how to conclude a biology essay

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How to Write a Biology Essay

By: Tasha Kolesnikova

Studying natural sciences and biology in particular, you’ll deal with essays as one of the ways to assess your knowledge and skills. Professors believe that this assignment helps students to develop their skills regardless of the major you pursue. Future biologists should organize their ideas in a structured and transparent manner, using reliable sources and persuasive examples to support your perspective. Even if you’ll work in laboratories, you will deal with written reports.

What is a Biology Essay?

Select the topic for your essay, select a research question, create an outline, essay introduction, thesis statement, essay conclusion, citation and references, look for samples, practice your writing, plan your writing process, ask for feedback, appropriate language for complexity science, writing services, editing proofreading services, what is biology as science, what is the importance of biology in our life, major concepts and topics in biology.

Don’t worry if you don’t have enough experience and doubt your ability to deliver a perfect paper. We have prepared useful tips to help you write a killer biology essay and deliver it on time.

A biology essay is a piece of student writing where you provide arguments and ideas concerning a particular biological topic.

There are various academic essay types, and you can adhere to one of them. For example, you can write a descriptive paper explaining a biological subject. Or an argumentative paper, providing evidence to support your point of view. One of the most common essay types is a cause and effect piece where you explain the reasons and the consequences of some events. You can also come up with the “how-to” instruction or a detailed analysis . The concrete type depends on your professor’s requirements and your preference.

How to Write a Good Essay in Biology

Some people consider writing an art process. However, it is a work that requires your time and effort. You should organize the whole process if you want to get the desired result. There is a step-by-step instruction to follow.

If you want to get a good grade, it is important not only to make your paper informative but also enjoyable. It depends on the topic you choose. And it is crucial to stay on something that you wish to explore. Try to find something you want to investigate.

It is not easy because you may have many ideas in your head, but once you start writing, they disappear. That’s why studying at college, you should always have a notebook at hand, to write down things that come to mind.

The most effective way to select the topic is a brainstorming technique. Let your brain provide you with 30-50 decent options, and then research to create the shortlist with the best ones.

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. Connect your research question with the topic.

Starting a paper, you should have a clear plan to follow. Most student papers have a 5-paragraph structure with specific instructions. It would be almost impossible to keep the main idea and develop good arguments if you just begin. It would help if you started with the outline to keep it in mind when writing.

Don’t worry about how it looks. Nobody will check your plan (if your professor didn’t ask you to deliver it as well). You can organize your thoughts the way you like. Sketches, paints, mind maps, and so on. Use anything you need to make your paper structured. Get rid of all ideas that don’t work for your research question, even if they seem reasonable. You may use them in another paper.

Whenever you need it, you can make some amends and correct your outline.

It is the first paragraph that is intended to attract the readers’ attention. Writing it, you should consider your target audience.

If you’re preparing a paper for newbies, you should provide some basic knowledge, interesting facts, and statistics to introduce the topic.

However, the experienced audience may find such an introduction a bit boring. They already know the main point, and they have a single question: why is this topic important? So, you should provide them with an explanation of why you have chosen this issue and which directions you see for further development.

The introduction finishes with the thesis. It is your research question or the statement you’re going to develop in the body paragraphs. In other words, you should synthesize the overall essay, meaning just in one sentence. It will explain to your readers what the paper is about and your point of view. Without a strong thesis statement, the whole piece becomes useless, given that the audience cannot understand your position.

Body paragraphs are the essay core because they are most voluminous and informative. Once you’ve grabbed the readers’ attention, you should provide them with food for thought.

In a classic 5-paragraph essay structure body takes 3 paragraphs. Each of them is intended to reveal just one idea. You need to provide a short thesis, an explanation, and an example to illustrate your point.

It would help if you were very attentive in writing the essay body because it is easy to lose your way. This is where your outline may be helpful.

Once your readers finish the paper, they have a question “So what?” If you leave them with it, you’ll fail. Your task is to provide an answer to explain how the audience can use the information you’ve written in the body.

Don’t use any new data; just conclude the thoughts you’ve already declared. Are they important in any sense? Can readers conduct their research and gain more insights? Should they be more attentive to environmental issues?

You’ve written a paper with a particular goal (except for getting a good grade), so show your readers whether you’ve achieved it.

Most academic papers require authors to provide additional information. For example, a list of references you’ve used. It is impossible to write a biology essay without data from books, websites, research papers, and so on. And if you use any journal or other source, you should cite it correctly since, in the other case, your piece would be considered plagiarism.

You should adhere to a particular citation style. When it comes to biology, the academic society uses the APA and the CSE format. Make sure you know what style your professor prefers. You also need a relevant guide with all requirements to follow.

Some Essay Tips for Successful Writing

Whatever major you pursue, you’ll deal with written assignments that affect your academic performance. That’s why you need to develop your writing skills. Here you’ll find some actionable tips to follow.

If you want to write well, you should read well. There are various modern sources where you can find many biology papers. It goes about scientific books and journals, specific web-portals. Don’t undervalue the fiction literature as well. You need to understand how other people write and to learn from them.

Once you’ve noticed something interesting that is worth your attention, write it down. You may use these notes in your future writings.

Coming up with a perfect piece, you should understand what the “perfect” stands for. Please take a look at some essays or a research paper example and analyze them.

It doesn’t mean that all samples that are published online are excellent. They have advantages and disadvantages, and you should mention them.

However, don’t copy and paste these samples. Your paper should be unique, and it goes not about paraphrasing some sentences only. The ideas and concepts you use should be fresh as well. Even if you’re just a student, without tremendous research opportunities, you may look at the issue from an interesting angle. Essay samples will show you the right direction.

You shouldn’t expect that your first paper will be outstanding. You have to submit dozens of poor essays until you succeed. It means you should use any opportunity to write something. Whether it is a note, a blog post, a lab report, or an experiment description, you should master your ability to formulate thoughts and choose the best words to convey your ideas.

Don’t leave these texts without attention since you can’t become a better writer if you don’t know your mistakes. Find a mentor who will provide you with essential tips. There are many useful resources online, and you can always hire a professional tutor who will support you.

You can’t sit and wait for the inspiration. Your professor won’t understand the excuse that you aren't in an appropriate mood to write a paper. Therefore you should be able to organize yourself and the work process.

Firstly, define stages, e.g., the research stage, the introduction writing, and so on. Think about how many times you’re going to devote to each of them and include these tasks in your calendar. You can use different strategies, starting with the most complicated part, or, vice versa, from the easiest one. It doesn’t matter if you’re able to provide a good result.

It is also important to get rid of all distractors in advance. Switch off your smartphone and make sure you have anything you need to come up with a paper. It won’t leave the space for procrastination.

People are usually biased when it goes to work. You can’t define for sure whether your biology essay deserves an A-grade. And it would be the wrong decision to wait until your professor spoils your academic performance. You can then discuss your writing with your friends, fellow students, instructors at the college club. If you think someone can provide you with professional assistance, ask for it. Feedback will show your strengths to focus on and weaknesses to work out.

Writing a research paper, you should use a language of scientific thought to explain your ideas. Think about the audience and its level of education. If your paper is full of specific terms, most readers won’t understand it. However, it should not be too simple at the same time since you’re a future biologist and should speak this language at a decent level.

It is also important to know all requirements and follow them. Each paper has its features, so make sure you understand the essay, analysis paper, or a lab report format before writing.

Get Biology Essay From Us

Modern students are lucky in some way. They have unlimited educational opportunities. Most likely, you can find any information you need just in a couple of minutes. However, it imposes on you a particular responsibility that leads to immense stress. Even the term FOMO, fear of missing out, is common for many people these days.

It means that if you can’t cope with a bunch of tasks, you should take a pause and relax. Our professional writing service is here to help you with any assignment. Just fill in the order form and provide us with your requirements. We’ll deliver your biology essay exactly on time!

Firstly, you can hire a professional essay writer who will prepare the biology paper from scratch. We work with people who have a Master’s or Ph.D. degree in natural science, as well as the writing experience. Having prepared dozens of assignments for students from different educational institutions, they know what professors expect. So, if you want to unload your head, without worsening your academic performance, rely on our authors.

The papers we deliver are always high-quality. They don’t contain any plagiarism and mistakes. If you have some objections, contact our customer support for qualified help.

If you have written the paper on yourself, you’ve covered a lot of ground. The writing process is exhausting, and sometimes there is no opportunity to read the final draft several times and make sure it is flawless. Before you deliver the paper, it is vital to get rid of all mistakes and typos. Our professional proofreaders will read the text with a keen eye and make necessary changes.

Don’t hesitate to use professional help since it is your chance to provide a fantastic result with fewer hurdles!

Biology is a science that studies our life in different ways. Students learn about organisms and living creatures that inhabit the planet, their functions, behavior, interaction, and their individual and historical development.

Modern biology covers various sub-topics, such as virology that studies viruses, botany that studies plants, the anatomy that studies the human’s body, etc. Some students choose a particular direction to work in, but all these subjects are united. It would be best if you had morphology and genetics knowledge to succeed with microbiology, and vice versa.

Writing a biology essay, you should think about their final purpose. Some papers are intended to provide people with a fresh look, e.g., when you find exciting information and want to share it with your colleagues. At the same time, you can write a paper for people who don’t have solid biology knowledge. These essays will be very different, so you need to approach this task with all responsibility.

Biology knowledge is important regardless of your career plans. Many facets point to this. First, this science is mainly studying life that is surrounding us. Second, it is important to have an understanding of how all organisms interact with each other. And the next reason that is no less important is the diversity of our life. Thanks to biology knowledge, people treat illnesses, improve food quality, and take care of the whole ecosystem.

It is the study of life that helps people shape the world and provides them with answers that explain why things happen.

Studying biology, you’ll deal with the following topics:

• Cellular structure and function;
• Evolution and natural selection;
• Heredity and genetics;
• Ecosystems and interdependence.

Many concepts are accepted by modern biology science. These are ideas and understandings that professors want you to remember. For example, all organisms share a standard set of important life processes. It goes about movement, respiration, reproduction, nutrition, and others. All organisms use the same genetic system to maintain continuity. The next essential concept is about species that arise, change, and become extinct over time. Diverse adaptations are the reason why evolution results and ensures survival.

Writing your paper, you should show your knowledge and understanding of significant biology concepts and topics. It would be an excellent platform to create powerful, evidence-based content.

And of course, if you need a  website that writes an essay for you , you're on the right page! Feel free to send us your request!

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Tips on How to Write a Biology Essay: Learn from the Example of Jellyfish Essay

How to Write a Biology Essay

In this article, we will guide you on how to write a perfect biology essay from scratch. You’ll find various tips to help you excel in writing your essay and creating a paper worth the highest grades. We also prepared a jellyfish essay example for you, so it can be easier to enhance all the specifics and structure of this kind of paper.

What is Biology Essay

A biology essay is a student-written work where you present arguments and ideas about a particular biological topic. The essay on biology can take different forms like argumentative, cause-and-effect, descriptive, detailed analysis, or ‘how-to’ instruction, depending on the professor’s guidelines and writer’s preferences. 

A descriptive paper can explain a biological subject, while an argumentative one provides evidence to support a point of view. It’s up to you to choose which type is more suitable for the topic you’re writing about. The most common type is a cause-and-effect essay explaining an event’s reasons and consequences. 

How to Craft a Perfect Essay About Biology

Writing is an art form that requires time and effort. But if you prefer someone else to write the paper for you, you can just text the experts, ‘ do my homework for me ,’ and consider it done. 

Here is the step by step instruction to organize the process for desired results. 

Choose Your Biology Essay Topic

To get a good grade:

• make your paper informative and enjoyable by choosing a topic you wish to explore. 
• Use a brainstorming technique to generate 30-50 options for biology essay topics and research to create a shortlist. 
• Keep a notebook to jot down your ideas.

Choose a Question for Research

When writing a biology essay, use a scientific approach by selecting a research question related to your topic. Always avoid overly complex or apparent questions. You can also text our profs ‘ write my research paper ,’ and it can be done in a blink.

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.

Use a Strong Thesis Statement

The introduction should end with a strong thesis statement synthesizing the overall essay, conveying the research question and your point of view. The paper is ineffective without a clear thesis, as readers may not understand your position.

Use Citation and References

Include a list of references in your academic papers, such as biology essays, to avoid plagiarism and provide data sources. Use the appropriate citation style, like APA or CSE, and consult a guide for requirements.

How to Structure a Biology Essay

Ensure your essay has an attention-grabbing introduction, a detailed body, and a solid conclusion with distinct sections. Use around seven paragraphs for the main body, adjusting as needed for the required word count.

Biology Essay Introduction

In the introduction of your essay about biology, showcase your expertise by providing a brief background of the topic and stating the essay’s objective. For a research paper, explain why the study is relevant. Make sure the reader understands the essence of your subject.

The body section of your essay on biology should focus on supporting and defending your thesis statement. To achieve this, make a list of essential points to cover and address each one step by step. Starting a new paragraph for each point ensures neatness and a continuous flow. 

In conclusion, restate your thesis statement and summarize supporting points to solidify your arguments. Avoid introducing new concepts, and leave a lasting impression on your instructor.

Jellyfish Essay - Example of a Biology Essay About a Fascinating Creature of the Ocean

Jellyfish, also known as jellies, are incredible creatures of the ocean. They’re members of the phylum Cnidaria, including corals and sea anemones. You can find jellyfish in every ocean around the globe, from the surface to the depths of the sea. 

