CHECKLIST PART 2 – NATURAL HISTORY PROFILES
_____ TITLE (1 point): The title is descriptive of your particular essay.
_____ CONTENT OF THE ESSAY (10 points) : Information has been provided in each of the following
categories. If there is no information about a category, then this is indicated in the body of the essay
(e.g. “How this organism reproduces is not known.”)
____ Taxonomy ____ Feeding
____ Distinctive features ____ Reproduction
____ Unique adaptations/role ____ Physical factors that limit the species
(e.g. temperature, salinity, humidity, etc.)
____ Habitat ____ Biological factors that limit the species
(e.g. predators, competitors, parasites, etc.)
_____ BIBLIOGRAPHY (4 points): “Key” resources have been exploited from the following sources.
____ Primary Literature Sources (original journal articles) must be included and should be most
heavily relied on.
____ Secondary Literature Sources (reviews, some science specialty books)
____ Tertiary Literature Sources (popular literature, web sites, textbooks)

_____ FORMAT, STYLE, AND ORGANIZATION OF THE ESSAY (4 points):
____ Subheadings have been used to help organize the essay into sections.
____ The name of a genus when used has been capitalized, while the species name is entirely lower
case (e.g. Lythrypnus dalli).
____ Species names when used have been underlined or italicized (e.g. Lythrypnus dalli).
____ Common names have not been capitalized, but proper nouns have been.
____ The sources of all factual information (including figures) that have been incorporated into the
text or appended to the essay have been cited properly.
____ Citations (not footnotes) have been used.

____ The work of others has been paraphrased, not quoted.

____ Metric measures (e.g. mm, o
C) are used, not standard measures (ft., o
F).

■ BIOLOGY 1210L
©
kbhartney ■ D-12
_____ FORMAT, STYLE, AND ORGANIZATION OF THE BIBLIOGRAPHY (3 points):
____ The bibliography lists all references used in writing the report including those that were cited
in the text.
____ All references in the bibliography section have been arranged alphabetically.
____ All authors of the reference have been included in their entirety (i.e. et al. has not been used).
____ All references in the bibliography are complete and presented according to author-year style
stipulated for the Foundation Series (see Specific Instructions for Part 1).
_____ GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS (3 points):
____ Spelling: All words are spelled correctly. There are no typos. You used a spell checker.
____ Grammar: You read the essay aloud slowly and listened for errors in grammar. You had
someone else read over your work. All sentences are complete and the writing is clear and
succinct.
____ Organization: The essay flows in a logical manner. Information that pertains to a particular
topic is grouped together within the appropriate section.
____ The three page limit has not been exceeded.
____ Pages have been numbered.
____ The essay was typed (double spaced) using the proper font size (12 pt), margins (1”
top/bottom/sides), and word-processing program (MS-Word).
____ The essay was submitted electronically to the instructor before or by the specified due date.
_____ TOTAL SCORE (sum of major categories)