NO AI
*Important Reminder on the grading of this report: All grading in this course is in the Standards Based Grading format and your Unknown Project covers two of the standards for Unit 4. Therefore, each standard related to your project will be assessed on a scale of 1-4, 4 being Mastery of this project. I will assess this standard partially through your lab work over the remaining few weeks, partially in the final exam, and mostly through this unknown report. I included a rubric to help guide your writing but remember that you will be graded in the 1-4 standard based grading format. See me if you have questions on the grading or any other component of this project.*
Compile a report detailing your identification of the unknown bacterium. The report should contain the following sections:
Introduction: (approximately 300-500 words)
In the introduction section you would include patient information, general information about the identification process and pertinent background information about the general type of disease (ie: urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, gastrointestinal infections, etc). Do not give the final pathogen diagnosis, save that for later. (Don’t forget the in-text citations where needed!)
Results Table:
This table should include ALL staining and biochemical test results you requested (even tests that you requested but weren’t that helpful in the identification process.) You do not need to explain the test or result, just a table showing the test and a + or – for your results.
Identification: (approximately 600-1,200 words)
Walk through the identification process including staining, biochemical test results, research that you did, etc. This is where you include any difficulties and/or aberrant results along with your justification for your identification. This section is where I see the reasoning you used in the identification process. (Don’t forget the in-text citations where needed!)
Conclusions: (approximately 300-500 words)
In this section you will give your final identification of the pathogen along with a suggested treatment plan for your patient and the prognosis. This is the place to wrap up the report with any final insights. (Don’t forget the in-text citations where needed!)
Citation List
Please use MLA style for both the in-text citations and the citation list. You will find a link to the library’s MLA guide in the module. I expect you will have at least 3 references but my experience has been that good reports often have more.
Formatting & Pointers
12 pt font of your choosing (please something easy to read!) and 1.5 line spacing.
Grammar and spelling always matter so be sure to proofread and use checkers.
The papers will automatically go through “turnitin.com” to look for plagarism and grades will be drastically affected for copying from sources. Quotes are not a way to get away with copying from a source. We don’t use quotes in science writing! Everything should be put into your own words and then credit given to the source through in-text citations.
It is fine to use the first person in this report, eg. “After observing the Acid Fast stain, this pathogen was clearly Acid Fast so I tested it for the presence of….” Just be careful to stay in a professional tone and don’t become overly casual. This is a report that would be presented to medical colleagues similar to the Meningitis project.
The word counts are only approximations and guidelines, it’s fine to be shorter or longer than that.
