The following template should be used when writing PLOSable stories for Ask A Biologist. The guidelines are in red and the fields for author entries are in black. Please maintain the margins in this template.
Images from Wikimedia should include the URL address.
Unless otherwise instructed, completed templates should be sent to the following address: dr.biology@asu.edu
PLOSable Template for Ask A Biologist	
Author name(s) 

You are the author. Enter your name below.	
Enter author name here.	
PLOS article title	
Enter the title from PLOS.	
PLOS article URL

This is the Web page address to the article	
http://	
Words to Know 

Enter words and definitions needed to understand the review below. Use a vocabulary for middle school level readers – kid friendly. Include an appropriate Wikipedia page for the term if it does not have warning tags.	
Enter words here.	
PLOSable Article Title

Enter possible header title that is kid-friendly below. It should not be the title of the work reviewed.	
Enter suggested title here.	
Article Description

Enter a one or two sentence hook that will catch your reader's attention and interest them in reading your article.	
Enter suggested description here.	

What’s in the story?

This paragraph will be used for the introduction section of the review articles – keep it short (100 to 200 words) and engaging for a young audience. Images and illustrations are good to include and need to come from your scientific article or Wikimedia Commons.	
Enter short introduction text. Conclude with a sentence similar to the one listed below: 
In the PLOS Biology article, “Insert Title of Article Here,” scientists… 

Example introductory paragraph – Who Needs Sleep Anyway?	
Body of the review

This is the main discussion area. Images are very good to include. Keep it kid-friendly. Use examples. Use headings to break up the text. This should be the meat of your article, about 600-800 words. You can include images into this section.	
Enter body of text here. Consult the Guide for PLOSable articles for more suggestions on writing kid-friendly stories.	
Image link address information and captions. All images not from the source article must be from Wikimedia Commons or another Creative Commons Licensed site.

Include ULR addresses for suggested images (the address for the page that has photo information, not just the jpeg), including images from the primary article. Don’t forget to include informative captions.

One graph or figure from the original article MUST be included with an in-depth, descriptive caption.	
Example Link:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mitosis-fluorescent.jpg
Example Caption:
An image of a cell going through mitosis (anaphase). The cell membrane is red, mitotic spindles green, and chromosomes are blue. The colors are from special dyes that fluoresce under the microscope.	
Where to learn more about this topic 

Great place to enter stable links to Wikipedia and Wiktionary (has speak the word option).	
Enter text and the URL addresses here. Use Wikimedia or Wiktionary.	
Sources - If more than the main article is used – use APA style formatting. Include URLs for any image you use from Wikimedia Commons.	
Enter any additional resources here.	
Check for understanding – Pop quiz… (OPTIONAL)

If the article’s topic is in an area of your expertise, create a quiz like we have for Ask A Biologist articles.	
Build a quiz with multiple-choice answers.	
Additional comments or questions… 

List any comments or questions you have for the person who will be reviewing your article here.	
Additional comments here.