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30 Great Essays About Biology

If you read one a day, you may just fall in love..

The world needs more essays about biology. So last month, I tweeted a link to one of my favorite essays (#1 below) and promised that I would continue to share an additional essay every day for the next 29 days. I titled the series, “30 Essays to Make You Love Biology.”

I’ve now assembled all 30 essays in this article. I hope you’ll read them and emerge with a deeper appreciation for the cell, atoms and their confluence with physics and math.

I scoured the internet for non-paywalled versions of each article, so all links go to open-source versions. This effort was inspired by the website “ Read Something Wonderful .” Enjoy!

"I should have loved biology" by James Somers. An easy-to-read essay about how biology is poorly taught in schools, and how this poor teaching masks its most intriguing bits. Students are typically told to read textbooks and memorize facts about the cell ( Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell! ) without ever appreciating its miraculous complexity. Tests are often given as multiple choice, with little to no problem-solving involved. As Somers writes: "It was only in college, when I read Douglas Hofstadter’s Gödel, Escher, Bach, that I came to understand cells as recursively self-modifying programs." Link

"Cells are very fast and crowded places" by Ken Shirriff. A short essay about some awe-inspiring numbers in cell biology. My two favorite lines are: "A small molecule such as glucose is cruising around a cell at about 250 miles per hour" and "a typical enzyme can collide with something to react with 500,000 times every second." Link

"Seven Wonders," by Lewis Thomas. When Thomas was asked by a magazine editor “to join six other people at dinner to make a list of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World,” he declined and instead drafted this article about the seven wonders of biology . Number 2 on the list: Bacteria that survive in 250°C waters. Link

"Life at low Reynolds number," by E.M. Purcell. An all-time classic. One of the best biology lectures of all time. This essay opened my eyes to the weirdness of life at the microscale, where "inertia plays no role whatsoever." Or, as Purcell says, "We know that F = ma, but [microbes] could scarcely care less." Link

"The Baffling Intelligence of a Single Cell," by James Somers & Edwin Morris. This interactive article, about chemotaxis and flagella, gives "an intuition for how a bag of unthinking chemicals could possibly give rise to a being." It’s stunning and slightly emblematic of the great Bartosz Ciechanowski’s blog. Link

"Thoughts About Biology," by James Bonner. A little-read essay, I think, that deserves more attention. Published in 1960, Bonner argues that biology is ever-changing and progress, often, comes from those outside the field. Part of biology’s beauty is that you can push it forward regardless of background. Link

"Biology is more theoretical than physics," by Jeremy Gunawardena. It is often said "that biology is not theoretical," writes Gunawardena, but that's not true. This essay gives examples where theory preceded and informed major discoveries in biology. It’s a must-read, especially for those who want to work on biology but don't feel compelled to work at the bench with a pipette in hand. Link

"Can a biologist fix a radio?" by Yuri Lazebnik. One of my favorites. Biologists tend to catalog things by breaking them apart. But without quantitative insights, it is difficult to piece them back together into a holistic understanding. Even if you think a line of inquiry in biology has been exhausted, there is always room to go deeper. Link

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"Schrodinger’s What Is Life? at 75" by Rob Phillips. In 1944, physicist Erwin Schrödinger wrote a book, called “What is Life?” that pondered a single question: “How can the events in space and time which take place within the spatial boundary of a living organism be accounted for by physics and chemistry?" This essay is an ode, synopsis, and expansion of that classic book. "Names such as physics and biology are a strictly human conceit,” writes Phillips, “and the understanding of the phenomenon of life might require us to blur the boundaries between these fields." Link

"Molecular 'Vitalism'" by Marc Kirschner, John Gerhart & Tim Mitchison. Students are often taught that genes are the bedrock, or blueprint, for biology. But this picture is quickly changing, unraveling, fading. "Although...proteins, cells, and embryos are...the products of genes, the mechanisms that promote their function are often far removed from sequence information." Link

"Escherichia coli," by David Goodsell. Goodsell is a computational biologist who also makes brilliant watercolor paintings of living cells. His paintings are based on atomic truth —that is, the ribosomes, mRNAs, and DNA molecules are all painted to scale. This short essay explains how he does it. Link

"How Life Really Works," by Philip Ball. This essay challenges much that students are taught about how cells actually work. DNA is not some all-powerful blueprint of the cell, as textbooks often suggest. To truly understand life, argues Ball, one must first realize that cells are far more complex than that. They are, in fact, intelligent agents that change their surroundings to their own benefit. Link