Do you know what shape the jellyfish body has?! It’s one of their most unique features. Their bell-shaped body comprises a soft, jelly-like substance called mesoglea, found between two cellular layers. The outer layer of cells, the epidermis, is thin and flexible, while the inner layer, the gastrodermis, contains the jellyfish’s digestive system. At the bottom of the bell is the mouth, surrounded by tentacles armed with stinging cells called nematocysts. 

The jellyfish tentacles consist of venom-filled sacs, which can be potentially dangerous and life-threatening. Considering the severity of its sting, researchers have gathered information on how to treat it effectively. Use thick clothing, tweezers, sticks, or gloves to alleviate the sting. It’s crucial to avoid touching the sting with bare skin since the venom can cause severe harm. Always dispose of the tool used for removing the sting to prevent re-stinging. 

Jellyfish are creatures that feed on small fish and other tiny marine organisms. They capture their prey using the tentacles and bring it to their mouth. Once the food is inside the jellyfish, it’s broken down by digestive enzymes and absorbed into the gastrovascular cavity. 

An exciting thing about jelly is its life cycle. They go through several stages of development, starting as a tiny, free-swimming larva and then growing into a polyp. The polyp stage is stationary, and the jellyfish attaches itself to a surface using a sticky pad. During this stage, the jellyfish reproduces asexually, creating clones of itself. These clones then break off from the polyp and develop into the familiar bell-shaped body of the adult jellyfish. 

Jellyfish play an essential role in the ocean’s ecosystem too. They’re a food source for many marine creatures, including sea turtles and some fish species. They also help to control the population of tiny marine animals by feeding on them, and their waste products contribute to the nutrient cycle in the ocean.

However, jellyfish populations can sometimes explode and become a nuisance. This phenomenon mostly occurs when their natural predators are eliminated from the ecosystem or when water conditions, like temperature and salinity, are conducive for jellyfish growth. In cases where jellyfish populations reach excessive levels, they can clog fishing nets and interfere with other human activities in the ocean.

Jellyfish really are stunning creatures of the ocean. They’re diverse, with many different species, and are essential to the marine ecosystem. While they can sometimes become a nuisance, they’re vital to the ocean’s food web and nutrient cycle. Studying jellyfish can give us a greater understanding of the complex and interconnected systems that make up our oceans.

Practical Tips for Creating Perfect Academic Papers

Developing writing skills is crucial for your academic success regardless of your major. Check out these tips we provided for improving your writing. But if you aren't fond of writing, you can easily hand it to professionals by saying, ‘ do homework for me .’

Search for Samples or Examples

To improve your writing, analyze examples of well-written biology essays or research papers. Although not all online samples are perfect, they can still provide insights into what works and what doesn’t. However, avoid plagiarism and ensure your paper is original by presenting fresh ideas and a unique perspective. 

Read Whenever You Can

Develop your writing skills by reading widely and extensively. Look for biology papers in scientific journals, websites, or books. Don’t forget to take notes on interesting points that you can use in your papers later.

Practice Makes Perfect

Don’t expect to write a perfect paper on your first try, so take every opportunity to practice your writing. Find a mentor if needed and use online resources to learn from your mistakes and improve your skills.

Always Organize Your Writing Process

Organize your work process instead of waiting for inspiration by defining stages, scheduling time for each task, and eliminating distractions. Don’t wait for mood to write an essay about biology; use different strategies to overcome writer’s block.

Proofread and Get Other Feedback

It’s hard to assess your own work accurately. Seek feedback from peers or instructors to identify strengths and weaknesses to improve upon. Don’t wait for your professor’s feedback to know if your biology essay is good. 

Interesting Biology Essay Topics from Our Experts to Practice Your Writing

In this paragraph, we listed different biology essay topics from which you can choose your preferred one and practice writing to excel in your academic papers.

• A jellyfish - my favorite creature
• Facts about animal behavior
• Biodiversity conservation
• Chemical Ecology
• Impacts of air pollution
• Acid Rain’s impact on wildlife
• The greenhouse effect
• Causes of global warming
• Effects of climate change on nature
• Ways to avoid water pollution

These are interesting topics and also some of the most significant environmental problems. Choose the one you like and practice.

Final Thoughts

This article provides tips that will definitely make your writing process easier and more effective. Adjust these tips while writing your biology paper and structure it as we did in the jellyfish essay example. But if you still prefer a professional to do it for you, contact us by writing ‘ do my research paper ,’ and our experts will handle it.

Ryan Acton is an essay-writing expert with a Ph.D. in Sociology, specializing in sociological research and historical analysis. By partnering with EssayHub, he provides comprehensive support to students, helping them craft well-informed essays across a variety of topics.

• Plagiarism Report
• Unlimited Revisions
• 24/7 Support

How to Write a Biology Essay - Studybay

Introduction

Welcome to The Knowledge Nest's guide on how to write a biology essay! In this comprehensive resource, brought to you in partnership with Studybay, we will explore the key elements of a successful biology essay and provide you with expert tips and guidance to help you excel in your studies. Whether you are a student, an educator, or someone interested in biology, this guide will serve as a valuable reference throughout your academic journey.

Why Biology Essays Matter

Biology essays play a crucial role in understanding and communicating scientific concepts within the field of biology. They allow students to demonstrate their understanding of key biological concepts, improve their critical thinking and analytical skills, and communicate their ideas effectively. Biology essays are not only important for academic assessments but also for fostering a deeper understanding of the natural world and the intricate processes that govern it.

The Structure of a Biology Essay

A well-structured biology essay is essential for effectively conveying your knowledge and ideas. It should follow a clear and logical format, comprising of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

1. Introduction

The introduction serves as the opening paragraph of your biology essay and should provide a clear overview of the topic you will be discussing. It should also include a thesis statement that highlights the main argument or perspective you will be presenting in your essay.

2. Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs form the core of your biology essay and should contain detailed information, evidence, and analysis to support your thesis statement. Consider organizing your body paragraphs around key subtopics or themes related to the main topic of your essay. Each body paragraph should start with a topic sentence that introduces the main idea, followed by supporting evidence and analysis.

3. Conclusion

The conclusion summarizes the main points discussed in your essay and restates your thesis statement. It should also provide a broader perspective on the topic and suggest possible areas for further research or exploration.

Tips for Writing a Biology Essay

Here are some expert tips to help you write a compelling and well-structured biology essay:

1. Understand the Essay Prompt

Before you begin writing, carefully read and understand the essay prompt. Identify the key requirements and objectives of the essay to ensure you address them effectively in your writing.

2. Conduct Thorough Research

Research is essential for gathering relevant information and supporting evidence for your biology essay. Make use of reputable sources such as scientific journals, research papers, textbooks, and reliable online databases.

3. Use Clear and Concise Language

When writing your biology essay, strive for clarity and conciseness. Use precise scientific terminology and explain complex concepts in a way that is accessible to your intended audience.

4. Provide Examples and Evidence

To strengthen your arguments and claims, provide specific examples and evidence from credible sources. This will add credibility to your essay and demonstrate your understanding of the topic.

5. Proofread and Edit

After completing your biology essay, thoroughly proofread and edit it for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Additionally, check the overall coherence and flow of your essay to ensure a smooth reading experience.

In conclusion, writing a biology essay requires a solid understanding of the subject matter, effective research skills, and the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly. By following the structure and tips outlined in this guide, you will be well-equipped to tackle biology essays with confidence. Remember to practice regularly and seek feedback from your educators or peers to continuously improve your writing skills. Happy writing!

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How To Write A Biology Essay

Table of Contents

Content of this article

Topic choice.

• Content page
• Research question
• Introduction
• Investigation

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.

Biology essay topics

• Are vaccines necessary in our system?
• Omnivore’s plants
• How did the dinosaurs just disappear?
• Did the evolution start from the monkeys?
• Which are the most intelligent animals on the face of the earth?
• Why do the male seahorses often carry the offspring?
• How were the wolves domesticated?
• The genetic mutations in plants and animals.
• How the albino animals are different; is this trait also shared in plants and humans?
• The process of aging in humans.

These are some of the good biology essay topics that you can use to produce an article that is standard.

Biology essay structure

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:

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. The content page

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.

3. The research question

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 question in motion should be highlighted in the introduction. The content page will give the reader an understanding of the article.
• The question should introduce new ideas as well.

4. The introduction

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 introduction for a biology essay should illustrate what is being argued in the article.
• For an introduction to be successful, the contents need to be brief and accurate.
• Another professional way how to start a biology essay introduction is by illustrating how you reached the focus of the research.
• The introduction should also contain the references that were accessed.
• What might be revealed in the study should also be highlighted in the opening section.

5. The investigation

The study section gives you the chance of illustrating how the data was selected as well as its reliability.

• You need to clearly explain, describe and justify the choice of collecting primary data.
• Don’t forget to state the sources of the experiments. The method used should be detailed. Someone would want to repeat the same procedure.
• Ensure that the investigations are ethical and not cruel.

6. The analysis

• The body is the meat of the literature essay. The body covers most of the article. A common way how to write a biology essay body is by using at least three paragraphs.
• The biology essay tips need to be relevant to the research question being discussed. The points should also give assertion to the reader.
• Highlight the biology essay prompts as well. Elaborate on how the ideas have been used to support the question in the essay on biology.
• For an effective essay on biology writing, discuss each point in its paragraph. This technique will give you the chance of exhausting the points.

7. The biology essay conclusion

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.

8. The references

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

9. Sources for essay choice

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.

10. Finalizing the Essay

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.

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How to End a College Essay – With Examples

June 16, 2023

Figuring out how to end a college essay can feel like the difference between success and failure. Common scenario: You’ve done the heavy lifting of brainstorming, developing, and revising your Common App essay, but now you sit and stare at the cursor pulsing on your screen, like a stress tick in your eye. What to say that you haven’t already said? How to tie it all together without sounding tired and stressed? It is true that your conclusion serves as a sort of benchmark for the strength of your overall essay. If your conclusion feels impossible to write after several attempts, this might be a sign that you need to go back and look over the strength or purpose of your essay overall.

The good news is, your final paragraph doesn’t need to be a graveyard of redundancy, clichés and tired summary! And even better, you have options about how to end a college essay. It doesn’t have to be formulaic or look like a friend’s conclusion. Amidst a dizzying array of “do’s and “don’ts,” here is a list of three straightforward options, along with examples, for how to successfully (and relatively painlessly) end your college essay.

Option 1: Save something for the end

It might be helpful to think of your essay like this: You are a tailor cutting a garment from a beautiful piece of fabric. You have plenty of fabric to work with because you are approaching your overall essay as a process: brainstorming, writing, revision, repeat. The writing process is cyclical. You begin with an idea, which leads you to another, and before you know it, you’re approaching your original idea from a different angle. In the midst of this process, you will unearth images, memories, meaningful moments, memorable things people in your life have said, and so on. When this happens, intentionally tuck away 1-2 of these items with the idea that you can use them to craft your final paragraph. Following are some examples of students who tried to save something for the end:

Strong Example:

Shortly before her death, my grandmother gave me a string of pearls. Whenever I look at these tiny treasures from the sea, I am reminded that despite our complex relationship, we made many meaningful memories together. Each pearl reminds me of an event, or place: Her 80th birthday party; deep sea diving in Florida; impromptu singing lessons around her piano. Along with the memories, the pearls are a symbol of her finest qualities—qualities she passed on to me: tenacity, loyalty, belief in the deep goodness of humanity—and a touchable reminder that I am in part who I am because of her.

This is a strong example  because the student chose a concrete image—an image that we can imagine seeing or touching—and uses it to deepen his reflection on his relationship with his grandmother. Images are memorable, so this reflection will echo longer in the reader’s mind; this is a classic example of showing AND telling.

How to End a College Essay (Continued)

Weak example:.

Travel is a great way to learn about the world and ourselves. My family would go on amazing trips together, and thinking back on those trips is a really good reminder of all the special memories I have made with them. One time we went to Columbia as a family, and it was very special to me. I tried so many different foods and met so many new people. I even got to use some of the Spanish I learned in school on this trip.  This trip really increased my passion for traveling. Having the opportunity to learn in a different setting while getting to experience new cultures is something I am really looking forward to during college.

This is a weak example  because it does feel as if the student ran out of gas at the end. Notice the use of general adjectives such as amazing and special , and the fact that while a specific place is mentioned—Columbia—nothing specific is said about the country, or the family’s experience there. What foods did the student try? What, besides getting to speak Spanish, made the trip special? There are golden opportunities in this example for where the writer could have invoked one of the five senses—taste, touch, smell, site, or sound—and did not.

Option 2: Leave the reader with a thought to keep the conversation going

You can choose to end your college essay by saying something about your story or topic that you did not feel you had the opportunity to say before.  Sometimes, at the end of an essay on a difficult or complex subject, you feel unable to just “wrap things up” like a pretty Christmas present. Is something still ambiguous for you? Does something still haunt you? Did you hold something back? Tell the reader about it. If it helps, imagine that you are having a conversation with a broader audience than an admissions counselor. If it helps, imagine that your audience is a friend, teacher, or family member.

The ideology behind color blindness doesn’t make you progressive, it makes you a coward. Talking about race should not be controversial. I shouldn’t be petrified to talk about racism to a group of white people . Petrified because I’ll most likely be shut down condescendingly like a parent scolding their child. I shouldn’t worry over the natural curls of my hair because it will seem ghetto and unprofessional.

Nor should I get excited when I see a movie that has at least one black person in a somewhat lead role. I should not have to read white literature, learn white history, and speak white English , but spend only one week learning about slavery. I shouldn’t have to read articles calling Edris Elba “too street” to play James Bond and Viola Davis “less classically beautiful.” So, why is it so hard to talk about racism? What about it make your spine tingle and the hairs on your skin raise?

