Writing Assignment: Critical Analysis of A Scientific Article - BIOS 202: Introductory Biology 1.3 2008/03/06 13:23:35 US/Central 2008/07/21 01:00:12.148 GMT-5 Cain Project cainproject@mailman.rice.edu Cain Project cainproject@mailman.rice.edu Scientific Article Writing This assignment was given in an Introductory Biology course at Rice University. The assignment requires students to locate, read, and critique a primary research article on a topic in population biology. The assignment includes grading criteria and assessment sheets that have been used by writing mentors to grade the papers. Even in the absence of writing mentors in a course, the criteria and assessment sheets are helpful to the course instructor as well as to the students because they help define expectations for the papers. Due date: ___________ Length: 700-800 words (not including references); use your word processor to count words and include word count at the top of your paper) Source: Find an article that explores a general subject in population biology. Below is a suggested list of journals. If you would like to use an article from a journal that is not on this list, email your course instructor for official approval of the source.

Science Nature Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Proceedings of the Royal Academy of Science American Naturalist Evolution Conservation Biology Conservation Genetics Animal Behaviour Ecology Heredity Systematic Zoology Oecologia Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Zoo Biology Assignment: Write an essay in your own words (do not copy sentences out of the paper) that critiques the article you have read for an audience of your BIOS 202 classmates. Be sure to begin by briefly summarizing the article. Next, analyze those aspects of the article that were clear or confusing to you. Conclude by speculating about broader implications and future directions of the research described in the article. A suggested plan for your essay is shown below: First 1-2 paragraphs: Summarize the objectives, methods, results, and conclusions as the authors have presented them. This section should reflect your understanding of the research presented in the article. Next paragraph—the strengths of the article. Identify and characterize the useful features of the article. That is, what aspects of the article seemed particularly strong? Did you find a certain section of the article (for example, introduction, methods) to be particularly helpful? Next paragraph—the weaknesses of the article. Identify and characterize the confusing aspects of the article. That is, did you find any weaknesses in the study? Was any particular section confusing to you? Why? Last paragraph: Conclude your essay. Speculate about the broader implication of this research (for example, the results might represent breakthroughs, or the results could have far-reaching implications) and try to identify the future directions of this research (go ahead and be creative).

Plagiarism: Do not copy any portion of a paper into your essays. Plagiarism interferes with the main purpose of having you prepare these papers, which is to get you to synthesize what you have read and then explain it and analyze it IN YOUR OWN WORDS. References: The first time you refer to your research article, be sure to parenthetically reference it using the author’s/authors’ name(s) and publication date, as shown below: A recent study found that doing things rather than memorizing trivia helps educate students (Smith and Jones, 2002). At the end of your paper, provide a complete citation, giving authors, year, article title, journal name, journal volume, and page numbers, as shown below: Rosin-Bouffay, C., Jang, W., Caprette, D.R., and Gomer, R.H. (2000) A precise group size in Dictyostelium is generated by a cell-counting factor modulating cell-cell adhesion. Molecular Cell 6, 953-959. Format: Hand in a stapled printed copy in class (see late policy below) Include at the top of the page: your name Bios 202 date word count (use your word processing program) Provide a copy of the article stapled to the back of your paper. Late paper policy: For each day the paper is late (submitted in the 24 hour period after 11 a.m. on the due date), 8 points will be deducted from your grade. Grading criteria: Include a grading sheet so that you can see what criteria will be used by the writing mentors in grading your papers. Meeting with a writing mentor: If you need help while writing your papers, peer writing mentors are available for individual meetings. A list of mentors will be provided in class. Contact your assigned mentor if you need assistance at any time in the writing process. For last-minute help, one or two mentors will also staff the Meyer Conference Room in the RMC from 8 to 10 p.m. on the night before each assignment is due.Please refer to Grading Criteria for Critical Analysis of A Scientific Article.