The purpose of this assignment is for you to learn more deeply about an evolutionary topic of your choice as well as practice communicating the results of scientific research to the public, an important skill for any science career.
You will be selecting a target article that describes original scientific research on some aspect of biological evolution and writing a short (~1,000 to 2,000 word) paper describing and critically evaluating the research in the style of Nature’s “News and Views”. The audience for your paper is college-educated but who was not a biology major.
Plagiarism
Your paper must be in your own words. Do not use quotations from the TA. When writing this paper, be very careful to avoid plagiarism. Copying and pasting from the TA is plagiarism. Changing some words but keeping the same phrasing as the TA is plagiarism. You must rephrase everything you write into your own words. Remember the audience for this paper is not a biologist. Students who plagiarize will receive a zero on the assignment. Final papers will be analyzed for plagiarism by TurnItIn.
Grading Rubric
Include the follow sections in your paper (100 pts total):
Unlike a journal article, you should not label each section. They are divided this way to help you organize your paper and to give me a rubric for grading it, but your paper should be written as paragraphs without section headings, like a real News & Views article. For your reference, a real News and Views article and examples of excellent student News and Views papers are posted on Canvas, so that you can see some examples of what I am looking for.
A. Descriptive title (5 points) and Name, with Email Address.
Describe what the research in your TA is about. Do not use the same title as the TA; put it into your own words and make it interesting. It should catch the reader’s interest as well as hint at the general content of the paper. The title needs to be intriguing and a little bit cute but not too cute to be effective.
B. Pseudo-abstract paragraph (5 points)
Start your paper with a brief, 1-3 sentence pseudo-abstract that previews the general issue or problem and attempts to draw the reader in further by hinting at what they’ll learn if they stick it out and read the rest of the N&V paper. (You need to convince readers that they want to read your N&V analysis because they will learn interesting and useful things if they do. In the real world, readers can decide to skip your paper and read something more interesting instead.) See the examples posted on Canvas for an idea of what I am looking for.
C. Abstract paragraph (10 points)
The first paragraph serves as a true abstract and previews the entire paper very superficially: What was the state of affairs before the TA and the general problem addressed by the TA? Specifically, what questions are being asked and hypotheses tested by the target article? What is the “bottom line” on how the target article is going to advance our understanding, solve a problem, change the way we do things and set the stage for further progress? By this point you have to have “set the hook” and “made the sale,” otherwise the reader will flip the page and read some other more interesting article!
D. Background information (20 points)
The next few paragraphs summarize the state of affairs before the target article. What did we already know? This shouldn’t be just lots of true facts. You should use pertinent information carefully to effectively set the stage for what follows. Cite appropriate references using CSE format. Remember, the audience for your paper is someone who is not a biologist, so make sure you explain the background in non-technical language.
E. TA research summary (25 points)
The next few paragraphs give an overview of what the authors of the TA did, the logic for setting up the study, their specific hypotheses, their methods for testing their hypotheses, their results and conclusions. Avoid filling space with irrelevant details; focus on things that are essential for understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the TA. If you encounter confusing methods and statistics, just do your best to understand them, acknowledge your limitations and trust the authors provisionally (“The statistics were beyond me, but if they were done correctly then …”) Remember, the audience for your paper is someone who is not a biologist, so make sure you explain the research in non-technical language.
F. Critical analysis (20 points)
The final few paragraphs give your evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the TA. Are the authors’ conclusions sound? – why or why not? Do you come to different conclusions? – if so what are they? Describe alternative hypotheses that are equally compatible with the results. What needs to be done next? If the TA is perfect, then use it as a stepping stone to the next big question. If you think the TA had some methodological shortcomings, propose a better way to do the study next time.
G. References (10 points)
Cite your TA the first time you refer to it in the text of your paper. (You do not need to cite it again after that, as we can assume that the rest of your paper is about that TA.) You must also cite at least 2 additional scientific references (i.e. a journal article or a book, NOT a website) besides your TA. (Hint: your textbook would be a good reference to use for one of these.) At the end of the paper, provide full references for all of the sources you cited using CSE format.
H. Grammar, spelling, avoiding typos, following instructions, etc. (5 points)
