Tables and Figures
Tables should be labeled and captioned above the table as "Table N," where N denotes the number of the table, and captioned. Material such as photographs, images, charts, and line-drawings should be labeled and captioned below the material as "Figure N" where N denotes the number of the figure, and captioned. Tables and Figures are numbered separately in series, 1….N. Captions for each should describe briefly, in neutral terms, the content of the table or figure.
Quotations and Paraphrasing
You should have very few, if any, quotations in your paper. Let us repeat that, VERY FEW QUOTATIONS. Quotations that constitute fewer than five lines in your paper should be set off with quotation marks [ “Lions roar” ] and be incorporated within the normal flow of your text. For material exceeding that length, omit the quotation marks and indent the quoted language one inch from your left-hand margin. Any quotation should be followed in parentheses by the source of the quotation.

Mostly, you will paraphrase what you read, meaning that you put it in your own words. All your own words! Do not use a quotation with only one or two words changed. Doing this amounts to PLAGIARISM and will be treated as such!! Refer to the pdf at the following web site for additional useful information about avoiding plagiarism: http://sja.ucdavis.edu/files/plagiarism.pdf

Citing the Scientific Literature
EACH AND EVERY FACT drawn from a reference must be followed in the text by the source of that fact. No exceptions. Use the appropriate citation format. Below are some examples; look at articles in the journal Animal Behaviour for other examples. If you cite a reference that you yourself did not read but which is included in another reference, you must cite as shown in the second example below.

Example. Water buffalo are thought to use stellar cues when migrating over large bodies of water such as the Indian Ocean (Magellan, 1994).

Example. For a generalist forager, life is like a box of chocolates. It never knows what it is going to get (Gump, 1994; cited in Paramount, 1994).

Note: If every sentence needs a citation or if all of the sentences in whole paragraphs seem to need the same citation, then your paper is lacking in original thought or depending too heavily on too few references or failing to synthesize the literature adequately. Fix the paper, and this citation problem will take care of itself.
References Cited Section
Include all references cited in a section at the end of your paper entitled "references cited". Examples of how to cite journals or books are shown below. Look at articles in the journal Animal Behaviour for other examples. Follow the style exactly!

May, P. G. 1988. Determinants of foraging profitability in two nectarivorous butterflies. Ecological Entomology, 13, 171–184.

Papaj, D. R. & Lewis, A. C. 1993. Insect Learning: Ecological and Evolutionary Perspectives. New York: Chapman & Hall.
Term Paper Tips
The following are some tips for improving your paper.

1. DO NOT refer to the emotions, feelings, intentions or thought processes of animals. You almost never have a scientific basis for assigning feelings to animals. Don't tell us what they feel, tell us how they behave! Be objective!

2. DO NOT be anthropomorphic. In other words, do not interpret an animal's behavior in human terms. If it walks like a human and talks like a human, then it probably is human and you accidentally turned in your Anthro paper. Otherwise it is an animal with a different evolutionary history and a perfectly good one at that. Be objective!

3. DO PROOFREAD your paper for spelling and grammar. Consider having a learned friend read your draft. Why not do it for term papers too? THERE IS A WRITING CENTER on campus full of scholars who will gladly proof your draft for writing style. It's your tax dollars at work. Take advantage!

4. Above all, DO critically evaluate the science, whether it is your experiment or someone else's. Restrict discussion to just what we need to know to understand your thesis, your positions, your critical comments, your original ideas, and your insights. In that respect, if you write the paper in the same analytical, evaluative, hypothesis-testing spirit in which our lectures are presented, then you stand a better chance of getting the best possible grade.

Web Sites of Interest:

http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/index.shtml
This site links to other sites and has lots of useful comments.

http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/writing/HTWtoc.html
This site is mainly useful if you are doing a hands-on research paper, but has useful information for others as well.

http://sja.ucdavis.edu/files/plagiarism.pdf
This site is a highly-recommended guide to plagiarism.

Note: Where anything in these sites conflicts with material in this handout, use what’s in this handout!