"A Long Line of Cells," by Lewis Thomas. Another masterful essay that traces one man's life, and mankind's progress, through the lens of evolutionary biology. It helped me appreciate how my own life is deeply intertwined with the lives of organisms all around me. Link

"AlphaFold2 @ CASP14," by Mohammed AlQuraishi. Biological progress is swift, and that is one reason it is so exciting. In this first-person essay, a computational biologist marvels at a scientific breakthrough in predicting protein structures from their amino acid sequences. Link

"Theory in Biology: Figure 1 or Figure 7?," by Rob Phillips. Another great essay about theory —and not just wet-lab experiments—as a key driver of scientific progress. "Most of the time, if cell biologists use theory at all, it appears at the end of their paper, a parting shot from figure 7. A model is proposed after the experiments are done, and victory is declared if the model ‘fits’ the data." But such an approach is misguided, writes Phillips. As Henri Poincaré once said: "A science is built up of facts as a house is built up of bricks. But a mere accumulation of facts is no more a science than a pile of bricks is a house." Link

" On Being the Right Size," by J.B.S. Haldane. Published in 1926, this essay made me appreciate the myriad forms and functions of lifeforms all around me. I learned why an insect is not afraid of gravity; why a flea as large as a human couldn't jump as high as that human; why a tree spreads its branches, and much more. Simple, beautiful. Link

"I Have Landed," by Stephen Jay Gould. The final essay in a 300-essay series, Gould  writes about how he often lies awake at night, pondering his purpose in the Universe and his fear of death. And how, upon deep reflection, he is most stunned by the fact that life—after more than 3.5 billion years of evolution—continues to exist at all “without a single microsecond of disruption." Link

"A Life of Its Own," by Michael Specter. Published in The New Yorker in 2009, this piece explores the then-nascent field of synthetic biology. It opens by telling the story of Jay Keasling, a professor at UC Berkeley, who engineered yeast to make an antimalarial drug called artemisinin, which has been used to save at least 7.6 million lives. Artemisinin was historically extracted from the sweet wormwood plant in a painstaking and low-efficiency process. Link

"Slaying the Speckled Monster," by Jason Crawford. Smallpox killed an estimated 300 million people in the 20th century alone. This essay explains how a long line of brilliant scientists—from John Fewster and Edward Jenner to D.A. Henderson—invented the first vaccines against the disease and then, in the 1960s, launched campaigns to eradicate smallpox entirely. An inspiring story about how biological discoveries can save lives. I also learned this: "The origin story [about smallpox vaccines] that is usually told, where Jenner learns of cowpox’s protective properties from local dairy worker lore or his own observations of the beauty of the milkmaids, turns out to be false—a fabrication by Jenner’s first biographer, possibly an attempt to bolster his reputation by erasing any prior art." Link

"Why we didn’t get a malaria vaccine sooner," by Saloni Dattani, Rachel Glennerster & Siddhartha Haria. Malaria has killed billions of humans in the last few centuries and continues to kill 600,000+ each year. This is, simply put, the best essay ever written on the history of malaria and the invention of vaccines to prevent it. We are living through a revolutionary time, considering these vaccines were only approved for the first time in 2021. Link

"Biology is a Burrito" and "Fast Biology," by Niko McCarty. Cells are often envisioned as wide-open spaces, where molecules diffuse freely. But this isn't true. In reality, cells are so crowded, it’s a wonder they work at all. Every protein in the cell collides with about 10 billion water molecules per second. Protein ‘motors’ make energy-storing molecules by spinning around thousands of times a minute. Sugar molecules fly by at 250 miles per hour, nearly double the speed of a Cessna 172 airplane at cruising speed. When I first heard these numbers, I thought they were made up. After all, how is it even possible to measure such things? The world’s most powerful microscope cannot necessarily “see” a protein motor spinning, or watch a sugar molecule move through a cell. As a PhD student, I jumped head-first into the world of biological speed. My goal was to collect some "remarkable" numbers in biology and understand the experiments that brought them to light. My search made me appreciate how remarkable it is that life functions at all, considering the chaotic conditions in which cells exist. It also gave me a new appreciation for biology, and the incredible exactitude that one must have to engineer it — let alone engineer it successfully. Link | Link