This is a strong example because, wow! There is a lot of passion and specificity in this student’s reflection on race and racism. From her own curls, to literature and pop culture, this writer is not only giving her audience a piece of her mind, she is putting the ball in the reader’s court with that final question.

Also, think of it like this: What if this writer has hit upon the heart of her paper in her conclusion? What if, by “getting it all out,” she found a way to strengthen her thesis, and her overall purpose for her essay? In the lovely book on creative nonfiction called Tell it Slant , one writer describes the writing process this way: “The essayist attempts to surround a something—a subject, a mood, a problematic irritation, by coming at it from at all angles, wheeling and diving like a hawk, each seemingly digressive spiral actually taking us closer to the heart of the matter.” Trust your writing process, even if feels like you keep circling back to your starting point.

Speaking up for others is important. For example, after the death of George Floyd, Americans showed their support by protesting. Professional athletes have showed their support for the Black community by taking a knee during the national anthem, and regular people spread of awareness on social media. These are all crucial steps to the end of racial injustice in America. I learned that using your voice can make enormous impacts. In the future I’d really like to show my support in protests, by taking part in them, for these injustices.

This is a weak example because while it does mention several specifics, such as protests after the death of George Floyd, and professional athletes “taking the knee,” there isn’t enough of a connection between these examples and the writer. The details in this paragraph could really have been written by anyone (and those are the kind of conclusions you want to avoid writing at all costs!). In the sentence, for example, where the writer says, “I learned that using your voice can make enormous impacts,” s/he misses the opportunity to personalize this learning experience. Even if s/he did not have the opportunity to protest, etc., s/he could have delved deeper into his/her reactions and emotions to the events mentioned, or event discussed what they wished they’d have done to speak up.

Option 3: Don’t try to be fancy

Are you the kind of person who prefers facts and figures over emotions and descriptions? Do you dislike talking about yourself? Do you prefer taking apart machines to playing Wordle? Then this option is for you. When ending your college essay, being clear is better than being fancy. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have to write well. It just means that you can choose to focus more on being straightforward—describing a process, ending with a clear purpose for the future—than being colorful or edgy. The most important thing about the whole college essay writing process, after all, is about showing your authenticity.

It took time and patience, but by observing how various students worked and how I could best help them, I became an effective and efficient Homework Coach. Because I volunteered longer than anyone else, I became the lead Homework Coach. I passed on my hard-won knowledge about developing teaching strategies to the tutors in training so they too could be successful in teaching a variety of subjects. I enjoyed my time helping others and even received a community service award from the President of the United States. Going forward, I plan to continue using my skills as a tutor to help friends and classmates with their homework.

This is a strong example because the student clearly describes a learning experience, what he took from it, and what he hopes to do with it in the future. The writer is obviously proud of his accomplishments, but does not feel the need to “dress them up” by using fancy vocabulary, clichés or empty adjectives.

Which brings me to this point: You don’t need be the daughter of a professional clown, or have ridden an alpaca ten miles to school in order to have something worthwhile to say. Hard work speaks for itself, and often, being authentically you starts with acknowledging day-to-day life lessons and everyday accomplishments.

Weak Example

I started working as a lifeguard at my community pool as a skinny 16-year-old. I remember my first day like it was yesterday. It was 90 degrees, and my red Nike one-piece felt like a melting popsicle as I watched others having fun and cooling off in the water. I remember that there was a mom there with a set of twin toddlers, and I nervously kept an eye on them. Being a lifeguard is all about responsibility and teamwork. My lifeguard team has an outstanding record of keeping swimmers safe. As a student majoring in business, I know that having teamwork skills will be very important, especially because I will probably have to work with a team when I begin my career as well.

This is a weak example because the writer strays from her focus of being a lifeguard, and what she learned about responsibility and teamwork. The reflective, narrative details about the heat, the swimsuit, and the mom with twins, not to mention the cliché “I remember…like it was yesterday,” detract from her overall purpose. Don’t get me wrong: using narrative details to talk about life lessons is not a wrong approach; however, focus first on clarity and your overall purpose for writing.

How to End a College Essay – Final Thoughts

Remember, when ending your college essay, you have options! Consider trying each of these 3 approaches and see which you like best. And as you think about and brainstorm your essays, check out these links, too:

• How to Write the Overcoming Challenges Essay + Example ;
• 2023-2024 Common App Essay Prompts
• Why this College Essay—7 Tips for Success
• College Essay

Charity Gingerich

With a BA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing, Charity has served as an English and creative writing lecturer at several universities. Charity has received many awards for her work, including the Russell MacDonald Creative Writing Award,  Tennessee Williams Scholarship in Poetry, and The Hopper Poetry Prize. Her writing has been featured in FIELD, The Kenyon Review, and Indiana Review, among others.

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How to write an excellent thesis conclusion [with examples]

Restate the thesis

Review or reiterate key points of your work, explain why your work is relevant, a take-away for the reader, more resources on writing thesis conclusions, frequently asked questions about writing an excellent thesis conclusion, related articles.

At this point in your writing, you have most likely finished your introduction and the body of your thesis, dissertation, or research paper . While this is a reason to celebrate, you should not underestimate the importance of your conclusion. The conclusion is the last thing that your reader will see, so it should be memorable.

A good conclusion will review the key points of the thesis and explain to the reader why the information is relevant, applicable, or related to the world as a whole. Make sure to dedicate enough of your writing time to the conclusion and do not put it off until the very last minute.

This article provides an effective technique for writing a conclusion adapted from Erika Eby’s The College Student's Guide to Writing a Good Research Paper: 101 Easy Tips & Tricks to Make Your Work Stand Out .

While the thesis introduction starts out with broad statements about the topic, and then narrows it down to the thesis statement , a thesis conclusion does the same in the opposite order.

• Restate the thesis.
• Review or reiterate key points of your work.
• Explain why your work is relevant.
• Include a core take-away message for the reader.

Tip: Don’t just copy and paste your thesis into your conclusion. Restate it in different words.

The best way to start a conclusion is simply by restating the thesis statement. That does not mean just copying and pasting it from the introduction, but putting it into different words.

You will need to change the structure and wording of it to avoid sounding repetitive. Also, be firm in your conclusion just as you were in the introduction. Try to avoid sounding apologetic by using phrases like "This paper has tried to show..."

The conclusion should address all the same parts as the thesis while making it clear that the reader has reached the end. You are telling the reader that your research is finished and what your findings are.

I have argued throughout this work that the point of critical mass for biopolitical immunity occurred during the Romantic period because of that era's unique combination of post-revolutionary politics and innovations in smallpox prevention. In particular, I demonstrated that the French Revolution and the discovery of vaccination in the 1790s triggered a reconsideration of the relationship between bodies and the state.

Tip: Try to reiterate points from your introduction in your thesis conclusion.

The next step is to review the main points of the thesis as a whole. Look back at the body of of your project and make a note of the key ideas. You can reword these ideas the same way you reworded your thesis statement and then incorporate that into the conclusion.

You can also repeat striking quotations or statistics, but do not use more than two. As the conclusion represents your own closing thoughts on the topic , it should mainly consist of your own words.

In addition, conclusions can contain recommendations to the reader or relevant questions that further the thesis. You should ask yourself:

• What you would ideally like to see your readers do in reaction to your paper?
• Do you want them to take a certain action or investigate further?
• Is there a bigger issue that your paper wants to draw attention to?

Also, try to reference your introduction in your conclusion. You have already taken a first step by restating your thesis. Now, check whether there are other key words, phrases or ideas that are mentioned in your introduction that fit into your conclusion. Connecting the introduction to the conclusion in this way will help readers feel satisfied.

I explored how Mary Wollstonecraft, in both her fiction and political writings, envisions an ideal medico-political state, and how other writers like William Wordsworth and Mary Shelley increasingly imagined the body politic literally, as an incorporated political collective made up of bodies whose immunity to political and medical ills was essential to a healthy state.

Tip: Make sure to explain why your thesis is relevant to your field of research.

Although you can encourage readers to question their opinions and reflect on your topic, do not leave loose ends. You should provide a sense of resolution and make sure your conclusion wraps up your argument. Make sure you explain why your thesis is relevant to your field of research and how your research intervenes within, or substantially revises, existing scholarly debates.

This project challenged conventional ideas about the relationship among Romanticism, medicine, and politics by reading the unfolding of Romantic literature and biopolitical immunity as mutual, co-productive processes. In doing so, this thesis revises the ways in which biopolitics has been theorized by insisting on the inherent connections between Romantic literature and the forms of biopower that characterize early modernity.

Tip: If you began your thesis with an anecdote or historical example, you may want to return to that in your conclusion.

End your conclusion with something memorable, such as:

• a call to action
• a recommendation
• a gesture towards future research
• a brief explanation of how the problem or idea you covered remains relevant

Ultimately, you want readers to feel more informed, or ready to act, as they read your conclusion.

Yet, the Romantic period is only the beginning of modern thought on immunity and biopolitics. Victorian writers, doctors, and politicians upheld the Romantic idea that a "healthy state" was a literal condition that could be achieved by combining politics and medicine, but augmented that idea through legislation and widespread public health measures. While many nineteenth-century efforts to improve citizens' health were successful, the fight against disease ultimately changed course in the twentieth century as global immunological threats such as SARS occupied public consciousness. Indeed, as subsequent public health events make apparent, biopolitical immunity persists as a viable concept for thinking about the relationship between medicine and politics in modernity.

Need more advice? Read our 5 additional tips on how to write a good thesis conclusion.

The conclusion is the last thing that your reader will see, so it should be memorable. To write a great thesis conclusion you should:

The basic content of a conclusion is to review the main points from the paper. This part represents your own closing thoughts on the topic. It should mainly consist of the outcome of the research in your own words.

The length of the conclusion will depend on the length of the whole thesis. Usually, a conclusion should be around 5-7% of the overall word count.

End your conclusion with something memorable, such as a question, warning, or call to action. Depending on the topic, you can also end with a recommendation.

In Open Access: Theses and Dissertations you can find thousands of completed works. Take a look at any of the theses or dissertations for real-life examples of conclusions that were already approved.

Essays About Biology: Top 5 Best Examples and 6 Prompts

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:

1. Essay About Biology by Kelli Wilkins

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.

6 Prompts for Essays About Biology

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. 

BIOLOGY JUNCTION

Test And Quizzes for Biology, Pre-AP, Or AP Biology For Teachers And Students

Conclusions

Writing a Good Conclusion

The Conclusion is where you make it clear to the lab instructor what you learned in the lab experience. Since the purpose of the lab is to learn something about science, take the time to write a Conclusion that convinces the lab instructor of what you have learned.

Step 1: Restate your hypothesis.

Step 2 : Write one or more paragraphs that completely summarizes what you have learned from each part of the lab about the scientific concept of the lab from doing the lab. Back up your statement with supporting details (data) from your lab experience.

Step 3: Make sure that you interpret all of your data (Explain what your data means).

Additional Tips:

·         Strive for logic and precision and avoid ambiguity, especially with pronouns and sequences

·         Keep your writing impersonal; avoid the use of the first person (i.e. I or we)

·         Use the past tense and be consistent within the report note: “data” is plural and “datum” is singular; species is singular and plural

·         Italicize all scientific names (genus and species)

·         Use the metric system of measurement and abbreviate measurements without periods (i.e. cm  kg)

·         Spell out all numbers beginning sentences or less than 10 (i.e. “two explanations of six factors”).

·         Write numbers as numerals when greater than ten (i.e. 156) or associated with measurements (i.e. 6 mm or 2 g)

Writing Effective Conclusions

It’s a wrap writing effective conclusions.

Kay Chubbuck

Princeton Writing Program

Conclusions are critical for any essay’s success. They provide your last opportunity for persuasion, for argument, for kicking your thesis home. They need to provide closure – to convey a sense of completeness – yet they should also leave readers thinking about your points. Conclusions can do this by illustrating the lingering possibilities of the topic, its larger (or modern, or real-life) implications, your essay’s true meaning or “so what?” Like the introduction, the conclusion is propelled by your motive in writing the essay – but rather than giving readers reason to read, the conclusion shapes their memory of your words once the essay is done. Often, the conclusion divides the distinguished from the undistinguished essay: the one readers will remember from the one readers will forget. As such, it should not simply restate your thesis or voice a vague, general point. It needs to make a lasting impression.

Different things an effective conclusion can do:

Create a “bookend” with the introduction by revisiting an image or anecdote raised in the first paragraph. How do we then “read” this image, or understand this anecdote, in light of the evidence your essay has presented? This is also called “putting a human face on the problem,” and is a common strategy in journalism. For example, imagine you begin an essay on Kent State by looking at John Filo’s photograph (“Pieta”) of the dead student in the parking lot. After stating your thesis, you investigate the events of Kent State from a particular angle. In your conclusion, you return to the photo and look it once more. What new angle has your evidence provided? Bring your essay full circle – with a twist.

Redefine your argument, particularly if your introduction asked a question or raised a “key term” that your essay examined. This is much like the previous example, but in this case the “bookend” is intellectual rather than personal or visual. For example, imagine your essay begins by questioning the stereotype of the Vietnamese civilian as an agent of the Vietcong. You have just spent several pages enriching or complicating that perception. In your conclusion, you could revisit the original question and place a new spin on it. Does this mean American perceptions are wrong? Is there some kind of culpability at work? Why does this matter? What is the greater issue here? This is much like the next type of conclusion: the “greater implication” ending.

