WRITING IN BIOLOGY
50.290
Instructions for Assignments
| Index | ||
|
Auxiliary Exercises--Part 1 |
Auxiliary Exercises--Part 2 | Other Assignments |
| Notes | Bibliography Assignment | Application Letter and Resume |
| Idea Map | Internet Project | General Science Article |
| Web Search | Interview Assignment | Term Paper |
| Hypothesis and Sources | Analyzing a Scientific Paper | |
| Poster or Oral Presentation | Team Web Evaluations | |
To find the instructions, click on the assignment or scroll down the page.
Auxiliary Exercises--Part 1
Notes—25 points
Choose one of the supplied articles or one of your own that has been approved by the instructor. Proceed to critically read the article and make notes using the double-column technique. Follow the guidelines set out in the Pechenik text, Chapter 3. Turn in your notes and the article used. The notes may be neatly handwritten.
Choose a current topic in the biological sciences and have this topic approved by your instructor. Go to the biological literature and find an essay, critique, or short review on this topic of current concern in biology. Our library’s journal collection should be sufficient. Create an idea map of this source material and a second map modified by arranging it with bridge topics as though you were going to re-edit and rewrite the source article. Use the principles found in Chapter 6 of the Pechenik text and submit the neatly written results to the instructor. Include a copy of the article.
Choose a specific health-related topic in the biological sciences and have this topic approved by your instructor. Use three different web search engines or directories to acquire information on this topic. You may emphasize secondary sources such as health sites, sites associated with health associations, or medical schools. Find a minimum of 10 reliable sources on this topic and type a summarization of your findings. The summarization must be double-spaced and one full page to two full pages in length using 10 to 12 point font. Attach a literature cited section using the APA or the Pechenik text format. Be certain to use in-text citations as required. Indicate as an addendum the search engines or directories used. You may submit this assignment by e-mail.
Evaluating Web Resources—50 points
Choose an area of debate in the biological sciences and have this topic approved by your instructor. Find 10 Web sources of discussion or of information on this debate. Evaluate the sources under the CARS system described in the Harris text (Chapter 5). Indicate the specific question, each source, and your evaluation under each of the four criteria given by Harris CARS format for each source. Type up a complete, detailed evaluation of each source and submit it to the instructor. You may submit this assignment by e-mail.
Genomics: Have genes been exchanged between different organisms naturally before genetic engineering?
Declining Amphibians: What do deformed frogs tell us about the health of our ecosystems?
Genetically Modified Food: How do the risks and benefits of genetically modified food compare?
Malaria: What are the best strategies for control and eradication of malaria?
Vaccination: What are the risks and how do these compare to the benefits?
Summary or Critique—25 points
Choose a peer-reviewed, primary research article from the biological literature. Have your instructor approve the article. Follow the instructions in Pechenik (Chapter 7) and use the format presented there. Submit to the instructor the typewritten final draft and a copy of the article used. The text should be 10 to 12 point, and the length must be a minimum of one full page with standard margins, but the summary or critique must not exceed two pages.
Auxiliary Exercises--Part 2
Choose a specific topic in the biological sciences and have this topic approved by your instructor. Find 10 primary sources on the topic and prepare a bibliography. Indicate the topic and list the citations. Use the CBE or the Pechenik format for the citations of each research article. As an appendix, attach a copy of the first page of each article. Submit the typewritten results to the instructor.
Choose a specific topic in the biological sciences and have this topic approved by your instructor. Find 20 reliable sources on the topic. List the internet sources by using a standard citation format (APA or Pechenik). Be certain your citation is complete and meets the style conventions. Indicate the topic and the search tools utilized in your search before presenting your citations. Be certain to use the Harris CARS criteria (Chapter 5) in selecting your sources. Only highly reliable sources should be used. The sources may be either primary or secondary. You may submit this assignment by e-mail or as a typewritten manuscript.
Choose a professional in a career in which you are interested and interview that professional. Make an appointment and prepare questions for the interview. You may also improvise when you arrive. Prepare a paper of at least 300 words typewritten and double-spaced with standard margins integrating your interviewee’s responses into a coherent narrative examining the career of this professional. See also Pechenik, Chapter 13.
Suggested Questions
How did you find your way to this career?
What is your area of expertise?
How do you keep up with developments in your field?
What do you find rewarding about your career?
What particular problems are you currently facing?
What do you find to be the most challenging about your career?
Other question of your own design.
Example for a teacher:
Questions:
At what point in your life did you decide to teach?
What steps did you take to become a teacher in your field?