"Jonas Salk, the People’s Scientist," by Algis Valiunas. Salk made one of the first successful polio vaccines. A double-blind clinical trial, launched in 1954, showed that patients who received his vaccine "developed paralytic polio at about one-third the rate of the control groups. On average across the different types...the vaccine was eighty to ninety percent effective." Shortly after the trial's results were made public, journalist Edward R. Murrow interviewed Salk. When Murrow asked Salk who held the patent on the vaccine, Salk replied: “Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?” Reading this essay helped me to appreciate the struggle and strife of biological research, the fickleness of fame, and the positive impact that a small group of scientists can have on the world. Link

"On Protein Synthesis," by Francis Crick. Arguably the most important essay in biology’s history, this was adapted from a lecture that Crick gave in 1957 during which the famed geneticist made several accurate predictions about how cells work well before experimental evidence existed to support them. “I shall…argue that the main function of the genetic material is to control (not necessarily directly) the synthesis of proteins," wrote Crick. "There is a little direct evidence to support this, but to my mind the psychological drive behind this hypothesis is at the moment independent of such evidence.” At the time, scientists weren't sure DNA had anything to do with proteins. In this essay, Crick also predicted the existence of a small ‘adaptor’ molecule that brings amino acids to the ribosome for protein synthesis (now known as tRNAs) and that future scientists would chart evolutionary lineages by comparing DNA sequences between organisms. Crick was years ahead of his time. This essay is a masterclass in scientific thinking. Link

"The People Who Saw Evolution," by Joel Achenbach. My favorite article on this list. Every year, for 40 years, Peter and Rosemary Grant traveled to Daphne Major, a volcanic island in the Galápagos, to study Charles Darwin's finches. During that time, they watched "evolution happen right before their eyes." In 1977, for example, just 24 millimeters of rain fell on Daphne Major, causing major food sources—including small, soft seeds—to become scarce. When the Grants returned to the island in 1978, they found that smaller finch species had died off, whereas “finches with larger beaks were able to eat the seeds and reproduce. The population in the years following the drought in 1977 had ‘measurably larger’ beaks than had the previous birds." I also strongly recommend the book, “ 40 Years of Evolution ,” from Princeton University Press.  Link

"Is the cell really a machine?" by Daniel J. Nicholson. Living cells are far more complex—and beautiful—than any machines made by human hands. In this essay, a philosopher points to four areas of current research where the metaphor of "cells as machines" breaks down. For example: Even though proteins are depicted as static or unmoving molecules, they actually “behave more like liquids than like solids." Link

"Biological Technology in 2050" by Rob Carlson. "In fifty years,” writes Carlson, “you may be reading The Economist on a leaf. The page will not look like a leaf, but it will be grown like a leaf. It will be designed for its function, and it will be alive. The leaf will be the product of intentional biological design and manufacturing." This is a futuristic essay about the potential of manipulating atoms via living cells. Link

"Research Papers Used to Have Style. What Happened?" by Roger's Bacon . This is an ode to beautiful scientific writing. The essay draws from classic biology research papers to make its case. Link

"Night Science," by Itai Yanai & Martin Lercher. A personal essay about scientific discoveries that do not emerge from the scientific method as it’s taught in school, as told by two biologists. Perhaps it will inspire you to take up night science experiments of your own. Link

"Atoms Are Local," by Elliot Hershberg. Biology is the ultimate distributed manufacturing platform. Cells harvest atoms from their environments—air and soil—and rearrange them to build materials, medicines, and everything we need to live. Link

"The Mechanistic Conception of Life," by Jacques Loeb. This is the article that got me hooked on biology a decade ago. Written by one of history’s greatest biologists, it poses a number of questions that I suspect will keep scientists busy for many decades to come. "We must either succeed in producing living matter artificially,” writes Loeb, “or we must find the reasons why this is impossible." Link

What essays did I miss? Let me know in the comments and I’ll expand the list :)

Discussion about this post

This is such a great idea for a blog. I tend to read about health from a more big-picture, epidemiological/sociological point of view. I am looking forward to falling in love with the science behind it all over the next month ❤️

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Free Biology Essay Examples & Writing Tips

Don’t know what to write about in your essay on biology? Looking for good biology essay examples for inspiration? This article has all you need!

A biology essay is a type of academic paper that focuses on a particular topic of biology. It can discuss animal life, cycles in biology, or a botanic subject. You will need to demonstrate your critical thinking skills and provide relevant evidence to support your perspective.

On this page, you will find examples of biology essays. You will also find here tips and topics prepared by our experts . They can assist you in nailing your short or extended essay.