Conclude by considering the implications of your argument. How does your analysis matter in the context of history, politics, science, literature, or other discipline in which the essay is written? Be sure, when writing this type of paragraph, to keep it specific. Suppose, for example, you have written an essay about the genocide that took place in Cambodia because of Pol Pot. Surely, this topic has real-world implications. What can we learn from these events? Why do they matter? What is the “so what?” factor to this paper? Suppose, too, that your essay considered the “tolerance” other countries gave to Pol Pot, the blind eye the world community turned on his atrocities. What can we learn from this? What implications does this have for diplomacy in the future? Why did we ignore what transpired? Similarly, imagine you have written an essay about the differing perceptions of the jungle in Vietnamese and American literature about the war. At first glance, this topic may not seem to have the “greater implications” of a paper on Pol Pot. But if you think about it, the American fear of the landscape can be blamed to some degree for our use of defoliants, while the Vietnamese bond with the landscape led to the creation of tunnel warfare: digging into the very earth for protection. Most topics about the Vietnam War will have some kind of real-life implications, and one technique you can use in your conclusion is to exploit them.

Conclude with a quotation from or reference to a source that amplifies your thesis and perhaps puts it in a new perspective. Be careful with this one: it’s tricky. You don’t want to end solely with someone else’s words – and you don’t want to introduce new, unrelated material — but this strategy can provide a means of complicating your essay, of putting a new spin on your topic. For example, an essay that has examined patriotism among Vietnamese soldiers could end with a quotation from Ho Chi Minh (which you then analyze) that illuminates your own reading of patriotism among North Vietnamese troops. Or you might end with facts about troops’ patriotism from a nonfiction source without quoting directly. This is different from putting your entire essay into context, from placing a creative work into its historical frame. Instead, it’s a broadening device, a means of widening your focus at the very end. This is a method of looking at the “big picture” without making general or sweeping claims.

End with the questions raised by your paper. This, too, is tricky. It’s the “inconclusive conclusion”: the conclusion that illuminates the questions raised by your work without necessarily answering them, often because there are no easy answers. This can be a powerful way to leave your readers thinking, but it can also comes across as apologetic or annoying. It works best in papers that analyze some moral issue (what is truth? what is justice? what is honorable in war?) because these type of questions often do not have answers. It works least well for essays that point toward an obvious conclusion because essays that are strongly persuasive don’t leave these doors open. For this reason, a paper that explores why the world community did nothing about Pol Pot – why the atrocities in fact took place – might be able to end with some provocative questions. But a paper that analyzes Jimi Hendrix’s status as an anti-war icon would need a different type of conclusion, perhaps an anecdote or a quotation.

Effective conclusions also end with a “kicker”: a simple sentence, often composed of one-syllable words or structured in a parallel fashion, that “kicks” your point home. Sometimes, this kicker is a quotation from another writer, but more often the “kicker” is composed of your own words, your own commentary on the quotation (if you use one) or the anecdote or the implications discussed in this last paragraph. The reason the “kicker” is important is because the final line of your essay, like the first one, generates interest for your topic. Done well, it will leave your reader thinking and create a good impression. Short sentences have punch; long sentences belabor the point, dragging and trailing as they attempt to remake the essay in the last few words, gasping their way to the finale as this sentence is doing because the writer obviously isn’t sure what to do and isn’t happy about the conclusion and so tries to say everything again all at once. Don’t do this.

Other don’ts for the conclusion:

• Don’t restate the thesis in so many words.
• Don’t repeat the language of the assignment, particularly if it was not part of your essay. (This was a big problem with Essay #2. Suddenly, there were all these sentences about “true” war stories in essays that otherwise did not mention this issue. Don’t do this. It’s jejune.)
• Don’t apologize for your paper or your claims.
• Don’t engage in platitudes or generalizations.
• Don’t introduce completely new material. The conclusion shouldn’t look like a body paragraph.
• Don’t refute the claims you have made. The counter-argument does not belong in this paragraph.
• Don’t belabor the same point in six sentences. Have something worthwhile to say.

Ultimately, you should devote as much time to writing your conclusion as you do to crafting your introduction. It is one of the set pieces of your argument, and the impression your conclusion makes will last long after your readers forget the middle of your essay. In real-world terms, you should realize, too, that lazy readers often skip to the conclusion when they get bored or frustrated. They look for the “so what?” This could happen to you. For this reason, your conclusion needs to have snap, or purpose. Use it to end your essay with a bang.

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How to Write a Conclusion for a Biography

A written account of someone's life, known as a biography, should conclude by reflecting on the person's significance and achievements. Accomplishments could include personal or professional accolades. If your biography is about a criminal or a corrupt individual, you might conclude with remarks about why the individual will always be remembered in history. The goal is to leave readers with a final message that sums up the social or historical importance of the person's life.

Place in History

Conclude with a brief summary of the person's most memorable actions or contributions , suggests Sharon Sorenson in her book "Webster's New World Student Writing Handbook" . Don't restate facts or examples you mention in your paper; explain how those experiences paved a place in history. For example, if you're writing a conclusion to a biography about Bonnie Parker -- Clyde Barrow's partner in crime during the Great Depression -- explain how she revolutionized societal views of women. Her gun-toting, cigar-smoking, rebellious reputation didn't align with stereotypical female roles during the era. A biography should stress factors that make the person stand out from others.

Sphere of Influence

Focus on ways the person influenced society through his unending support of a particular subject, issue or cause, suggests the East Side High School District in San Jose, California. Conclude by reminding readers that the person's influence extended beyond his life span and into the future. For example, if your biography is about Martin Luther King Jr., you might discuss how his nonviolent protests, rallying speeches and dedication to ensuring that blacks receive equal treatment challenged others to follow in his footsteps.

Personal Tidbits

End on a personal note about the person's family, hobbies, pets, passions or interests . A personal conclusion is especially beneficial if the bulk of the biography is about the person's professional life and you want to add a personal touch. For example, if your biography is about Bill Gates, you might end your biography by discussing his favorite hobbies, such as playing bridge, watching his daughter ride horses and washing the dishes -- none of which have anything to do with technology. This helps readers see the person through a new, more personal lens.

Restate Your Thesis

Make sure your conclusion backs your person-driven thesis and supports the major themes and messages, suggests Writing With Writers at Scholastic. For example, if your biography is about your hard-working, immigrant great-grandmother who came to the United States to make a better life for her family, you might end your paper with heartfelt praise for her devotion and determination. You might say, "She bravely stepped out of her comfort zone to give her family a bright and hopeful future." or "She ventured into the unknown to ensure her family had plentiful opportunities."

• East Side High School District: Biographical Narrative -- Writing Resources
• Webster's New World Student Writing Handbook; Sharon Sorenson; 2009
• Scholastic: Writing with Writers -- Biography

As curriculum developer and educator, Kristine Tucker has enjoyed the plethora of English assignments she's read (and graded!) over the years. Her experiences as vice-president of an energy consulting firm have given her the opportunity to explore business writing and HR. Tucker has a BA and holds Ohio teaching credentials.

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How To Write A Lab Report | Step-by-Step Guide & Examples

Published on May 20, 2021 by Pritha Bhandari . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A lab report conveys the aim, methods, results, and conclusions of a scientific experiment. The main purpose of a lab report is to demonstrate your understanding of the scientific method by performing and evaluating a hands-on lab experiment. This type of assignment is usually shorter than a research paper .

Lab reports are commonly used in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. This article focuses on how to structure and write a lab report.

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Table of contents

Structuring a lab report, introduction, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about lab reports.

The sections of a lab report can vary between scientific fields and course requirements, but they usually contain the purpose, methods, and findings of a lab experiment .

Each section of a lab report has its own purpose.

• Title: expresses the topic of your study
• Abstract : summarizes your research aims, methods, results, and conclusions
• Introduction: establishes the context needed to understand the topic
• Method: describes the materials and procedures used in the experiment
• Results: reports all descriptive and inferential statistical analyses
• Discussion: interprets and evaluates results and identifies limitations
• Conclusion: sums up the main findings of your experiment
• References: list of all sources cited using a specific style (e.g. APA )
• Appendices : contains lengthy materials, procedures, tables or figures

Although most lab reports contain these sections, some sections can be omitted or combined with others. For example, some lab reports contain a brief section on research aims instead of an introduction, and a separate conclusion is not always required.

If you’re not sure, it’s best to check your lab report requirements with your instructor.

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Your title provides the first impression of your lab report – effective titles communicate the topic and/or the findings of your study in specific terms.

Create a title that directly conveys the main focus or purpose of your study. It doesn’t need to be creative or thought-provoking, but it should be informative.

• The effects of varying nitrogen levels on tomato plant height.
• Testing the universality of the McGurk effect.
• Comparing the viscosity of common liquids found in kitchens.

An abstract condenses a lab report into a brief overview of about 150–300 words. It should provide readers with a compact version of the research aims, the methods and materials used, the main results, and the final conclusion.

Think of it as a way of giving readers a preview of your full lab report. Write the abstract last, in the past tense, after you’ve drafted all the other sections of your report, so you’ll be able to succinctly summarize each section.

To write a lab report abstract, use these guiding questions:

• What is the wider context of your study?
• What research question were you trying to answer?
• How did you perform the experiment?
• What did your results show?
• How did you interpret your results?
• What is the importance of your findings?

Nitrogen is a necessary nutrient for high quality plants. Tomatoes, one of the most consumed fruits worldwide, rely on nitrogen for healthy leaves and stems to grow fruit. This experiment tested whether nitrogen levels affected tomato plant height in a controlled setting. It was expected that higher levels of nitrogen fertilizer would yield taller tomato plants.

Levels of nitrogen fertilizer were varied between three groups of tomato plants. The control group did not receive any nitrogen fertilizer, while one experimental group received low levels of nitrogen fertilizer, and a second experimental group received high levels of nitrogen fertilizer. All plants were grown from seeds, and heights were measured 50 days into the experiment.

The effects of nitrogen levels on plant height were tested between groups using an ANOVA. The plants with the highest level of nitrogen fertilizer were the tallest, while the plants with low levels of nitrogen exceeded the control group plants in height. In line with expectations and previous findings, the effects of nitrogen levels on plant height were statistically significant. This study strengthens the importance of nitrogen for tomato plants.

Your lab report introduction should set the scene for your experiment. One way to write your introduction is with a funnel (an inverted triangle) structure:

• Start with the broad, general research topic
• Narrow your topic down your specific study focus
• End with a clear research question

Begin by providing background information on your research topic and explaining why it’s important in a broad real-world or theoretical context. Describe relevant previous research on your topic and note how your study may confirm it or expand it, or fill a gap in the research field.

This lab experiment builds on previous research from Haque, Paul, and Sarker (2011), who demonstrated that tomato plant yield increased at higher levels of nitrogen. However, the present research focuses on plant height as a growth indicator and uses a lab-controlled setting instead.

Next, go into detail on the theoretical basis for your study and describe any directly relevant laws or equations that you’ll be using. State your main research aims and expectations by outlining your hypotheses .

Based on the importance of nitrogen for tomato plants, the primary hypothesis was that the plants with the high levels of nitrogen would grow the tallest. The secondary hypothesis was that plants with low levels of nitrogen would grow taller than plants with no nitrogen.

Your introduction doesn’t need to be long, but you may need to organize it into a few paragraphs or with subheadings such as “Research Context” or “Research Aims.”

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A lab report Method section details the steps you took to gather and analyze data. Give enough detail so that others can follow or evaluate your procedures. Write this section in the past tense. If you need to include any long lists of procedural steps or materials, place them in the Appendices section but refer to them in the text here.

You should describe your experimental design, your subjects, materials, and specific procedures used for data collection and analysis.

Experimental design

Briefly note whether your experiment is a within-subjects  or between-subjects design, and describe how your sample units were assigned to conditions if relevant.

A between-subjects design with three groups of tomato plants was used. The control group did not receive any nitrogen fertilizer. The first experimental group received a low level of nitrogen fertilizer, while the second experimental group received a high level of nitrogen fertilizer.

Describe human subjects in terms of demographic characteristics, and animal or plant subjects in terms of genetic background. Note the total number of subjects as well as the number of subjects per condition or per group. You should also state how you recruited subjects for your study.

List the equipment or materials you used to gather data and state the model names for any specialized equipment.

List of materials

35 Tomato seeds

15 plant pots (15 cm tall)

Light lamps (50,000 lux)

Nitrogen fertilizer

Measuring tape

Describe your experimental settings and conditions in detail. You can provide labelled diagrams or images of the exact set-up necessary for experimental equipment. State how extraneous variables were controlled through restriction or by fixing them at a certain level (e.g., keeping the lab at room temperature).

Light levels were fixed throughout the experiment, and the plants were exposed to 12 hours of light a day. Temperature was restricted to between 23 and 25℃. The pH and carbon levels of the soil were also held constant throughout the experiment as these variables could influence plant height. The plants were grown in rooms free of insects or other pests, and they were spaced out adequately.

Your experimental procedure should describe the exact steps you took to gather data in chronological order. You’ll need to provide enough information so that someone else can replicate your procedure, but you should also be concise. Place detailed information in the appendices where appropriate.

In a lab experiment, you’ll often closely follow a lab manual to gather data. Some instructors will allow you to simply reference the manual and state whether you changed any steps based on practical considerations. Other instructors may want you to rewrite the lab manual procedures as complete sentences in coherent paragraphs, while noting any changes to the steps that you applied in practice.

If you’re performing extensive data analysis, be sure to state your planned analysis methods as well. This includes the types of tests you’ll perform and any programs or software you’ll use for calculations (if relevant).

