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How to Create a Species Writing Template

The Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus is famous for having developed the system of scientific naming currently used by biologists worldwide. The system, known as binomial nomenclature, follows a specific format for naming individual animal and plant species according to the Latinate names for the genus and species. This is useful because common names, such as dog or cat, can vary greatly not only between languages but also between different dialects and regions of the same language. Creating a template for writing species names helps students acclimate to using binomial nomenclature when discussing different species.

Instructions

- 1
  Open the word processor of your choice on a computer.
- 2
  Type the word Genus. Capitalize the G to emphasize that the first letter of the genus is capitalized. Insert several underscores to form a line for students to write on.
- 3
  Type the word species immediately after the underscores. Leave the s lowercase to emphasize that the first letter of the species is never capitalized. Insert several underscores to form another writing guide.
- 4
  Copy and paste the template on a new line. Change "Genus" to read "G." Shorten the number of underscores so that students have the space to write only the capital initial of the genus.
- 5
  Copy and paste the two lines to fill the page. Print a copy of your species writing template. Fill out the first line with a sample, such as "Homo sapiens/H. sapiens." Underline the species name if handwritten or italicize if typed.

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