Areas of Research for Biology Essays

If you’ve been assigned to write a biology essay, you probably know which area of research you have to choose. However, it might be beneficial to explore other available scopes. It’s useful for both interdisciplinary study and the cases when you are free to pick your area of research. In this section, let’s figure out what you can study in biology.

Here are biological areas of research you should be familiar with:

• Cancer Biology studies this type of disease to prevent, detect, diagnose and cure it. The ultimate goal of such biologists is to eliminate cancer.
• Cell Biology is a branch that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. Here, biologists study healthy and sick cells to produce vaccines, medication, etc.
• Biochemistry is an application of chemistry to the study of biological processes on cell and molecular levels. It is a cross-discipline between chemistry and biology. The focus is on the chemical processes of living organisms.
• Computation Biology is a study of biological data that develops algorithms and models to understand biological systems. Here, scientists either work for institutions or research for private enterprises.
• Genetics is an area that focuses on the study of genes and genetic variations for health benefits. It looks at the way DNA affects certain diseases.
• Human Disease is an area within which scientists study different diseases. The field covers cancer, developmental disorders, disease genes, etc.
• Immunology is a branch of biology that focuses on immunity. Immunologists look at the way the body responds to viruses as a way to protect the organism.
• Microbiology studies all living organisms that are too small for our eye to see. It includes bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other microorganisms.
• Neurobiology is the study of the nervous system. Biologists examine the way the brain works and look into brain illnesses.
• Stem Cell and Developmental Biology seeks to examine how the processes behind stem cell’s ability transform cells. The biologists in this area use the power of stem cells to model human illnesses.

Essay on Biology: Writing Tips

Want to know how to start a biology essay? Wondering about the best way to write your essay on biology? Then check out the following tips.

When you’re writing about biology, pay attention to the following features:

• Introduction . Just as in any other form of academic writing, the first section of your paper introduces the subject. Here, explain why your ideas are relevant to biology as a science.
• Thesis Statement. The final one or two sentences of the first paragraph should include your original hypothesis and experiment. You will be proving them in the main body. You do not have to include the results as the reader will encounter them later. If you’re struggling with this part, try our thesis generator .
• Main Body. In this part, write about all the experiments in detail. Often, teachers require to include visual aid to prove your point. For Zoology, Anatomy, Botany, it is pretty easy to find some photos and illustrations.
• Conclusion. Here, restate your thesis. Reemphasize the most critical aspects described in the main body. You can do it by using our summarizing tool . The goal of this last paragraph is to leave an everlasting impression on the reader.

Thank you for reading our article. We hope you found it helpful. Share it with your class peers who also study biology. Additionally, have a look at the biological essay examples below.

723 Best Essay Examples on Biology

Grass and its importance, the benefits of animals to humans essay.

• Words: 1166

Ubiquity of Microorganisms

• Words: 2210

The Effect of Temperature on Amylase Activity

• Words: 1293

Anaerobic Respiration and Its Applications

• Words: 1274

Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological System Theory

• Words: 1827

Botany and Taxonomy of the Onion

• Words: 2414

Biology: Analysis of Egg Experiment

Similarities and differences of photosynthesis and cellular respiration, biology of grasses: description and importance, mitosis in onion root and whitefish blastula, dark or light skin: advantages and disadvantages, mung seed germination patterns under varying ph values, strawberries history.

• Words: 1484

Lemon, Its Origin and Production

• Words: 1115

Browning Reactions Explained

Description of mitosis and meiosis, 16s and 18s ribonucleic acids: the key differences, mitosis and meiosis in onion root tip.

• Words: 1691

Seed Germination Experiment: Results and Discussion

Effects of vinegar on the germination rate of mung beans seeds.

• Words: 1750

Osmosis Through a Potato Slice Dipped in Solutions of Varying Concentrations

• Words: 1075

The C-Fern Plant Laboratory Experiment

• Words: 1101

Non-trophic Interaction in Marine Species

Pets and people, vaquita – endangered species.

• Words: 1367

The Insect Effect on Human Life

Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells: key differences, “the egg and the sperm” by emily martin critique.

• Words: 2577

History Of Biotechnology

• Words: 1908

Ethnobotanical Uses of Plants

• Words: 1938

Rabbit Muscular System Dissection Report

Nanobiotechnology, its advantages and disadvantages, cell organelles, their functions, and disease.

• Words: 1195

A Brief Discussion of Animal and Plant Cells

The human cloning debates.

• Words: 1197

Membrane Hands-on Laboratory Report

• Words: 1176

The Concept of Selective Breeding

• Words: 2724

Corn Plant’s Developmental Stages

Responsible house plant keeping.

