Biological Drawings
In Biology, there are several rules for drawings. We will go through these rules
here.
Before starting to draw:
1. Use a blank sheet of paper for your drawing. If you are drawing a
specimen, use an A4 blank sheet of paper.
2. Drawings, labels and annotations should always be in pencil. Choose a
good pencil such as an HB for your drawings. Pencils should be
sharpened before starting to draw.
3. The drawing should cover about two/thirds of the available drawing space.
Leave a margin of about 2cms around the paper. Drawing must be large
and clear. Allow enough space for labels.
4. A ruler is used only to draw labelling lines.
When starting to draw:
1. If drawing a specimen seen under the microscope, make sure that you are
observing a good focussed image of the specimen.
2. A drawing should always include:
• A title e.g. Different parts of a flower.
• A date of the experiment if the drawing is of an observation of a
specimen either seen through a light microscope or by the naked eye.
• Magnification and/or scale: When the drawing is of a specimen seen
under the microscope a magnification should always be included. Scales to
show the increase or decrease in size of a drawing should also be
included. e.g. Magnification x 100; Scale 1:2 (or x 0.5)
Draw at the centre of
the page. Leave an
outer margin.
