COMMUNICATION IN THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Department of Biology
ALWAYS MAINTAIN AN UNWAVERING FOCUS ON YOUR HYPOTHESES/OBJECTIVES
In this example, the objective of the study was to compare two methods of studying wetland plant communities (collecting data in the field vs. interpretation of aerial photographs). Two study sites were used.
With this in mind, consider the following paragraph:
"Our study suggested that the field collection data and the aerial photography data showed a strong correlation. For example, both techniques showed that the number of plant species increased in the two study areas. In one of the study sites terrestrial vegetation was replaced by aquatic vegetation. This did not conform to typical patterns of succession, where aquatic vegetation is gradually replaced by more terrestrial vegetation."
The material highlighted below should be omitted. Although the ideas expressed are interesting, they do not directly pertain to the study objective.
"Our study suggested that the field collection data and the aerial photography data showed a strong correlation. For example, both techniques showed that the number of plant species increased in the two study areas. In one of the study sites terrestrial vegetation was replaced by aquatic vegetation. This did not conform to typical patterns of succession, where aquatic vegetation is gradually replaced by more terrestrial vegetation."
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