• Words: 2262

Marine Life in United Arab Emirates

• Words: 1474

The Thermoregulation Is and Its Importance

Microbiology: zygomycota, ascomycota and basidiomycota, consequences of orange juice on the germination of mung bean seeds, the expression of the bmp4 gene and its role in the evolutionary process.

• Words: 2409

Venus Flytraps and Arthropods: Plant-Animal Interactions

• Words: 2088

A Lab Report for Microbiology Class

Substrate concentration and rate of enzyme reactions.

• Words: 1730

Vitamin A: Description and Usage

Soil impact on the growth of plants.

• Words: 1227

Melanin Theory as a Pseudoscientific Claim

• Words: 1645

Pros and Cons of Use of Pesticides

Measurement of generation time of e. coli.

• Words: 1527

Basic and Applied Biology: Key Differences

Meiosis and mitosis and mendel’s law of independent assortment, digestive journey of cheeseburger, chlamydia sexually transmitted disease, climate change and threat to animals, dugesia, a planarian with its peculiar characteristics.

• Words: 3207

Understanding the Effects of Quantity of Light on Plants Growth

• Words: 1089

Transpiration Process in Plants

Bacteria identification: enterobacter aerogenes.

• Words: 1096

The Genus Rosa’s Adaptation to the Environment

• Words: 1144

Osmosis Transport Across the Cell Membranes

The digestive system in the human body, different ecosystems and living things, characteristics of adult development.

• Words: 1311

Introduction to the Nervous System

A light microscope: function and usage, history of potatoes, their vatiety, and popularity.

• Words: 1233

The Kingdom Fungi: The Structure, Characteristics

The euphorbia plant modification and adaptation, human circulatory system and evolution, the effect of different shampoos on the bacteria growth.

• Words: 1737

Natural Sciences. The Phenol Red Broth Test Experiment

• Words: 1156

Madagascar’s Elusive Shell-Squatting Spider

Falling in love as part of natural selection.

• Words: 1085

Planting Bamboo: The Role of Photosynthesis

The importance of sleeping and dreaming, a study of the brine shrimps and their natural environment.

• Words: 1937

Unknown Bacteria Under Microbiology Lab Tests

• Words: 1164

Cells, Tissues, and Major Organs Systems

• Words: 2269

Providencia Rettgeri as an Unknown Microorganism

• Words: 2203

Pollutants Effects on Cellular Respiration Rate

• Words: 1434

Common Biochemical Cycles

Bacteria cells calculation and categorization, is earthworm beneficial or harmful to humans, the function and structures of the human heart, biology lab report: biodiversity study of lichens, yeast and the fermentation process, first reptiles adaptation: amniotic egg evolution, the characteristics and importance of nervous system.

• Words: 1705

What Enzymes Are and How Do They Work

How science biology might help alleviate human suffering, archaea and bacteria prokaryotes dichotomous keys, what is mitochondria and what functions does it have.

• Words: 1095

Seed Germination and Osmosis

• Words: 1127

Photosynthesis as a Biological Process

Life in the bottom of the ocean and its protection.

• Words: 1529

Microbial Groups and Golden Age of Microbiology

Psychophysics: definition & fundamentals.

• Words: 1606

Biology. Cell Analogy – Nucleus + Nucleolus

Mattew warren: four new dna letters double life’s alphabet.

• Words: 1119

The Digestive System and Its Functions

Gekkonidae: biological characteristics.

• Words: 1121

Cane Toad: Introduction and Threat

• Words: 1018

Bioremediation Technology

• Words: 1604

Interesting Aspects of Brain Development

The role of the olive in human history and lives.

• Words: 1653

The Anatomy and Physiology of the Nervous System of a Rat

• Words: 1612

Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning

• Words: 1169

Description and General Information About Stink Bugs

Forensic procedures: hairs and fibres.

• Words: 2067

Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus Aureus Features

• Words: 1036

Vertical Stratification

Functions of eukaryotic cell organelles and their importance, plasmodium falciparum among eukaryotic microbes, lucid dreaming: impact on sleep disruption.

• Words: 1927

Protein Sequence Determination

Adenosine triphosphate: role in muscular system.

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Home Essay Samples Science

Essay Samples on Biology

Evolutionary biology through the lens of medicine.

When thinking of the word evolutionary I often think of species developing or changing yet I rarely think of practical ideas like medicine or healthcare progressing. Although having species evolve is important in its own unique ways, having medicine evolve is something that I think...

