Skills for Life Science
Rules for biological drawings:
1. Heading must be written in pen, underlined and at the bottom of the drawing.
It must contain the following information:
a. Start with ‘Biological drawing of…’
b. Mention if the section being drawn is transverse, cross-section or
longitudinal.
c. Where the drawing is drawn from (i.e., a diagram or micrograph or live
specimen.
d. Magnification.
2. Drawing must be done using a sharp, soft pencil with no trace of erased lines.
3. Must draw what you see, not what you think you should see.
4. Proportion, shape, and position of structures must be accurate.
5. Drawing must be as large as the space provides.
6. Sharp, clear, single outlines of drawings (you must not be able to see where
the line started).
7. No structures should be shaded, dark structures should be outlined.
8. Label lines must be drawn with a pencil, a ruler and should never cross over
each other.
9. Labels are written in pen and in print.
Rules for drawing tables:
1. Table lines are drawn in pencil and with a ruler. Information written in pen.
2. The independent variable (x-axis on a graph) put in the first column.
3. Column headings include units, no units are put in the table body.
4. Main heading of the table must be short and relevant, written in pen,
underlined and start with ‘Table showing…’
Rules for graphs:
1. Graphs need to have a short descriptive heading, written in pen, underlined
and underneath the graph.
Rules for biological drawings:
1. Heading must be written in pen, underlined and at the bottom of the drawing.
It must contain the following information:
a. Start with ‘Biological drawing of…’
b. Mention if the section being drawn is transverse, cross-section or
longitudinal.
c. Where the drawing is drawn from (i.e., a diagram or micrograph or live
specimen.
d. Magnification.
2. Drawing must be done using a sharp, soft pencil with no trace of erased lines.
3. Must draw what you see, not what you think you should see.
4. Proportion, shape, and position of structures must be accurate.
5. Drawing must be as large as the space provides.
6. Sharp, clear, single outlines of drawings (you must not be able to see where
the line started).
7. No structures should be shaded, dark structures should be outlined.
8. Label lines must be drawn with a pencil, a ruler and should never cross over
each other.
9. Labels are written in pen and in print.
Rules for drawing tables:
1. Table lines are drawn in pencil and with a ruler. Information written in pen.
2. The independent variable (x-axis on a graph) put in the first column.
3. Column headings include units, no units are put in the table body.
4. Main heading of the table must be short and relevant, written in pen,
underlined and start with ‘Table showing…’
Rules for graphs:
1. Graphs need to have a short descriptive heading, written in pen, underlined
and underneath the graph.
