstrate your critical thinking skills and provide relevant evidence to support your perspective.
On this page, you will find examples of biology essays. You will also find here tips and topics prepared by our experts . They can assist you in nailing your short or extended essay.
If you’ve been assigned to write a biology essay, you probably know which area of research you have to choose. However, it might be beneficial to explore other available scopes. It’s useful for both interdisciplinary study and the cases when you are free to pick your area of research. In this section, let’s figure out what you can study in biology.
Here are biological areas of research you should be familiar with:
Want to know how to start a biology essay? Wondering about the best way to write your essay on biology? Then check out the following tips.
When you’re writing about biology, pay attention to the following features:
Thank you for reading our article. We hope you found it helpful. Share it with your class peers who also study biology. Additionally, have a look at the biological essay examples below.
Grass and its importance, the benefits of animals to humans essay.
Ubiquity of microorganisms.
Seed germination experiment: results and discussion, bronfenbrenner’s bioecological system theory.
Dark or light skin: advantages and disadvantages, mitosis and meiosis in onion root tip.
Strawberries history.
Pets and people, lemon, its origin and production.
Seed germination and osmosis.
The digestive system in the human body, vaquita – endangered species.
Importance of the brain in human body, substrate concentration and rate of enzyme reactions.
Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells: key differences, transpiration process in plants, description of mitosis and meiosis, aspects, importance and issues of biodiversity, the function and structures of the human heart, co-evolution: angiosperms and pollinating animals, corn plant’s developmental stages, common biochemical cycles, mitosis in onion root and whitefish blastula, osmosis through a potato slice dipped in solutions of varying concentrations.
Vegetation monitoring from space.
Microbial growth and effect of ph on it.
Understanding the effects of quantity of light on plants growth.
Human circulatory system and evolution, responsible house plant keeping.
Is earthworm beneficial or harmful to humans, cell counting and measurement under magnification.
Basic and applied biology: key differences, a study of the brine shrimps and their natural environment.
Earth atmospheric evolution.
The role of the olive in human history and lives.
The effect of acetone on wheat seed germination.
The effect of habitat disturbance on invertebrate abundance and diversity.
Biochemistry dogmas and their impacts on biotechnology, biology: analysis of egg experiment, the kingdom fungi: the structure, characteristics, the anatomy and physiology of the nervous system of a rat.
Wildlife management and extinction prevention in australia.
Digestive journey of cheeseburger, rabbit muscular system dissection report, the characteristics and importance of nervous system.
Cell membrane modeling and cell membrane theory.
“the egg and the sperm” by emily martin critique.
Telescope and microscope discovery combo.
A light microscope: function and usage, the thermoregulation is and its importance, biology lab report: biodiversity study of lichens, living things: what do they have in common, homeostasis and regulation in the human body, microbiology: zygomycota, ascomycota and basidiomycota, rosalind franklin: the discovery of the dna structure, streptococcus pyogenes overview, non-trophic interaction in marine species, nervous system: the main functions, membrane hands-on laboratory report.
Climate change and threat to animals, what is mitochondria and what functions does it have.
Self-healing materials and their using.
Environmental microbiology overview.
Natural sciences. the phenol red broth test experiment.
Microbiologist as a career in bioscience.
Engineering
For one of nature’s great builders, finding a mate means weaving the perfect nest
Philosophy of mind
Do plants have minds?
In the 1840s, the iconoclastic scientist Gustav Fechner made an inspired case for taking seriously the interior lives of plants
Rachael Petersen
How the world’s richest reds are derived from an innocuous Mexican insect
Building embryos
For 3,000 years, humans have struggled to understand the embryo. Now there is a revolution underway
John Wallingford
Why do the building blocks of life possess a mysterious symmetry?
The cell is not a factory
Scientific narratives project social hierarchies onto nature. That’s why we need better metaphors to describe cellular life
Charudatta Navare
Animals and humans
Ant geopolitics
Over the past four centuries quadrillions of ants have created a strange and turbulent global society that shadows our own
John Whitfield
Artists of our own lives
The genome is the starting point for a performance we enact over a lifetime, not a blueprint we’ve got to follow
Richard O Prum
Ageing and death
Demystifying death – a palliative care specialist’s practical guide to life’s end
Explore a bioluminescent world of cellular life via cutting-edge microscopy
In 1886, a US agency set out to record new fruit varieties. The results are wondrous
To understand how an animal sees the world, start with the shape of its pupils
Scientists brought a wild horse back from extinction. But is it truly the same animal?
Ecology and environmental sciences
The grassroots project that’s restoring an endangered Hawaiian ecosystem
The key to geckos’ unrivalled climbing skills isn’t sticky feet. It’s subatomic
Space exploration
In the search for life, might alien ocean worlds be a better bet than Earth-like planets?
A dazzling slice-by-slice exploration of wood exposes hidden patterns and hues
Octopus time
We humans are forward-facing, gravity-bound plodders. Can the liquid motion of the octopus radicalise our ideas about time?
David Borkenhagen
The idea that life on Earth originated elsewhere is not as far out as it seems
Flicker through the eclectic beauty and biological diversity of 2,400 leaves
Biotechnology
What it’s like to wear a prosthetic that ‘feels’
To understand the limits of human senses, look to the wild world of animal cognition
Symmetry rules life on Earth – but it comes with many fascinating exceptions
There’s no one way for an insect to fly, but they’re all amazing in close up and slo-mo
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Create an Outline. Always have a clear plan when writing biology essays while starting a paper. Use a 5-paragraph structure with an outline to keep your main idea and arguments organized. Use any format that works best for you and adjust as needed. Discard any ideas that don't fit your research question.