First, tomato seeds were sown in wooden flats containing soil about 2 cm below the surface. Each seed was kept 3-5 cm apart. The flats were covered to keep the soil moist until germination. The seedlings were removed and transplanted to pots 8 days later, with a maximum of 2 plants to a pot. Each pot was watered once a day to keep the soil moist.

The nitrogen fertilizer treatment was applied to the plant pots 12 days after transplantation. The control group received no treatment, while the first experimental group received a low concentration, and the second experimental group received a high concentration. There were 5 pots in each group, and each plant pot was labelled to indicate the group the plants belonged to.

50 days after the start of the experiment, plant height was measured for all plants. A measuring tape was used to record the length of the plant from ground level to the top of the tallest leaf.

In your results section, you should report the results of any statistical analysis procedures that you undertook. You should clearly state how the results of statistical tests support or refute your initial hypotheses.

The main results to report include:

• any descriptive statistics
• statistical test results
• the significance of the test results
• estimates of standard error or confidence intervals

The mean heights of the plants in the control group, low nitrogen group, and high nitrogen groups were 20.3, 25.1, and 29.6 cm respectively. A one-way ANOVA was applied to calculate the effect of nitrogen fertilizer level on plant height. The results demonstrated statistically significant ( p = .03) height differences between groups.

Next, post-hoc tests were performed to assess the primary and secondary hypotheses. In support of the primary hypothesis, the high nitrogen group plants were significantly taller than the low nitrogen group and the control group plants. Similarly, the results supported the secondary hypothesis: the low nitrogen plants were taller than the control group plants.

These results can be reported in the text or in tables and figures. Use text for highlighting a few key results, but present large sets of numbers in tables, or show relationships between variables with graphs.

You should also include sample calculations in the Results section for complex experiments. For each sample calculation, provide a brief description of what it does and use clear symbols. Present your raw data in the Appendices section and refer to it to highlight any outliers or trends.

The Discussion section will help demonstrate your understanding of the experimental process and your critical thinking skills.

In this section, you can:

• Interpret your results
• Compare your findings with your expectations
• Identify any sources of experimental error
• Explain any unexpected results
• Suggest possible improvements for further studies

Interpreting your results involves clarifying how your results help you answer your main research question. Report whether your results support your hypotheses.

• Did you measure what you sought out to measure?
• Were your analysis procedures appropriate for this type of data?

Compare your findings with other research and explain any key differences in findings.

• Are your results in line with those from previous studies or your classmates’ results? Why or why not?

An effective Discussion section will also highlight the strengths and limitations of a study.

• Did you have high internal validity or reliability?
• How did you establish these aspects of your study?

When describing limitations, use specific examples. For example, if random error contributed substantially to the measurements in your study, state the particular sources of error (e.g., imprecise apparatus) and explain ways to improve them.

The results support the hypothesis that nitrogen levels affect plant height, with increasing levels producing taller plants. These statistically significant results are taken together with previous research to support the importance of nitrogen as a nutrient for tomato plant growth.

However, unlike previous studies, this study focused on plant height as an indicator of plant growth in the present experiment. Importantly, plant height may not always reflect plant health or fruit yield, so measuring other indicators would have strengthened the study findings.

Another limitation of the study is the plant height measurement technique, as the measuring tape was not suitable for plants with extreme curvature. Future studies may focus on measuring plant height in different ways.

The main strengths of this study were the controls for extraneous variables, such as pH and carbon levels of the soil. All other factors that could affect plant height were tightly controlled to isolate the effects of nitrogen levels, resulting in high internal validity for this study.

Your conclusion should be the final section of your lab report. Here, you’ll summarize the findings of your experiment, with a brief overview of the strengths and limitations, and implications of your study for further research.

Some lab reports may omit a Conclusion section because it overlaps with the Discussion section, but you should check with your instructor before doing so.

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A lab report conveys the aim, methods, results, and conclusions of a scientific experiment . Lab reports are commonly assigned in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

The purpose of a lab report is to demonstrate your understanding of the scientific method with a hands-on lab experiment. Course instructors will often provide you with an experimental design and procedure. Your task is to write up how you actually performed the experiment and evaluate the outcome.

In contrast, a research paper requires you to independently develop an original argument. It involves more in-depth research and interpretation of sources and data.

A lab report is usually shorter than a research paper.

The sections of a lab report can vary between scientific fields and course requirements, but it usually contains the following:

• Abstract: summarizes your research aims, methods, results, and conclusions
• References: list of all sources cited using a specific style (e.g. APA)
• Appendices: contains lengthy materials, procedures, tables or figures

The results chapter or section simply and objectively reports what you found, without speculating on why you found these results. The discussion interprets the meaning of the results, puts them in context, and explains why they matter.

In qualitative research , results and discussion are sometimes combined. But in quantitative research , it’s considered important to separate the objective results from your interpretation of them.

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How to Write an Effective Conclusion for a Science Lab Report

Last Updated: August 9, 2024 Fact Checked

• Discussing the Experiment
• Writing What You Learned
• Ending Your Conclusion

Finalizing Your Lab Report

This article was co-authored by Bess Ruff, MA . Bess Ruff is a Geography PhD student at Florida State University. She received her MA in Environmental Science and Management from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2016. She has conducted survey work for marine spatial planning projects in the Caribbean and provided research support as a graduate fellow for the Sustainable Fisheries Group. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,772,546 times.

A lab report describes an entire experiment from start to finish, outlining the procedures, reporting results, and analyzing data. The report is used to demonstrate what has been learned, and it will provide a way for other people to see your process for the experiment and understand how you arrived at your conclusions. The conclusion is an integral part of the report; this is the section that reiterates the experiment’s main findings and gives the reader an overview of the lab trial. Writing a solid conclusion to your lab report will demonstrate that you’ve effectively learned the objectives of your assignment.

How to Write a Lab Report Conclusion

• Restate the purpose of the experiment and your procedures.
• Describe the results or findings and if they support your hypothesis.
• Mention what you've learned from the experiment.
• Note any errors or uncertainties that could affect the results.
• Propose experiments for the future to gain more findings.

Outlining Your Conclusion

• Restate : Restate the lab experiment by describing the assignment.
• Explain : Explain the purpose of the lab experiment. What were you trying to figure out or discover? Talk briefly about the procedure you followed to complete the lab.
• Results : Explain your results. Confirm whether or not your hypothesis was supported by the results.
• Uncertainties : Account for uncertainties and errors. Explain, for example, if there were other circumstances beyond your control that might have impacted the experiment’s results.
• New : Discuss new questions or discoveries that emerged from the experiment.

• Your assignment may also have specific questions that need to be answered. Make sure you answer these fully and coherently in your conclusion.

Discussing the Experiment and Hypothesis

• If you tried the experiment more than once, describe the reasons for doing so. Discuss changes that you made in your procedures.
• Brainstorm ways to explain your results in more depth. Go back through your lab notes, paying particular attention to the results you observed. [3] X Trustworthy Source University of North Carolina Writing Center UNC's on-campus and online instructional service that provides assistance to students, faculty, and others during the writing process Go to source

• Start this section with wording such as, “The results showed that…”
• You don’t need to give the raw data here. Just summarize the main points, calculate averages, or give a range of data to give an overall picture to the reader.
• Make sure to explain whether or not any statistical analyses were significant, and to what degree, such as 1%, 5%, or 10%.

• Use simple language such as, “The results supported the hypothesis,” or “The results did not support the hypothesis.”

Demonstrating What You Have Learned

• If it’s not clear in your conclusion what you learned from the lab, start off by writing, “In this lab, I learned…” This will give the reader a heads up that you will be describing exactly what you learned.
• Add details about what you learned and how you learned it. Adding dimension to your learning outcomes will convince your reader that you did, in fact, learn from the lab. Give specifics about how you learned that molecules will act in a particular environment, for example.
• Describe how what you learned in the lab could be applied to a future experiment.

• On a new line, write the question in italics. On the next line, write the answer to the question in regular text.

• If your experiment did not achieve the objectives, explain or speculate why not.

Wrapping Up Your Conclusion

• If your experiment raised questions that your collected data can’t answer, discuss this here.

• Describe what is new or innovative about your research.
• This can often set you apart from your classmates, many of whom will just write up the barest of discussion and conclusion.

Community Q&A

• Ensure the language used is straightforward with specific details. Try not to drift off topic. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• Once again, avoid using personal pronouns (I, myself, we, our group) in a lab report. The first-person point-of-view is often seen as subjective, whereas science is based on objectivity. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• If you include figures or tables in your conclusion, be sure to include a brief caption or label so that the reader knows what the figures refer to. Also, discuss the figures briefly in the text of your report. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

• Take care with writing your lab report when working in a team setting. While the lab experiment may be a collaborative effort, your lab report is your own work. If you copy sections from someone else’s report, this will be considered plagiarism. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://phoenixcollege.libguides.com/LabReportWriting/introduction
• ↑ https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/discipline/english/literacy/Pages/puttingittogether.aspx
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/brainstorming/
• ↑ https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/types-of-writing/lab-report/
• ↑ http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/hypothes.php
• ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/conclusion
• ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/introduction/researchproblem
• ↑ http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/scientific-reports/
• ↑ https://phoenixcollege.libguides.com/LabReportWriting/labreportstyle
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/editing-and-proofreading/

About This Article

To write a good lab conclusion in science, start with restating the lab experiment by describing the assignment. Next, explain what you were trying to discover or figure out by doing the experiment. Then, list your results and explain how they confirmed or did not confirm your hypothesis. Additionally, include any uncertainties, such as circumstances beyond your control that may have impacted the results. Finally, discuss any new questions or discoveries that emerged from the experiment. For more advice, including how to wrap up your lab report with a final statement, keep reading. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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From Criteria to Conclusion: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing an Evaluation Essay

How to Write an Evaluation Essay

Have you ever written a movie review on IMBD? Or maybe you have recently left your opinion under a viral TikTok video? If you have done anything from these above, you have practically tried writing an evaluation piece. The only main difference is that in terms of evaluation essay examples, the writing is much longer and more elaborate. It also usually follows a more formal writing style and format. However, as a separate essay type, it has its own structural nuances and thus may be a bit tricky to complete on the first try. No worries though, because in this article you will find all the important details about how to create an outline and write an evaluation essay as well as which aspects you should pay attention to during the work process. 

What is An Evaluation Essay?

An evaluation essay is a form of writing where the author assesses a particular subject, event, or phenomenon based on a set of criteria. The aim is to provide an unbiased and well-reasoned judgment of the topic in question. Unlike a review, which may be more subjective, an evaluation essay requires the writer to provide evidence and reasoning to support their assessments. You’re not just telling your friend, “This movie was awesome!” Instead, you’re breaking down the elements that made it awesome (or not so awesome) and helping them see why your judgment makes sense. The purpose is to inform the reader, helping them understand the value, significance, or quality of the subject matter.

So, what exactly makes an evaluation essay? There are four key components: criteria, judgments, evidence, counterarguments, and credibility. 

Key Components of the Essay

This is where you set the bar for what you’re evaluating. Let’s say you’re reviewing an app. Your criteria might include things like the user interface, how well it functions, and whether it’s worth the price. These are the specific aspects you’ll focus on to assess the app. The more clearly you define your criteria, the easier it is for your readers to get where you’re coming from.

Once you’ve laid out your criteria, it’s time to make your call. This is your actual evaluation based on the criteria you’ve set. For example, if you’re evaluating a coffee shop, you might judge it based on the quality of the coffee, the vibe of the place, and the service. But don’t just stop at your judgment—explain why you’re making that call (which scoring you gave for each of the aspects, for example).

Here’s where you back up your judgment with some solid proof. It’s not enough to say, “The coffee was amazing.” What made it amazing? Was it the rich flavor, the perfect temperature, or the barista’s skill? Providing specific examples or facts makes your argument stronger and your evaluation more convincing.

• Counterarguments

A good evaluation essay also takes into account other perspectives. Maybe the coffee was great, but the service was slow. By acknowledging potential counterarguments, you show that you’ve thought critically about your evaluation. It makes your essay more credible and shows that you’re not just being one-sided.

• Credibility

Speaking of credibility, this comes from using reliable sources, presenting your argument fairly, and being upfront about any limitations in your evaluation. In the example of the coffee shop, it helps if you’ve visited a variety of similar places or have a decent understanding of what makes a good cup of coffee. This shows your readers that you know what you’re talking about and that your evaluation is grounded in real experience, not just a one-time visit.

So, to sum it up, the main point of a good evaluation essay is to give a thoughtful, well-supported opinion. You’re guiding your readers through your thought process, showing them how you arrived at your conclusion, and making sure they understand your perspective. 

Creating an Evaluation Essay Outline: What You Should Know

The outline is important in any type of writing. However, it plays an even a larger role when it comes to presenting a thought-out and precise evaluation that will in the end support your own opinion on the matter. Here’s what your outline should typically include:

• Hook: Start with a compelling opening sentence to win over the reader’s attention.
• Background Information: Provide some context about the subject you’re evaluating.
• Thesis Statement: Clearly state your evaluation, summarizing the main criteria you will use to assess the subject.
• Criteria: Each paragraph should focus on one criterion you’re using for evaluation.
• Evidence: Support each criterion with evidence or examples.
• Judgment: Explain how the evidence supports your evaluation for each criterion.
• Restate Thesis: Summarize your main points and restate your evaluation.
• Final Thoughts: Offer any concluding remarks or suggestions for further consideration.

