The essays vary in length, but should be around 5-7 pages (and certainly no more than 10), double-spaced and typed.

Make sure you introduce the main issue or question at the beginning of the essay.

Make sure you have a clear statement of the purpose of your essay.

Paragraphs need to follow each other in logical order and make sure you use topic sentences. The rest of the paragraph should provide information that supports your topic sentence. Remember, you are trying to convince the reader of something, so it needs to be organized, logical, and "punchy".

Do not use too much jargon and do not be vague. Using jargon can loose many readers who might not know as much as you and vagueness suggests that you do not fully understand your own points.

Do not exerpt quotes from papers/books. Use your own words.

Make sure that your citations are formatted correctly. See any article in J. Biogeography as an example.

For instance, do NOT do this. "Jones found that temperature was important to bird distribution (2009)". It should be, "Jones (2009) found...." or "Temperature has been shown to be ....(Jones 2009)".

Journal citations should be:

Jones, P.R. 2009. Birds and temperature. Journal of Biogeograhy 25: 11-25.

Book: Jones, J.R. 2009. The role of temperature in bird distribution. Wiley-Blackwell, Cambridge.

See any journal (Molecular Ecology, J. Biogeography, Evolution) for other examples of articles within books, etc.

Try to avoid internet sources, most if not all undergo no strict peer review process. Focus on primary literature. If you must use internet sources, cite as (author or organization, year) and add to citations list as below:

COSEWIC 2009. List of fishes. Available at www.cosewic.gc.ca. Accessed Jan.. 10, 2010.

Always, always proofread your essay. Follow basic rules of English sentence structure, puntuation, etc. Proofread again!

Plagarism (from the Biology Program Guide): what it is and how to avoid it.

" Check your sentence structure, and follow basic rules of English.