Select a Research Question. Writing a biology essay, you should use a scientific approach. Come up with a research question you want to answer in your paper. Of course, you shouldn't choose something too complicated that it is impossible to work through in terms of one piece. It shouldn't be too obvious as well.
An essay in the sciences requires is more than just generating and presenting data. Analysis of the data is also essential. The main body of the essay should consist of an argument or evaluation based on the data or information presented. You can gather your own data through a variety of methods, or rely on secondary data.
Biology is the branch of science concerned with the study of living things, or organisms. Biologists have identified traits common to all the living organisms that we know. Although nonliving things may show some of these properties, in order for something to be considered living, it must meet all of them.
This essay will discuss the role of genetic inheritance in the development of several human diseases, namely: Cystic Fibrosis, Huntington's disease, and Alzheimer's disease, as well as the ethical implications surrounding genetic testing and treatment. Use specific examples to support your arguments. In A Level Biology essays, it is ...
Writing essays about biology can be difficult because it's composed of many subtopics. Check out this article for our top essay examples and writing prompts.. Biology came from the Greek words "bios" (life) and "logos" (study). It's why biology is the study of life or living organisms.Aside from being a natural science, it also has consolidated themes, such as cells making all ...
Publishing in Biology: Follow the Directions. In terms of writing style, papers in biology must meet agreed upon standards for organization, clarity, coherency and consistency in form (i.e., voice, tense, notation, citation, figures, etc.). In traditional outlets for sharing results (peer-reviewed journals), biologists do not get paid for ...
1. The title. The title page offers clear indications of the biology essay focus. The title should be precisely phrased and at the same time based on the hypothesis. Avoid jargon for the title to look professional. The title should also give the reader a quick understanding of the topic. 2.
Based on the information you've gathered, you should formulate your own arguments regarding your thesis statement. ... Understanding a Biology Essay. If you're seeking a precise definition of a biology essay, it is an essay that discusses a specific topic related to living organisms, focusing on a particular biological aspect such as ...
engaging in a personal exploration of the topic. communicating ideas. developing an argument." An extended essay in Biology: Must take the form of a research paper in which primary source data is collected and analyzed. Must demonstrate argumentation, comparison, or the extraction of relevant information or data.
I'm sure all the current and past IB students know the hardship of completing an Extended Essay (EE). And for those who are not familiar with EE, it is actually " an independent, self-directed piece of research ", which culminates into a 4,000-word paper. To many (including me), EE was a real boot camp training because of the effort and ...
Biology is detailed and comprehensive A-level content, uses appropriate terminology, and is very well written and always clearly explained. No significant errors or irrelevant material. For top marks in the band, the answer shows evidence of reading beyond specification requirements. 16-20. Relational.
I have been working with some tutees to improve their approach to the AQA Paper 3 Extended Essay - so here are a few tips, and all of the essay titles (and markschemes) since 2007. A Few Points Raised By The Exam Boards Feedback. The essay is designed to assess whether you can bring together material from a range of topics to illustrate and ...
However, a good essay can help you learn more about the subject as you have to write and submit an article that makes sense and is supported by research. Here are six useful tips for writing an excellent biology essay. 1. Pick an essay topic. Your work must be valuable and interesting to the reader to score highly.
A review essay is a synthesis of primary sources (mainly research papers presented in academic journals) on a given topic. A biological review essay demonstrates that the writer has thorough understanding of the literature and can formulate a useful analysis. While no new research is presented by the writer, the field benefits from the review ...
biology, study of living things and their vital processes. The field deals with all the physicochemical aspects of life. The modern tendency toward cross-disciplinary research and the unification of scientific knowledge and investigation from different fields has resulted in significant overlap of the field of biology with other scientific ...
Biologists have identified various traits common to all the living organisms we know of. Although nonliving things may show some of these characteristic traits, only living things show all of them. 1. Organization. Living things are highly organized, meaning they contain specialized, coordinated parts.
Biology in IB Extended Essay is the examination of living organisms and their life processes. The assignment integrates biological theories and examines the nature of the subject. While you can approach a Biology EE from varying viewpoints, the treatment of the material used in your investigation must be 100% biological.
A biology essay is a type of academic paper that focuses on a particular topic of biology. It can discuss animal life, cycles in biology, or a botanic subject. You will need to demonstrate your critical thinking skills and provide relevant evidence to support your perspective. On this page, you will find examples of biology essays.
Essays in biology may be based on data collected by the student through experimentation, survey, observation, drawings, fieldwork, or some other appropriate biological approach. Adapted from the IBO Extended Essay Subject Specific Guide for Biology. Treatment of the Topic
KCSE BIOLOGY BIOLOGY ESSAY QUESTIONS WITH MARK SCHEMES 1. Explain the various ways in which a typical cell is adapted to its functions Has a cell membrane; with pores; that regulates substances entering and leaving the cell; cytoplasm; contain sugars and salts; for maintaining its osmotic pressure; also has a liquid
Current Biology's Essays comprise an eclectic collection of pieces that discuss a wide range of concepts, ideas and phenomena ... maize and soybeans — provide more than 60% of the calories we consume. In this Essay, Delphine Renard and David Tilman discuss the risks of monoculture and how the biodiversification of agriculture may lead to ...
Attaining and maintaining power lies at the heart of almost all animal societies. And it's as devious as human politicking. Lee Alan Dugatkin. Science Essays from Aeon. World-leading scientists and science writers explore topics from theories of evolution to theories of consciousness, quantum physics to deep time, chemistry to cosmology.