Writing an Evaluation Essay Step-by-Step

Now, we’ve covered the basics: the structure and main characteristics of the evaluation essay as a type of writing. The logical question is, how you should go about writing the essay so as not to lose the train of thought and present all the facts. Below you will see exactly how to do that.

Describe the Evaluation Criteria

First things first, what you need to do is establish the criteria by which you’ll be evaluating your subject. These criteria are the specific angles you’ll use to analyze the different aspects of whatever you’re evaluating. Let’s get back to the example of the essay about a coffee shop. Your criteria, in such a case, might include the quality of the coffee, the atmosphere, the service, and the overall value for money. These will serve as the foundation for your judgments, so take the time to brainstorm and define them clearly before you begin writing.

Write a Plan

With your criteria in hand, the next step is to create the outline that was previously mentioned. This sort of a “map” will keep you on track and help make sure that your essay flows logically from one point to the next. Start by outlining the main ideas you’ll cover in each body paragraph, each corresponding to one of the criteria you’ve established. Think about the order in which you want to present your arguments and how you’ll transition between them. 

Write the Evaluation Essay

Now that you’ve got your plan, it’s time to get writing! Start with a strong introduction that grabs your reader’s attention and clearly states the purpose of your evaluation. Then, move into the body paragraphs. Follow the structure discussed earlier: introduce the subject, make your judgment, apply your criteria, and provide evidence to support your opinion. Be sure to make your reasons clear and compelling, and guide your reader smoothly from one point to the next.

Write the Conclusion

Finally, you can put an end to your writing by summarizing the main points of your essay and restating your overall judgment. Reflect on the significance of your evaluation and its broader implications—what does your assessment say about the subject as a whole? Leave your readers with something to dwell upon. It might be a thought-provoking question, a call to action, or a final insight that ties all the parts of your essay together.

Review the Finished Essay

Before you hit submit, take some time to review and revise your essay. Check for any grammatical errors, typos, or awkward sentences that could distract from your argument. Make sure your essay flows smoothly from start to finish, and that your ideas are well-supported by evidence. Don’t forget to double-check that you’ve covered all the evaluation criteria you set out in the beginning. Once you’re confident that your essay is complete, give yourself a well-deserved pat on the back—you’ve just written a thorough and thoughtful evaluation essay!

What to Pay Attention to to Reach The Higher Grade

Even when you’ve chosen your topic, developed your ideas, and laid out the structure of your evaluation essay, there’s always that lingering question: “Have I covered everything?” Understanding what professors look for when grading your evaluation essay can help you feel more confident about your work and make sure you’re not missing anything important. So, if you want to reach that higher grade, check out the criteria below that is most of the times considered when grading your papers.

• Clarity and Coherence

Why It’s Important: Clarity and coherence are the foundation of effective communication in writing. If your essay is well-organized and easy to follow, your professor will be able to understand your arguments without getting lost in confusing phrasing or jumbled ideas. 

What to Check: When reviewing your essay, make sure your ideas are laid out in a logical order. Each paragraph should build on the last, and transitions between sections should be smooth and natural.

• Thesis Statement

Why It’s Important: The thesis statement is the heart of your evaluation essay. It presents your overall judgment or evaluation of the subject and sets the tone for the entire piece. Professors look for a clear and concise thesis because it shows that you have a focused argument and understand the purpose of your essay.

What to Check: Make sure your thesis statement is prominently stated in your introduction and that it clearly conveys your main evaluation. 

• Use of Evidence

Why It’s Important: Evidence is what makes your evaluation credible. Professors expect you to back up your judgments with relevant examples, facts, and arguments that demonstrate critical thinking skills. Without strong evidence, your essay might come off as opinionated rather than well-reasoned.

What to Check: Review each of your main points to ensure they are supported by concrete evidence. 

• Depth of Analysis

Why It’s Important: Depth of analysis separates a basic evaluation from an insightful one. Professors want to see that you’ve engaged deeply with the subject, exploring its complexities and nuances rather than just scratching the surface. 

What to Check : Ask yourself if you’ve provided a thorough analysis. Look for areas where you can explore underlying themes, implications, or connections.

• Critical Thinking Skills

Why It’s Important: Critical thinking is a key skill that professors try to cultivate in students. They want to see that you’ve thought acutely about the subject, considered alternative viewpoints, and addressed potential counterarguments.

What to Check : As you review your essay, look for places where you’ve considered other perspectives or acknowledged possible criticisms of your evaluation. 

• Use of Language and Style

Why It’s Important: Good writing means you know how to say what you want to say. Most educators look for essays that are well-written, with clear, concise, and engaging language. 

What to Check: Proofread your essay carefully for any errors in grammar, punctuation, or spelling. Beyond technical correctness, try to write in an engaging and appropriate tone of voice and writing style

• Originality and Insight

Why It’s Important: Originality shows that you’re bringing something new to the table, rather than just repeating what others have said. Professors appreciate essays that offer fresh perspectives or innovative interpretations because they demonstrate creativity and deep engagement with the subject.

What to Check: Reflect on your essay and ask yourself if you’ve added any original insights or perspectives. Are you saying something new or looking at the subject in a way that others might not have considered? 

• Compliance with Instructions

Why It’s Important: Following the assignment guidelines is non-negotiable. Your lecturer provides specific instructions for a reason, and failing to comply with them can result in a lower grade, no matter how well-written your essay is.

What to Check : Double-check the assignment guidelines to ensure you’ve met all the requirements. This includes word count, formatting, and any specific instructions related to the content or structure of your essay.  

Writing an evaluation essay, aim to construct a well-reasoned, thoughtful analysis that guides your reader through your perspective with clarity and insight. Your main goal is to craft an essay that informs yet at the same tine challenges your reader to see the subject in a new light. With the right approach, you can create a compelling piece that stands out and meets the high standards your professors are looking for.

How should I start an evaluation essay?

Start with a hook to grab the reader’s attention, followed by some background information on the subject, and end with a clear thesis statement that outlines your evaluation.

What are the 5 key features of an evaluation essay?

The five key features include a clear thesis statement, well-defined criteria for evaluation, solid evidence to support the evaluation, balanced analysis, and a strong conclusion.

How to write an evaluation report?

 An evaluation report follows a similar structure to an evaluation essay but is often more detailed and may include additional sections like methodology, findings, and recommendations. Start with an introduction, followed by a detailed evaluation, and end with conclusions and recommendations.

How to end an evaluation essay?

The best way is to end by summarizing your main points and restating your thesis in light of the evidence you’ve provided. You can also offer final thoughts or suggestions for further consideration.

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Leveraging social media and other online data to study animal behavior

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliations School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom, WildCRU, Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Department of Zoology, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom, School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations CEABN, Centro de Ecologia Aplicada Prof. Baeta Neves, InBIO Laboratório Associado, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal, Helsinki Lab of Interdisciplinary Conservation Science (HELICS), Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Affiliations Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Zoology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain, Ecology in the Anthropocene, Associated Unit CSIC-UEX, Faculty of Sciences, University of Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain

Roles Data curation, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Poznań University of Life Sciences, Department of Zoology, Poznań, Poland

Affiliation Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

Affiliations Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic, TUM School of Life Sciences, Ecoclimatology, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany, Institute for Advanced Study, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany

Affiliation Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institutes of Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Ben-Gurion, Israel

Affiliation Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America

Roles Data curation, Visualization, Writing – review & editing

Affiliations Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Gif sur Yvette, France, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Visualization, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Department of Marine Renewable Resources, Institute of Marine Science (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain

• Reut Vardi, 
• Andrea Soriano-Redondo, 
• Jorge S. Gutiérrez, 
• Łukasz Dylewski, 
• Zuzanna Jagiello, 
• Peter Mikula, 
• Oded Berger-Tal, 
• Daniel T. Blumstein, 
• Ivan Jarić, 
• Valerio Sbragaglia

Published: August 29, 2024

• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002793
• Reader Comments

This is an uncorrected proof.

The widespread sharing of information on the Internet has given rise to ecological studies that use data from digital sources including digitized museum records and social media posts. Most of these studies have focused on understanding species occurrences and distributions. In this essay, we argue that data from digital sources also offer many opportunities to study animal behavior including long-term and large-scale comparisons within and between species. Following Nikko Tinbergen’s classical roadmap for behavioral investigation, we show how using videos, photos, text, and audio posted on social media and other digital platforms can shed new light on known behaviors, particularly in a changing world, and lead to the discovery of new ones.

Citation: Vardi R, Soriano-Redondo A, Gutiérrez JS, Dylewski Ł, Jagiello Z, Mikula P, et al. (2024) Leveraging social media and other online data to study animal behavior. PLoS Biol 22(8): e3002793. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002793

Copyright: © 2024 Vardi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: R.V. was partly funded by the Alexander and Eva Lester post-doctoral fellowship. A.S-R. was supported by grant 2022.01951.CEECIND from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology. P.M. was supported by the Faculty of Environmental Sciences CZU Prague within the framework of the Research Excellence in Environmental Sciences (REES 003) and by IAS TUM – Hans Fisher Senior Fellowship. I.J. was supported by grant no. 23-07278S from the Czech Science Foundation. V.S. is supported by a Ramón y Cajal research fellowship (RYC2021-033065-I) granted by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and he also acknowledges the Spanish government through the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S). Funders played no rule in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

Rapidly accumulating digital data offer numerous opportunities for science. With more than half of the world’s population online ( https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/stat/default.aspx ), billions of people are generating online digital data in the form of text, images, videos, and audio uploaded to social media platforms and other websites ( Box 1 ). Furthermore, field notes, printed books, and old news media are being increasingly digitized and made available online [ 1 ]. These vast digital knowledge repositories can provide meaningful insights into the natural world. Indeed, several emerging fields have been developed for that purpose; conservation culturomics uses digital data to inform conservation science and human–nature interactions [ 2 ], while iEcology (or passive crowdsourcing [ 3 ]) uses such data to study ecological patterns [ 4 ]. Indeed, geotagged data from multiple digital sources can complement other data to monitor distributions and occurrences of species, particularly of charismatic ones, or in and around human-dominated landscapes such as urban habitats or areas subjected to high human visitation [ 5 , 6 ].

Box 1. Categories of digital data

While using the term digital data, we distinguish between 3 major categories:

• Digitized scientific databases, such as digitized museum records, and audio or video online libraries, that have usually been collected by researchers.
• Citizen/community science data sets where members of the public record their nature sightings for scientific use, either for general data repositories or for specific research projects (e.g., iNaturalist and eBird).
• Social media platforms—such as X (formerly known as Twitter), Instagram, or Google Images—where individuals upload content generated for various purposes typically not with the intention to address scientific questions yet may, nevertheless, be relevant to research.

Data from the 3 categories can differ in their collection protocols, reliability, accuracy, accompanied metadata, and data-sharing rights. While we consider the importance of data use from all 3 categories, given the novelty, extent, and challenges associated with using data from social media platforms, we focus primarily on the potential and limitations of such digital data sources.

Digital data can also be used to characterize animal behavior [ 7 ]. For example, Jagiello and colleagues [ 8 ] used YouTube videos to compare the occurrence of various behaviors of Eurasian red squirrels and invasive gray squirrels ( Sciurus vulgaris and S . carolinensis ) between 2 habitats. They found that calling and aggressive behaviors were more frequent in forests than in urban habitats ( Fig 1 ). Similarly, Boydston and colleagues [ 9 ] analyzed YouTube videos to understand the structure and putative function of coyote–dog ( Canis latrans – C . familiaris ) interactions. They found evidence of intricate social behavior between the 2 species. However, YouTube is not the only platform that offers data that, while collected for other purposes, can be meaningful for behavioral ecology. Other sources may include various social media platforms (X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, etc.), digitized scientific records, and citizen science databases (see Box 1 ). Such alternative sources of information may help fill important gaps in our understanding of animal behavior and shed light on how animal behavior may be influenced by humans’ actions.

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(A) Digital data (inner circle; photos, videos, and audio) can complement experimental and observational approaches aiming to characterize several aspects of animal behavior, such as social interactions and biological rhythms (middle circle). Applications of digital data are particularly interesting for characterizing behavioral and ecological patterns addressing several research fields (e.g., urban ecology and biological invasions) as well as tackling conservation issues (outer circle). ( B–D) Representative examples of studies that used digital data to characterize animal behavior. ( B ) Percentage of recorded behavior in forest and urban ecosystems for the European red squirrel ( Sciurus vulgaris ) based on YouTube videos (right; adapted from [ 8 ]); photo of a red squirrel (photo credit: Peter Mikula); ( C ) Density maps showing the distribution of bat predation records by diurnal birds based on published literature (left map) and online records such as Google images, Flickr, and YouTube (right map; adapted from [ 10 ], countries borders map taken from https://public.opendatasoft.com/explore/dataset/ne_10m_admin_0_countries/map/ ). Example photo of a European bee-eater ( Merops apiaster ) trying to swallow a Kuhl’s pipistrelle bat ( Pipistrellus kuhlii ; photo credit: Shuki Cheled). ( D ) Wilson’s phalarope ( Phalaropus tricolor ) spinning (counterclockwise) in tight circles to upwell small prey and feed upon them as revealed by freely available videos on YouTube, Vimeo, and Flickr (photo credit: Miroslav Šálek). Nearest neighbors are more likely to spin in the same direction, thus reducing interference with each other (adapted from [ 11 ]).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002793.g001

In the mid-20th century, Nikko Tinbergen created a foundational framework for the integrative study of animal behavior [ 12 , 13 ] by posing 4 interlinked questions regarding the 4 main axes of behavior: causation , the mechanistic basis of behavior; ontogeny , its development throughout an individual’s lifetime; evolution , its changes over an evolutionary time scale; and function , its adaptive value and current utility. Answering Tinbergen’s questions can be hindered by many research challenges including, but not restricted to, limited funds, time, accessibility, and sample sizes. In such cases, readily available data from various online platforms such as citizen science databases or social media platforms (for example, YouTube, Facebook, or Flickr) can prove to be a powerful and complementary tool to traditional methods involving observations and experiments ( Fig 2 ) [ 4 , 7 ]. Furthermore, social media platforms, similar to citizen science platforms, can also provide bridges between scientists and nature enthusiasts (as well as the general public) that can be harnessed to help create and review large data sets. This, in turn, can also encourage people to reconnect with nature and promote biodiversity conservation [ 14 ].

