Review Essays for the Biological Sciences

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Authors & Contributors

A review paper is a synthesis of primary sources (mainly research papers presented in academic journals) on a given topic. A biological review paper demonstrates that the writer has thorough understanding of the literature and can formulate a useful analysis. While no new research is presented by the writer, the field benefits from the review by recieving a new perspective. There are several approaches one may take when writing a biological review:

• A State of the art review
• A Historical review
• A Comparison of perspectives review
• A Synthesis of two fields review
• A Theoretical model building review