• Human Evolution

Biology and Bioethics: Balancing Science and Morality

Introduction Biology, the study of life and living organisms, has witnessed remarkable advancements over the years. As our understanding of the intricate workings of biological systems deepens, ethical questions arise concerning the responsible use of this knowledge. The field of bioethics explores the ethical implications...

The Importance of Cell Biology in the 21st Century

Cell biology is the study of cell structure and how it fundamentally gives organisms their function, there are approximately 25,000 protein-coding genes in the human genome, within this only about 60% of the human genes have an identifiable sequence homology within the protein database. Human...

• Genetic Modification

Application Of Forensic Anthropology In Human Identification From The Skeleton

Forensic Anthropology The study of Biological anthropology includes a wide rage of sub categories such as medical anthropology, evolution, and forensic anthropology. Forensic anthropology uses the methods of osteology, a physical anthropology to analyse physical remains for legal issues such as criminal trials. Forensic anthropologists...

• Human Anatomy

Best topics on Biology

1. Evolutionary Biology Through the Lens of Medicine

2. Biology and Bioethics: Balancing Science and Morality

3. The Importance of Cell Biology in the 21st Century

4. Application Of Forensic Anthropology In Human Identification From The Skeleton

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160 Biology Essay Topics

For most science courses, assignments are generally lab-based and rarely require much writing. However, all of that changes in biology courses when detailed essays must be written to highlight a student’s understanding of the subject. These essays are highly technical, with specific comments required to meet the factual nature of the subject.

In addition to meeting the factual requirements needed to complete the assignment, biology essays must also be written in a writing style that is informative and authoritative rather than subjective and personal.

These detailed specifics of writing a biology essay can make completing the writing difficult from the very beginning. Fortunately, we’ve created this guide to help students learn how to write a biology essay. In addition, we’ve also included 160 biology essay topics to help inspire the creative writing process.

How to Write a Biology Essay?

Writing a biology essay starts with choosing a topic. If your teacher has not already assigned a specific topic, then students must choose one that is broad enough to find credible resources and specific enough that the research won’t overtake the writing process.

To select a suitable topic for a biology essay, consider the type of biology class you are taking, the current and previous chapters studied, and the overall context of the course. These factors will help you select a topic that is likely to be relevant to your teacher’s needs and to the passing of your course.

Once students have selected a suitable topic, it’s time to research credible resources that will support the subject. To do this successfully, students need to consider the following:

• What information is already known about this topic?
• What topics are related or similar to this topic?
• Who are credible authors that can explain this topic?
• What additional sources will provide me with the information needed to complete this assignment successfully?

For example, if you want to write a biology essay on protein synthesis and its regulation at the transcriptional level, research material would include books, articles, and other written works published by credible authors or publishers. While important, this material isn’t the only type of research that should be completed.

Students may also consider consulting medical and biology dictionaries, textbooks, online research databases such as PubMed or Medline, and professional organizations for biologists to find additional sources. Once the research has been completed, it’s time to create the first draft of the biology essay.

Biology Essay Introduction

Starting an essay is always the same. Students should open with a catchy hook statement that introduces an interesting fact, presents a unique perspective, or raises a thought-provoking question.

Once that sentence has been created, students can use the middle part of the introduction to introduce fundamental concepts and provide background details about the topic.

Once that information has been laid out, and the reader knows the necessary details to make the reading interesting and worthwhile, students should move into the final portion of the introduction that answers the question: WHY is this essay important? This question is answered in the form of a thesis statement that details the essay’s overall purpose.

Biology Essay Body Paragraphs

The body paragraphs of your essay will contain the bulk of your research. Be sure that each body paragraph meets the following requirements:

• One clear idea represented per paragraph or section
• Examples that back up the point of the paragraph
• A clear and logical flow between paragraphs with transition words

Make sure that the body paragraphs only contain information pertinent to the subject or topic. Avoid fluff or filler words and phrases that don’t add any substance or value to the writing.

The number of paragraphs in the body may vary depending on the assignment parameters and the essay style. For example, an essay with a 1000 word limit won’t have as many body paragraphs as an essay with a high word count.

Additionally, a compare and contrast essay that examines the similarities and differences between two or more biology concepts may have more body paragraphs than an argumentative essay.

Biology Essay Conclusion

The final section of a biology essay is the conclusion. In this section, students need to summarize the major points of the essay and the overall purpose for writing it. The thesis should also be re-stated to recap what has been learned from the writing.

