Book excerpt: What do biologists write about and why? The keys to success; On using computers in writing; Writing laboratory reports; Why are you doing this? Components of the laboratory report; Writing the materials and methods section; Writing the results section; Writing a discussion section; Writing the introduction section; Deciding upon a title; Writing an abstract; Preparing the literature cited section; A brief discourse on statistical analysis; Writing essays and term papers; Why bother; Getting started; Researching your topic; Plagiarism and note-taking; Writing the paper; Citing sources; Creating a title; Writing research proposals; Researching your topic; Writing the proposal; Writing summaries and critiques; Writing the first draft; Writing the final draft; Preparing a paper presentation; Preparing the talk; Giving the talk; Writing letters of application; Before you start; Preparing the resume; Preparing the cover letter; Recruiting effective letters of recommendation; Revising; Answering essay questions.