Traditionally, animal behavior has been studied mostly with empirical approaches and literature surveys. The addition of digital data enables us to explore ecological patterns (iEcology) and human–nature interactions (conservation culturomics). All of these approaches can help address Tinbergen’s questions of behavior. In return, Tinbergen’s questions help direct and shape research questions, experimental setups, and data collection. Conservation culturomics infers human behavior related to nature and is thus represented with a dashed arrow. Icons taken from https://openclipart.org/ .

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002793.g002

Here, we propose that digital data, especially from social media platforms, can be used to answer questions beyond species distribution and occurrence to advance the field of animal behavior ( Fig 2 ). While keeping in mind that Tinbergen’s questions are interlinked and complementary to each other, we explore each question separately, highlighting both opportunities and challenges in using digital data to answer them. We further highlight the increased relevance of Tinbergen’s questions to biodiversity conservation. We showcase instances where digital data has already been used to study animal behavior ( Fig 1 and S1 Table ) and suggest possible avenues for further research incorporating digital data to address fundamental and applied behavioral issues.

Studies dealing with causation try to understand what causes a behavior to be performed. When combined with remotely sensed, freely available data, digital data sources can be used to explore the external mechanisms underlying a behavioral trait. For example, Cabello-Vergel and colleagues [ 15 ] combined data on the thermoregulatory behavior of individual storks (Ciconiidae) from georeferenced images and videos found at the Macaulay Library repository ( https://www.macaulaylibrary.org ) with remotely sensed microclimate data. They investigated the determinants of “urohidrosis” (excreting onto the legs as a form of evaporative cooling) in 19 stork species. They found that high heat loads (high temperature, humidity, and solar radiation, and low wind speed) promoted the use of urohidrosis and thus evaporative heat loss. In the face of global climate change, exploring shifts in mechanisms of control with microclimate data can inform us about mechanisms of adaptation to changing environments and provide profound insights facilitating future conservation efforts.

The study of social learning and the emergence of novel and innovative behaviors in relation to environmental conditions could particularly benefit from digital data sources because people often record surprising or unexpected animal behaviors [ 7 ]. For example, data from multiple digital data sources revealed that 10 out of the 16 world’s terrestrial hermit crab species ( Coenobitidae ) widely use artificial shells, predominantly plastic caps, but also pieces of glass or metal [ 16 ]. This novel behavior may be driven by decreased availability of gastropod shells, sexual signaling, lightness of artificial shells, odor cues, and/or camouflage in a polluted environment. Together with controlled preferences experiments and/or records of pollution levels and other environmental conditions, we can address the underlying mechanisms of this behavior, which may ultimately influence the evolutionary trajectory of the species. Other examples include YouTube videos that have been used to describe horses opening doors and gate mechanisms [ 17 ] or investigate death-related behavioral responses in Asian elephants ( Elephas maximus ) such as carrying dead calves [ 18 ]. Understanding why and when these rare behaviors occur may not be possible without such online records.

In 2022, Møller and Xia [ 19 ] showed that bird species recorded on YouTube videos feeding directly from people’s hands also presented more innovative behaviors, had a higher rate of introduction success, and greater urban tolerance than species not recorded displaying such behavior. This demonstrates the connections between Tinbergen’s questions and highlights that an individual’s (or species) ability to respond behaviorally to external conditions may also rely on its evolutionary history and affects its chances of survival. It further shows that the fields of urban ecology and invasion biology can greatly benefit from integrating these novel digital data sources. For example, with most of the global human population living in cities and the omnipresence of online social platforms, digital data can make global multi-city comparisons of urbanization effects on species behavior feasible. Moreover, human activity can be easily tracked using mobility reports provided by Google ( https://www.google.com/covid19/mobility/ ) and Apple ( https://covid19.apple.com/mobility ). These can provide a high-resolution understanding of where and when humans are active and how they can play an important role in shaping animal behavior. Such knowledge can help enhance studies of antipredator behavior and wildlife tolerance, as it was used to study the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns [ 20 , 21 ]. Likewise, documenting first arrivals and monitoring the spread of invasive species, their behavior, and interactions with native species can become more efficient by incorporating digital data from online repositories [ 22 ].

We acknowledge that digital sources alone cannot offer many insights into internal mechanisms of behavior, such as hunger state or past experience (exceptions may include behaviors that are influenced by temperature, which may be inferred if the data are georeferenced and time stamped). Studying proximate physiological mechanisms often requires extensive field and laboratory experiments. However, addressing what mechanisms drive behavior in terms of changes in the external stimulus (social and physical environment) could greatly benefit from the copious number of available images and videos online. This is particularly true considering current and future global environmental challenges.

Digital data in the forms of images, audio, videos, and live-streaming videos can also be used to study and quantify different behavioral shifts in individuals over their lifetimes. For example, using online-sourced photographs, Naude and colleagues [ 23 ] showed that adult martial eagles ( Polemaetus bellicosus ) preyed more on birds than juveniles and subadults, which preferred less agile reptiles and mammals. They attributed this pattern to an improvement in hunting skills with age. Another study found evidence for “ontogenetic deepening”—the phenomenon that older and larger fish are found in deeper water, whereas younger and smaller fish stay in shallower water—in dusky groupers ( Epinephelus marginatus ) using YouTube videos of recreational fishers [ 24 ]. Exploring videos over several years, they further showed that fishing depth did not change over time and thus suggested that this ontogenetic deepening may not be solely driven by changes in harvesting pressure. Combining acoustic recordings from various sources (field recordings, a museum sound library, and citizen science records), Riós-Chelén and colleagues [ 25 ] found that birds can adapt their songs to environmental acoustic conditions. The fact that songbirds (known as oscines), who learn their songs, showed stronger associations between environmental noise and song modifications than other closely related bird species with innate songs (suboscines) indicates the involvement of ontogenetic processes in this adjustment.

Other studies can use similar approaches to further explore ontogenetic changes in different species’ hunting skills, aggressiveness, mating rituals, and parental care, with or without complementing intensive fieldwork (see S1 Table ). Exploring such changes in behavior in response to anthropogenic environmental changes worldwide can be of great importance for conservation science, urban ecology, and agroecology. For example, live-streaming videos of bird nests—which have become very common for many species and sites (e.g., https://camstreamer.com/blog/streaming-birds-with-an-eagle-eye and https://www.viewbirds.com/ )—can provide rich information to study the development of nestling vocal signals, the learning of songs, or the establishment of siblings relationships, as well as differences in such behaviors as a function of the distance to urban areas, human disturbance level, or levels of noise or light pollution [ 26 ]. Nonetheless, similar to exploring causation mechanisms, answering questions related to ontogeny cannot solely rely on digital data sources since ontogenetic processes often involve studying individuals over time. Furthermore, developing a deep understanding of external factors affecting the development of behavior may also require well-designed controlled experiments, which can be more challenging to accomplish with the available digital databases.

With images and videos from around the world spanning several decades available online, it is now possible to use digital data to explore intra- and interspecific traits and behaviors, as well as study their evolution in the light of anthropogenic environmental changes. For example, using crowd-sourced images and videos, Mikula and colleagues [ 10 ] showed that predator–prey interactions between diurnal birds and bats, which were previously thought to be rare, have been commonly reported around the world ( Fig 1 ). This indicates that diurnal bird predation might act as one of the drivers of the evolution of bat nocturnality. Similarly, using social media videos and phylogenetic modeling, Bastos and colleagues [ 27 ] showed that tool-using behavior in parrots is far more common than previously thought and that these new sources of data can be used to better understand the origin, evolution, and drivers of rare behaviors. In another example, Pearse and colleagues [ 28 ] were able to explore evolutionary patterns in bird song at a broad scale (in terms of pitch and complexity) using a large citizen science digital repository, combined with scientific data on bird biology, life history, and geographical distribution, and advanced machine learning techniques. Surprisingly, they showed that suboscine and oscine birds have similar song complexity. They further noted that using Artificial intelligence (AI) tools to help analyze citizen science data can further facilitate research on bird song evolution. However, such tools may also have limitations and need to be routinely validated and assessed.

The fact that digital repositories can potentially hold decades-old data allows retrospective explorations of data collected long before the research has commenced. For example, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance and usefulness of citizen science data sets, as past records could be compared with records under the novel environmental settings created by the pandemic [ 21 ]. Similar data sets may be obtained from various social media platforms that are far more popular than citizen science platforms, both in volume and in geographic coverage. For example, there are 3 million iNaturalist users ( https://www.inaturalist.org/stats ) compared with 300 million X (formerly Twitter) users ( https://www.statista.com/statistics/303681/twitter-users-worldwide/ ). While most of the content on X would probably be irrelevant for ecology and conservation, the potential to reach and engage new audiences, and access diverse data could be valuable. Using these novel data sources can further facilitate large spatial scale explorations of evolutionary changes in animal behavior. It may also help researchers to better plan and choose field sites before embarking on intensive fieldwork.

Many aspects of the evolution of animal behavior are challenging to document directly because numerous phenotypic traits co-evolve over large spatial and phylogenetic scales, making comparative studies useful. For example, body coloration may be an important factor in answering fundamental questions in behavioral ecology that provides insights into local behavioral adaptations [ 29 , 30 ]. Online image repositories have already been used to document geographical and phylogenetic variation in color patterns in birds and mammals, including color polymorphism [ 31 ], mutations [ 32 ], and variation in the morphology of color strips and patches [ 33 ]. In addition to readily available data, people can be encouraged to upload their images, videos, and sound recordings for specific studies through citizen science platforms [ 34 ] or social media platforms [ 35 ]. Spatial data on the phenotypic distributions are often collected via field observations and inspection of voucher specimens.

We envision that online images, videos, and acoustic recordings may provide a rich resource of information on large-scale variation in many phenotypic traits closely linked to animal behavior, such as nest morphology in fish and birds, or the size and shape of ornaments and armaments (e.g., antlers in deer or bony spurs in birds). Yet, we must acknowledge the limitations of using digital data to answer questions of an evolutionary nature that require some genomic knowledge. Still, the sheer volume of digital data and the ability to compare data of many species and populations inhabiting different areas and environments can provide valuable information for the processes and mechanisms involved in evolutionary adaptation and speciation.

Answering function-related questions—how a behavior increases one’s fitness through survival and reproduction—can also gain much from using digital data. With the ubiquity of the Internet, we can explore external drivers of current utility and sexual selection regarding behavioral contributions to overall fitness. These may include intra- and interspecific interactions, migratory patterns, predation risk, and mating rituals. For example, using live-streaming underwater cameras, Coleman and Burge [ 36 ] showed a higher association between sand tiger sharks ( Carcharias taurus ) and round scads ( Decapterus punctatus ) in the presence of scad mesopredators, which enhances foraging opportunities for sand tiger sharks and reduces predation risk for the scads. Such behaviorally mediated indirect interactions may have far-reaching implications for trophic interactions, including predator and prey strategies. Studies like this highlight the potential of these novel data and technologies in ecological research.

Digital data can be further used to study the timing of biological processes (i.e., phenology) in animals and how these are being affected by external cues such as climate change, land use changes, or human disturbance. For example, using Wikipedia page views, Mittermeier and colleagues [ 37 ] tracked seasonal migration patterns in sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka ) and Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar ). Atsumi and Koizumi [ 38 ] used X (formerly Twitter) and Google Images to explore spatial variations in breeding timing in Japanese dace fish ( Tribolodon hakonensis ) and how they may have been affected by climate change. Combined with data on breeding success or the costs of not adjusting breeding timing, these studies could greatly advance function-related research. Given the ongoing global environmental change, such explorations can be invaluable to understanding how these changes impact various species in terms of range shifts and/or expansions. Again, digital data has limits, and complementing it with traditional methods may be required to accurately assess the fitness value of a behavior.

The challenges and limitations of using digital data to study animal behavior

Addressing questions related to any of Tinbergen’s 4 levels of analysis is challenging. While digital data and approaches can greatly advance the fields of behavioral ecology and conservation behavior, these data sources and tools currently cannot replace empirical work and field studies. We acknowledge the limitations of digital data, particularly in answering questions related to internal mechanisms such as endocrine or neural control of behavior. Available digital data may not provide reliable information on an individual’s physiological state, its developmental history, or its reproductive state. Nonetheless, digital data sources can provide new opportunities to explore many aspects of Tinbergen’s 4 questions in a noninvasive and without manipulation of free-living animals, thus solving underlying ethical and welfare issues associated with the use of animals in research [ 39 ]. It is important to note, however, that digital data research also raises ethical questions and should follow rules to avoid disruption to the focal animal(s), the animals’ population, or the wider ecosystem. Viewing digital data as complementary to more traditional sources of data may be very useful. Moreover, in some areas traditional data sources are lacking, and so adequately reliable digital data may be the best source of behavioral data available. Nevertheless, we must consider the biases, technical challenges, and ethical concerns associated with digital data.