In addition to these sentences, students should include a final remark about their research and findings. This might be a thought that ties into the intro or another interesting angle that presents a new way of looking at your topic.

Once the conclusion is completed, students should edit and review their work. Make sure that the essay is free of grammar and spelling mistakes before submitting it for grading.

When it comes to choosing a biology essay topic, it is not always as easy as it seems. For students looking for help with writing a biology essay, we have compiled a list of 160 biology essay topics that will hopefully give you some great ideas.

Biology Essay Topics About Animals

• What is the importance of bats in our ecosystem?
• What is the difference between a domesticated cat and a wildcat?
• How do animals adapt to their environments?
• What are the various types of symbiotic relationships found in nature?
• Which animals have been known to show altruism towards other species?
• What impact does human activity have on animal behavior?
• What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of zoos?
• How do animal brains work?
• What is an animal’s anatomical structure like?
• What are some symbiotic relationships between humans and animals?
• What is the difference between herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, and insectivores?
• Why are having pets important to humans?
• What are the positive and negative impacts of commercial farming on animals?
• Do you think it is acceptable to keep pets in zoos? Why or why not?
• What are some common misconceptions about cats, dogs, rodents, cows, sheep, horses, reptiles/fish/insects?
• How do animal bones support their body structure?
• What are the effects of humans on the natural habitats of animals?
• What are some ways in which animal anatomy is similar to human biology?
• What are some symbiotic relationships found in the animal kingdom?
• Can humans and animals communicate with each other?
• How do different types of animal cells function differently than human cells?
• Why do some animals see better in the dark?
• Explain the circulatory system of cold-blooded animals and how it differs from that of warm-blooded animals.
• What are some examples of mimicry in nature?

Biology Essay Topics About Cellular Biology

• How does cell theory apply to cellular biology?
• What is mitosis, and where does it take place?
• What are the different parts of a cell?
• What is a nucleolus?
• What are the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?
• How do viruses affect our cells?
• How does photosynthesis work?
• Why is it important to study cellular biology as a foundation for other disciplines of biology?
• What are the functions of organelles in cells?
• What is anabolism and catabolism?
• How do plants use photosynthesis to produce sugar while animals break down food for energy?
• Describe the process of homeostasis and explain how the human body maintains its internal environment.
• What are the important parts of a cell?
• How do cells reproduce?
• What is the difference between mitosis and meiosis?
• What is the importance of cellular research to humans?
• Explain mitochondria, chloroplasts, and vacuoles in plant cells.
• What are some of the problems with using stem cells in medical research?
• What are the differences between eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms?
• How do humans reproduce sexually?
• Why is it different to clone plants than animals?
• What are some important functions of membranes in cells?
• What is the significance of mass spectrometry to molecular biology and genetics?
• How do viruses reproduce?
• What are mitochondria responsible for in eukaryotic cells?
• What is the difference between a plasmid and a virus?
• Do you think cloning animals should be allowed? Why or why not?
• What is a cell cycle?
• How do diseases affect the structure and function of cells?
• What are some ethical issues with genetic engineering?
• What is cell division, and how does it work?
• Where does meiosis occur in the body, and what does it accomplish?
• Explain the structure and function of ribosomes in eukaryotic cells.
• What is a cell membrane made up of, and what are its important structural components?
• How do antibiotics affect bacterial cells?
• Do you think cloning humans should be allowed? Why or why not?
• What makes up the cytoskeleton?
• How are molecular structures related to the functions of cells?
• What are some examples of biomolecules necessary for cell function and survival?
• What types of molecules make up an organism’s genome?

Biology Essay Topics About the Ecosystem

• What does the term food web mean?
• Why is it important to study population dynamics in an ecosystem?
• How do humans affect other species and their environments?
• How can we prevent and control invasive species, and why are they so dangerous?
• What effects does pollution have on animals and their habitats?
• How do global warming and climate change affect the ecosystem?
• What are the different types of animals found in ecosystems?
• What happens to an ecosystem when one species becomes extinct?
• What is the difference between biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem?
• How do humans feed off other species to survive?
• Describe how the r-selected life strategy works.
• What are some examples of symbiosis found in nature?
• How does biodiversity affect the structure, function, and survival of ecosystems?
• How does the stability of an ecosystem depend on biodiversity?
• What are trophic levels, and how do they function to maintain the structure of ecosystems?
• Why are invasive species dangerous?
• How do global climate changes and human activities affect the biodiversity of ecosystems?
• What types of organisms thrive in wetlands?
• How do humans benefit from studying ecosystems?
• What ecosystems are best suited to rapid climate change?

