user22057: There are various problems with ‘homework’ questions, several of which have been discussed before. I am addressing just one problem, focussing on this because I have what I think is a practical proposal for dealing with it. (Other problems will no doubt remain, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.)
The Problem
As well as for obvious homework questions, it is common practice on this site to use the ‘homework’ option when voting a question off-topic because it shows no evidence of the research expected, often because it is an elementary question. However when a poorly-researched question that is not literally homework is put on-hold on this basis it frequently provokes a bitter response on the part of the poster, as illustrated by this recent post on Meta.
The Question

How can we modify the rubric of the ‘off-topic homework reason’ so
  that it also includes lack of research?

I say include, rather than add a separate reason, because I have the feeling that it is general SE policy to limit the number of reasons. Certainly the number in SE English Language & Usage is the same as in Biology.

user6307: Here is a 5 year old suggestion, from this answer, which is/was a close reason from the mathematics site: 


user43353: I agree with David. Homework questions in my view are a subset of the more general 'no attempt to understand or direct the question' problem.
David's proposal:

Please include the research you’ve done. Have you consulted
  commonly-available sources of information? If this is a homework
  question you must show your attempt at an answer. (For more
  information see our homework policy.)

I think this is a striking improvement already. However, it begins too suggestively for my taste and misses the imperative 'error message'. Homework questions are off-topic or This question is missing context are good examples of imperatives, even though they fall short in application.
I offer my alternative, where we sideline the homework aspect and prioritize the more general issue of low questioner effort.
My proposal:

The question is missing context or direction. For answers to better address the question, please include research you’ve done and show your attempt at an answer, and clarify where your understanding remains incomplete, particularly for homework questions.)


user3553: Perhaps you have misidentified the problem. We don't and shouldn't answer homework questions. But our definition of a homework question is sloppy, and I think sometimes we use this when we don't know how to articulate that a question is hard to answer.
Bona fide homework questions should be closed as homework questions
Homework questions that are attempting to get people to answer homework assignments should be heavily discouraged and called out.
Even if a user is bitter toward other users, this is not a homework service.
"Homework" questions could be closed for lack of specificity
The other type of "homework" questions are lack of effort questions. I think this is used a bit euphemistically currently. I understand the resentment users might feel about being accused of asking for homework help, and I think this should be addressed one way or another.
We should pay attention to bitter responses in these cases because it could be our community that is not communicating why a question was closed. If a question is asked in Ernest and is not part of a homework assignment, how does anyone benefit from the asker being told not to post homework questions? I believe that semantics in the justification wording won't help here.
In these cases, we are reluctant to answer a question because the answer would be too long so that some base knowledge is covered, or only lead to more questions.
We should close these questions with the "needs more info" or "too broad" close reason. These have recently been reworded


Needs details or clarity Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question.

Needs more focus Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer. Avoid asking multiple distinct questions at once. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question.
This is because



Example
In the example given, it was evident from the edits that the original (now deleted) question was indeed only the first broad question of several follow up questions.
The question was not specific enough.
Unfocussed questions are almost impossible to clearly answer on SE.
Instead of closing for breadth/details/clarity/specificity it was closed for homework.
This exemplifies that we have gotten into the habit of closing these type of broad and undeveloped questions as lack of research and therefore homework, but in fact, they can be closed as not being specific enough.

user22057: My Proposal in answer to my own question
The current wording of the relevant option for closing a question as off-topic is:

• Homework questions are off-topic on Biology unless you have shown your attempt at an answer. For more information see our homework policy.

My proposal is based on the italicized sections of the related one on English Language & Usage:

• Please include the research you’ve done, or consider if your question suits our English Language Learners site better. Questions that can be answered using commonly-available references are off-topic.

I suggest we can modify the SE Biology rubric to similarly include two possibilities and  provide a link to possible sources of basic information (provided in a Meta question like EL&L does). 
My proposal for SE Biology is:

• Please include the research you’ve done. Have you consulted commonly-available sources of information? If this is a homework question you must show your attempt at an answer. (For more information see our homework policy.)

Obviously, the wording is just a first attempt. Whether or not we go ahead, a list of sources of information would be useful. But one thing at a time.

22057: <p>There are various problems with ‘homework’ questions, several of which have been discussed before. I am addressing just one problem, focussing on this because I have what I think is a practical proposal for dealing with it. (Other problems will no doubt remain, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.)</p>

<p><strong>The Problem</strong></p>

<p>As well as for obvious homework questions, it is common practice on this site to use the ‘homework’ option when voting a question off-topic because it shows no evidence of the <a href="https://biology.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-ask">research expected</a>, often because it is an elementary question. However when a poorly-researched question that is not literally homework is put on-hold on this basis it frequently provokes a bitter response on the part of the poster, as illustrated by this <a href="https://biology.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/4007/why-is-my-post-labelled-homework">recent post on Meta</a>.</p>