First, data sets obtained from online platforms—particularly ones provided by the general public—have an inherited bias linked to Internet coverage and use such that different regions of the world are not equally represented in digital records. Similarly, different sectors of society based on, for example, ethnicity, language, socioeconomic status, and education level, are currently not equally represented in the digital realm, complicating research on human–nature interactions using digital data.

Second, only a fraction of the global biodiversity is digitally recorded and has an online presence [ 1 , 40 ]. This limits the number of species that can be explored using digital data sets and leads to an uneven sampling effort across different taxa and clades. Such biases, for example, towards charismatic or larger-bodied species, are widespread and well known from more traditional approaches of scientific research [ 41 ], but may be exacerbated using data from social media. Furthermore, this limitation of unequal human interest goes beyond which species are predominantly documented, but also to which behaviors are recorded. Such human preferences and biases, and how they may differ across cultures, may compromise analyses and conclusions if not properly accounted for [ 42 ]. Furthermore, search algorithms of search engines like Google or platform-internal ones may also introduce biases affecting the results returned.

The lack of rigorous collection protocols across various digital platforms, especially in light of the complexity and variety of animal behavior, makes applying digital data sources in behavioral ecology research even more challenging. For example, in exploring bird plumage color aberrations using various digital sources (Google Images and several local platforms devoted to bird watching and photography), Zbyryt and colleagues [ 32 ] highlighted how digital sources and public participation can advance our understanding of less-studied natural phenomena. They showed that color aberrations are more prevalent in urban, larger, and sedentary birds. However, the nature of the input data prevented them from concluding whether these patterns were biologically driven or resulted from inherent biases in their data set that people more easily spot and report large sedentary birds in human settlements. Thus, it is essential to address these and other biases and limitations to understand when and where it is appropriate to use various digital data sources. As a start, combining data from novel digital sources—such as various social media platforms and Google Images—with more rigorous scientific data sets, dedicated fieldwork, or literature surveys, can help validate digital sources and ensure meaningful results. Another approach is creating well-designed question-first citizen science data sets in which researchers recruit and train citizen scientists to collect dedicated data to answer specific questions [ 43 ].

When exploring user-generated content—for example, videos uploaded on social media platforms—we must also consider legal and ethical aspects such as data protection and privacy [ 44 ]. In order to minimize the risk of misusing sensitive data (e.g., IP address, localization details, or user name), we advocate for establishing and following protocols for data protection [ 44 ]. It is also important to note that many social media recordings may be associated with unintentional or even intentional disturbances and harmful actions towards the animal being recorded [ 5 , 45 ], raising ethical concerns as well as questions of interpretation and relevance. Even if individuals are not directly harmed, the context under which data were recorded (e.g., Were domestic animals like dogs present? Did the humans feed the animals before filming?) is not always known, and this may have substantial impacts on the recorded behavior [ 17 ]. Such human disturbances, combined with partial recording and suboptimal recording quality, necessitate extensive filtering processes and the implementing of clear protocols for the inclusion of records. Furthermore, it may limit the use of digital data sources in certain explorations [ 7 ]. While we encourage people to share their nature observations online, we discourage harmful human–nature interactions to obtain these observations. By contrast, recording people’s negative interactions with nature can potentially be helpful for both legal and conservation interventions, as well as for related research.

Finally, while these readily available data sets are relatively easy to obtain, using them requires programming skills, computational power, and storage capacity, among other things [ 46 ]. Accessing various platforms may further require data-sharing agreements, proprietary companies opening their data sets for researchers, and consistency in how data is managed [ 47 ]. Once obtained, data filtering and cleaning processes and analysis would further require advanced technological tools, such as machine learning methods and machine vision models. Such filtering process should also consider for example AI-generated content and ensure only reliable data are used. Post-analysis challenges may include repeatability and reproducibility [ 4 , 48 ] as data may not be archived on different platforms, and downloading and sharing all records may face legal issues (copyrights), as well as storage space limitations. While some of these aspects are beyond our control, keeping clear records of protocols, versions, and codes, as well as publishing metadata and when possible raw data, could increase transparency and help address some limitations [ 4 ].

Conclusions and future outlook

The use of digital data in ecological and evolutionary research on animal behavior has emerged as a promising approach to enhance traditional data sources and overcome several constraints such as lack of time, accessibility, and financial resources. Digital data enables researchers to conduct retrospective analysis and comparisons across various temporal, spatial, and taxonomic scales, providing a potentially vast data set to explore. Moreover, as Internet use continues to grow and new digital platforms emerge, more data will become available, offering further opportunities to advance both basic and applied studies in behavioral ecology. The use of digital data in behavioral ecology is rapidly increasing and will potentially unveil larger data sets and larger audiences than existing citizen science platforms [ 35 , 49 ]. These new databases will enable researchers to ask basic and novel questions and study animal behavior with greater depth and scope. Furthermore, by leveraging social media data created by individuals, researchers can advance knowledge on animal (including human) behavior, promote public engagement with nature, and enhance present and future conservation efforts.

In addition to using data already uploaded to the Internet, scientists can encourage people to upload data containing species or areas of interest for their study. Researchers can also recruit people to help filter, score, or tag data collected online as on the Zooniverse platform ( https://www.zooniverse.org/ ), with the ultimate goal of involving the public in biodiversity conservation and science and facilitating the processing of big data. With advances in AI models, such collection and classification of data can be made automatically (fully or semi), based on taxonomic group or the location where the observation was recorded. This will enhance the ability of researchers to incorporate publicly available data in their studies. For example, using machine learning approaches, Pardo and Wittemyer [ 50 ] were able to find a name-like calling behavior in African savannah elephants ( Loxodonta africana ). However, limited by their sample size, they were not able to isolate and encode specific “name” sounds. Social media recording of tourists in those areas could potentially help in future research.

With the increasing global environmental challenges linked to biodiversity loss and climate change, digital resources are invaluable sources of data, especially in time-sensitive cases. Behavioral aspects such as interspecific interactions or behavioral flexibility are missing from many large-scale analyses and predictions of future species responses to human-driven environmental changes [ 51 , 52 ]. Digital data can greatly improve our ability to successfully integrate such behavioral dimensions into spatial modeling of abiotic changes and help us produce more realistic estimates of future risks and potential species distributions [ 52 ]. Taken together, such studies can help us develop a rich understanding of behavior based on the Tinbergen framework.

From an applied perspective, the field of conservation behavior [ 53 ] can benefit substantially from digital data sources too. Online images and video repositories can help conservation scientists and managers better understand anthropogenic impacts on animal behavior, identify behavioral indicators of changes to the species’ environment, highlight potential human–wildlife conflicts, and design and implement behavior-sensitive management [ 54 ]. With the great advancements in AI and machine learning and the increased availability of big data, we expect that more behavioral ecologists and conservation scientists will start incorporating digital-based data sources and approaches alongside their field and empirical work.

Supporting information

S1 table. examples of publications utilizing digital data for behavioral ecology divided into their potential contribution to understanding animal behavior according to tinbergen’s 4 questions..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002793.s001

• View Article
• PubMed/NCBI
• Google Scholar

Online Programs

Ap® us history (intensive, ncaa approved).

• Advanced CTY-Level
• Session-Based
• History and Social Science

Analyze historic material, synthesize your own ideas, and develop skills to make conclusions on the basis of an informed understanding of history in this course that successfully prepares you for the AP U.S. History exam. You’ll master the ability to interpret documents while learning how to persuasively present your reasoning and evidence in an essay format.

Through synchronous virtual class meetings every other week and one-on-one review sessions you can schedule directly with your instructor, you’ll chart the course of U.S. history from the Constitution all the way down to challenges of the 21st century.

Time Commitment: 8-11 hours per week (1 hour of class time every other week, 8-10 hours of independent work).  

Course Overview

What we'll do

We’ll explore U.S. history through textbook readings, projects, directed online activities, and live sessions with an experienced instructor that emphasizes critical thinking and applications. We’ll learn to interpret historical documents, master a significant body of facts, and write critical essays and short-answer responses. Students will analyze historical facts material, synthesize their own ideas, and develop the skills to make conclusions based on a knowledgeable judgment. They will also learn how to present their reasoning and clear evidence persuasively in essay format.

What we’ll learn

• How to construct a response to a prompt concerning the rise and fall of the Equal Rights Amendment within the context of a forum, a three-part response to a short answer question set concerning British and Spanish slave systems within the context of a forum
• How to construct a three-part response to a short answer question set involving primary sources on pre-Revolution British/Colonial relations in North America, the Louisiana Purchase, the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, post-Civil War American industrialists, and the political alignment of FDR’s New Deal, within the context of a forum
• How to construct an essay using a secondary source concerning Henry Kissinger’s early appraisal of American involvement in Vietnam
• How to construct an essay in response to a document-based question prompt on American views of imperialism from 1898 to 1908; and post-World War II social movements through describing historical context, analyzing a set of primary documents and synthesizing the information into a thesis, analyzing multiple sources of evidence, both given and memorized, to support a thesis statement, and identifying and explaining at least three sources’ point of view, purpose, historical situation, and/or audience
• How to construct an essay in response to a long essay question prompt about the American government's transition from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution; and the Jacksonian Democracy by describing historical context, synthesizing relevant historical evidence into a thesis, and analyzing memorized, multiple sources of evidence to support a thesis statement
• How to plan a written practice response to a document-based question prompt on British North American and Native American relations via an informational organizer
• How to plan a written practice response to a long essay question prompt on the social impact of Europeans and the social structures of Western Hemispheric peoples via an informational organizer

By the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Identify and explain historical developments and processes
• Analyze sourcing and context of primary and secondary sources
• Analyze arguments in primary and secondary sources
• Analyze the context of historical events, developments, or processes
• Use historical reasoning processes (comparison, causation, continuity and change) to analyze patterns and connections between and among historical developments and processes
• Develop an argument

How we'll measure learning

Instructors evaluate student work using rubrics and provide detailed constructive feedback on each assignment. This course is aligned to the College Board AP U.S. History course skills and contents.

This course is

Register for an Online course by selecting an open class below. If no open classes are listed, then course enrollment is currently closed. Note: You will need to have an active CTY Account to complete registration through MyCTY

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Testing and Prerequisites

Students must achieve qualifying scores on an advanced assessment to be eligible for CTY programs. If you don’t have qualifying scores, you have several different testing options. We’ll help you find the right option for your situation.

Course Prerequisites

1 prerequisite

Successful completion of a high school history course

Cost and Financial Aid

Application fee.

• Nonrefundable Application Fee - $15 (Waived for financial aid applicants)
• Nonrefundable International Fee - $20 (outside US only)

Financial Aid

We have concluded our financial aid application review process for Academic Year 2023-2024 Online Programs (Courses with start dates July 1, 2023-June 30, 2024). Our application for Academic Year 2024-2025 Online Programs is expected to open in January. We encourage those who may need assistance in the future to apply for aid as early as possible.

Technical Requirements

This course requires a computer with high-speed Internet access and an up-to-date web browser such as Chrome or Firefox. You must be able to communicate with the instructor via email. Visit the Technical Requirements and Support page for more details.

This course uses a virtual classroom for instructor-student communication. The classroom works on standard computers with the Zoom desktop client , and on tablets or handhelds that support the Zoom Mobile app . Recorded meetings can only be viewed on a computer with the Zoom desktop client installed. The Zoom desktop client and Zoom Mobile App are both free to download.

Most course lectures may be viewed on mobile devices, but some assignments and quizzes must be completed on a desktop or laptop computer.

This course uses Respondus LockDown Browser proctoring software for designated assessments. LockDown Browser is a client application that is installed to a local computer. Visit the Respondus website for system requirements .

Terms & Conditions

Students may interact in online classrooms and meetings that include peers, instructors, and occasional special guests.

Courses may include videos from the web. Recommendations or links at the end of videos are provided by the video host and are not CTY recommendations. 

Virtual class meetings may be recorded for students to review.

After a you complete a course, your projects may be used to illustrate work for future students. 

You will need to create an account on a third-party site to access course resources.

About History and Social Science at CTY

Our online History and Social Science courses include the study of economics, U.S. history and government, world history, and psychology. Reading and writing are at the heart of all our offerings. Courses for older students cover material typically found in introductory college-level classes, while younger scholars enjoy studying world history and geography. All courses are guided by expert instructors who connect with you through virtual class meetings and interactive review workshops. Whichever course you choose, you’ll gain important insights into the inner workings of government, world civilizations, global culture, and the human mind.

Dig into World History and Geography

In the newly created Preparation for AP World History and Geography Eastern Hemisphere and Preparation for AP World History and Geography Western Hemisphere courses, students explore fascinating historical concepts of the past through historical analysis, engaging discussions, and dynamic live sessions. Students meet with their instructor and peers each week to investigate transformative world events and discuss their thoughts with one another. Taking these courses will help students prepare for the challenge of AP History courses.

Meet our History and Social Sciences Instructors

I enjoy building relationships with students, facilitating their learning, and helping them achieve a refined understanding of the complex world around us. Using a high energy, enthusiastic approach to learning allows me to deeply connect with my students while having lots of fun!

Alejandro Lozano

History and Social Sciences Instructor

Teaching AP World History: Modern , I'm frequently astonished at how natural it is for students from both the United States and across the world to meet and learn about a global subject from not just their instructor but, just as importantly, so many different student perspectives!

Tyler Meinhart

As an educator I believe that my job is to make learning easy. To that end, I always try to present the material in a way that is as easy for my students to understand as humanly possible. In doing so, students are inspired to want to learn because they see that effort gets results.