1Define the biological level first
State whether the figure is about a molecule, organelle, cell, tissue, organism, or population. Mixing levels without a visual hierarchy often produces ambiguous diagrams and incorrect scale relationships.
- Name the organism, tissue, and cell type where relevant
- Separate extracellular, membrane, cytoplasmic, and nuclear events
- Specify activation, inhibition, transport, or correlation explicitly
- Distinguish measured findings from proposed mechanisms