How do you keep up with developments in your field?
What advice would you give to students interested in entering your field?
Do you do research? What role does this have in your teaching?
Other Questions of your own design.
Hypothesis and Sources—25 points
Choose a specific hypothesis in the biological sciences, either one of your own or one from the biological literature. Have this hypothesis approved by your instructor. Find eight primary sources with information (data) relevant to your hypothesis. Write out your hypothesis. Make a bibliography for your eight sources and summarize in one or two sentences under each citation the relevant information contained in each article. Submit the typewritten assignment to your instructor. Include a copy of the first page of each primary research article as an attachment.
Poster or Oral Presentation—50 points
Choose a research article from the peer-reviewed primary literature in the biological sciences. Use this article with other background sources to prepare either a poster or an oral presentation. Follow the instructions in Pechenik Chapters 12 or 14.
Obtain a relevant job advertisement from a newspaper or on a web site.
Prepare a cover letter specific for the job. The letter should be one to one and a half pages long. Use standard margins and an appropriate typescript. Follow the format given in your text and the model letter used in class. Be certain to hit all the required components as indicated in your text.
Prepare a resume tailored for the position to which you are applying. Use the format explained in class and the model in your text as guidelines. Use standard spacing and a neat format. Keep to a limit of one or two pages.
Hand in a copy of the advertisement, your cover letter, and the resume by the assigned date.
Pick a topic in biological research that you wish to present. This may be derived from your term paper or other assignment. Have the topic approved by your instructor.
Put together a bibliography on this topic. Note: you can use one paper from the primary literature if this is appropriate or a mixture of primary and secondary sources.
Prepare an article of two full pages minimum to four full pages maximum suitable for publication in a newspaper or a magazine for a general audience. Follow the format described in your text. Be certain to double-space the text, but not the title or the bibliography. Use simple 10 to 12-point fonts.
Submit the article by the required date. You may either turn in a hard copy or send the assignment by e-mail to the instructor.
The term paper topic is your choice. You must have the topic approved. Papers written on unapproved topics can not be accepted. The term paper is to be a minimum of eight pages and a maximum of ten pages exclusive of the title page, literature cited, and appendix sections. The text is to be double-spaced and one inch margins are to be used. The font is your choice, but must be 10 to 12 point. You must have a minimum of eight references. Three-quarters of the references cited must be primary sources. Please conform to the standards presented in your text, “A Short Guide to Writing about Biology.” For reference-format questions, refer to the CBE Style Guide or to the National Institutes of Medicine style manual.
Remember the difference between a term paper and an essay as defined by your text.
A term paper is really just a long essay, its greater length reflecting more extensive treatment of a broader issue. Both assignments ask you to present critical evaluations of what you have read. In preparing an essay, you synthesize information, explore relationships, analyze, compare, contrast, evaluate, and organize your own arguments clearly, logically, and persuasively, gradually leading to an assessment of your own. A good term paper or short essay is a creative work; you must interpret thoughtfully what you have read and come up with something that goes beyond what is presented in any single article or book consulted.
Note: The italics are my own.
The term paper should be organized in the following manner:
Title page (Title—specific, appropriate, interesting, informative)
Background on the problem or hypothesis (Direction of the paper)
Hypothesis statement (Nature of the problem being addressed)
Data bearing on the hypothesis (Obtained from the primary literature)
Data analysis—clearly distinguish between your own ideas and those of others (Compare, contrast, illustrate, discuss)
Your conclusions (Summarize the problem addressed and major points)
Literature Cited section—begins a fresh page (Use proper format)
Appendix (Photocopies of the first page of each article for each of the papers cited)
Find a biological research article that interests you in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) published in the last 12 months. Read the paper several times then answer the questions listed below. Turn in your typewritten answers and a copy of the paper. Type the question first and then your answer. Double-space your answers and use standard margins and 10 to 12 point font.
Questions for Analyzing a Scientific Paper:
What specific question is being asked?
How does the design of this study address the question posed?
What are the controls for each experiment?
How convincing are the results?
What contribution does this study make toward answering the original question?
What aspects of the original question remain unanswered?
Evaluate the web sites under the CARS system described in the Harris text (Chapter 5). Indicate each pair of sources and your evaluation under each of the four criteria given by Harris CARS format. Compare and contrast each site for the Harris criteria and draw a conclusion about the quality of each site. You will present your results orally in class.
Source 1 http://scope.educ.washington.edu/
Source 2 http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/
Source 3 http://www.scorecard.org/