<p><strong>The Question</strong></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>How can we modify the rubric of the ‘off-topic homework reason’ so
  that it also includes lack of research?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I say <em>include</em>, rather than add a separate reason, because I have the feeling that it is general SE policy to limit the number of reasons. Certainly the number in SE English Language &amp; Usage is the same as in Biology.</p>
 6307: <p>Here is a 5 year old suggestion, from <a href="https://biology.meta.stackexchange.com/a/1829/6307">this answer</a>, which is/was a close reason from the mathematics site: </p>

<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/TI8QR.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/TI8QR.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>
 43353: <p>I agree with David. Homework questions in my view are a <em>subset</em> of the more general 'no attempt to understand or direct the question' problem.</p>

<p>David's proposal:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Please include the <a href="https://biology.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-ask">research</a> you’ve done. Have you consulted
  commonly-available sources of information? If this is a homework
  question you must show your attempt at an answer. (For more
  information see our <a href="https://biology.stackexchange.com/help/homework">homework policy</a>.)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I think this is a striking improvement already. However, it begins too suggestively for my taste and misses the imperative 'error message'. <em>Homework questions are off-topic</em> or <em>This question is missing context</em> are good examples of imperatives, even though they fall short in application.</p>

<p>I offer my alternative, where we sideline the homework aspect and prioritize the more general issue of low questioner effort.</p>

<p>My proposal:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><strong>The question is missing context or direction.</strong> For answers to better address the question, please include <a href="https://biology.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-ask">research</a> you’ve done and show your attempt at an answer, and clarify where your understanding remains incomplete, particularly for <a href="https://biology.stackexchange.com/help/homework">homework questions</a>.)</p>
</blockquote>
 3553: <p>Perhaps you have misidentified the problem. We don't and shouldn't answer homework questions. But our definition of a homework question is sloppy, and I think sometimes we use this when we don't know how to articulate that a question is hard to answer.</p>
<h1>Bona fide homework questions should be closed as homework questions</h1>
<p>Homework questions that are attempting to get people to answer homework assignments should be heavily discouraged and called out.</p>
<p>Even if a user is bitter toward other users, this is not a homework service.</p>
<h1>&quot;Homework&quot; questions could be closed for lack of specificity</h1>
<p>The other type of &quot;homework&quot; questions are lack of effort questions. I think this is used a bit euphemistically currently. I understand the resentment users might feel about being accused of asking for homework help, and I think this should be addressed one way or another.</p>
<p>We should pay attention to bitter responses in these cases because it could be our community that is not communicating why a question was closed. If a question is asked in Ernest and is not part of a homework assignment, how does anyone benefit from the asker being told not to post homework questions? I believe that semantics in the justification wording won't help here.</p>
<p>In these cases, we are reluctant to answer a question because the answer would be too long so that some base knowledge is covered, or only lead to more questions.
We should close these questions with the &quot;needs more info&quot; or &quot;too broad&quot; close reason. These have recently been reworded</p>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>Needs details or clarity</strong> <em>Please clarify your specific problem or add additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it’s hard to tell exactly what you're asking. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question.</em></p>
</li>
<li><p><strong>Needs more focus</strong> <em>Please edit the question to limit it to a specific problem with enough detail to identify an adequate answer. Avoid asking multiple distinct questions at once. See the How to Ask page for help clarifying this question.</em>
This is because</p>
</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<h2>Example</h2>
<p>In <a href="https://biology.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/4007/why-is-my-post-labelled-homework">the example</a> given, it was evident from the <a href="https://biology.stackexchange.com/posts/88856/revisions">edits</a> that the original (now deleted) question was indeed only the first broad question of several follow up questions.
The question was not specific enough.
Unfocussed questions are almost impossible to clearly answer on SE.
Instead of closing for breadth/details/clarity/specificity it was closed for homework.</p>
<p>This exemplifies that we have gotten into the habit of closing these type of broad and undeveloped questions as lack of research and therefore homework, but in fact, they can be closed as not being specific enough.</p>
 22057: <p><strong>My Proposal in answer to my own question</strong></p>

<p>The current wording of the relevant option for closing a question as off-topic is:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>• Homework questions are off-topic on Biology unless you have shown your attempt at an answer. For more information see our homework policy.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>My proposal is based on the italicized sections of the related one on English Language &amp; Usage:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p><em>• Please include the research you’ve done</em>, or consider if your question suits our English Language Learners site better. <em>Questions that can be answered using <a href="https://english.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/2573/what-good-reference-works-on-english-are-available">commonly-available references</a></em> are off-topic.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I suggest we can modify the SE Biology rubric to similarly include two possibilities and  provide a link to possible sources of basic information (provided in a Meta question like EL&amp;L does). </p>

<p>My <strong>proposal for SE Biology</strong> is:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>• Please include the <a href="https://biology.stackexchange.com/help/how-to-ask"><strong>research</strong></a> you’ve done. Have you consulted commonly-available sources of information? If this is a <strong>homework question</strong> you <em>must</em> show your attempt at an answer. (For more information see our <a href="https://biology.stackexchange.com/help/homework">homework policy</a>.)</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Obviously, the wording is just a first attempt. Whether or not we go ahead, a list of sources of information would be useful. But one thing at a time.</p>