Biology Essay Topics About Evolution

• Is evolution strictly a scientific theory, or is it also valid spiritually?
• Why is research about the evolution of life important to our understanding of the past?
• What are some examples of convergent evolution?
• How does natural selection contribute to evolution?
• Why is it important for people to understand evolution and its role in biology?
• What are some benefits that humans enjoy thanks to evolution?
• How do mass extinctions impact the evolution of different species?
• How does a mutation affect a population’s gene pool and diversity?
• Explain the core principles of Darwin’s theory of evolution.
• How does an organism’s ability to respond to environmental changes contribute to its rate of evolution?
• What is polyphyletic evolution?
• What are some examples of vestigial traits in humans and other species?
• How do eco-evolutionary dynamics play a role in evolution?
• Do you think that past mass extinction events had an impact on evolution? Why or why not?
• What are some benefits humans enjoy thanks to evolution by natural selection?
• How could modern-day diets affect the evolutionary growth of humans?
• What animals have had evolutionary changes based on threats to their diets?
• What evolutionary response makes for the best camouflage?
• What types of traits can be used to differentiate between closely related species?
• What are the main factors that prevent a population from evolving?
• How is artificial selection different from natural selection?
• Why do scientists still debate about evolutionary theory despite overwhelming evidence supporting it?
• What are some examples of convergent evolution in nature, and how do they function as an adaptation?
• Why is research about the evolution of life important to understanding the past?

Biology Essay Topics About Genetics

• What is genetic drift, and how can it lead to changes in a population over time?
• How do the different parts of DNA interact with each other?
• How are dominant and recessive traits identified?
• What are some examples of genetic disorders?
• What causes Down syndrome, and how is it diagnosed in children?
• How does natural selection act on mutations to create variation in a population?
• Can scientists use DNA testing to learn about our ancestors’ migratory patterns and where they lived?
• How can animal migration help us to better understand genetics?
• Define molecular genetics and explain how it relates to classical and Mendelian genetics.
• What is the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and why is it important in population genetics?
• Do you believe that scientists should clone human beings? Why or why not?
• Why are dominant traits sometimes called masking genes?
• Why is genetic diversity important for long-term species survival?
• How are epigenetic changes related to evolution?
• What is the difference between gene expression and gene activity with regards to genetics?
• How do developmental genes affect the appearance of an organism throughout its life cycle?
• How have animal and plant breeders used genetic engineering to produce certain types of hybrids?
• What are the ethical implications of human cloning?
• What are the latest technologies in genetic engineering?
• What new technologies are needed to make human cloning a reality?
• How are living organisms adapting to the presence of plastics in our environment?
• Why are some individuals resistant to certain genetically programmed diseases?
• What are three common misconceptions about genetic engineering?
• What is transgenic technology, and how can it be used for disease prevention or treatment?
• How do microorganisms impact human health and the environment?
• What are some examples of a genetically modified organism?
• How does natural selection impact microorganisms?
• What is DNA profiling, and how can it help to solve crimes or return missing persons to their families?
• Why do scientists need more research surrounding epigenetics before drawing conclusions on its effects on evolution?

Biology Essay Topics About the Human Body

• What is the purpose of skeletal and respiratory systems?
• How do hormones affect our body on a daily basis?
• How does the endocrine system work as part of an overall regulatory system in the human body?
• What are some different types of cells found in the human body?
• What are the differences between exocrine and endocrine glands?
• What are stem cells, and why are they important to biological research?
• How do muscles work together to create movement in our bodies?
• How do bones help us to maintain balance while walking, standing up straight, and running?
• What are some ways that human behavior can impact our bodies?
• How do foods with high sugar content affect the digestive system?
• What organs are no longer necessary in the human body, and why?
• What blood types offer better protection from the elements?
• What are mosquitoes attracted to some humans and not to others?
• What pheromones do humans give off?
• What are the different types of blood cells?
• How does healthy eating help to maintain digestive health?
• Why do some people get migraines that others don’t seem to be bothered by?
• What is the pH level of human blood, and how can it be carefully regulated?
• How does altitude affect respiration in humans?
• What is the most complicated system in the human body?
• Explain the biological purposes of “Fight or Flight.”
• What role does the immune system play in human health?
• What is the difference between human anatomy and physiology?

Choosing any of these 160 biology essay topics will help students craft an informative and authoritative essay that is sure to earn them a passing grade.

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