Genetics Research Paper Instructions

Gollery

A research paper for the Drosophila inheritance experiment is due on Tuesday, November 19, 2013. The research paper will be scored using the SNC common rubric for written assignments, which is at the end of this instruction handout. General writing instructions: The research paper should be typed, single spaced, and maximum eight pages long, including figures, graphs, and sources. Use 11 point font for the body and a smaller readable font for figure and table legends. Serifs are acceptable but not required. Graphs should be generated using MS Excel or some other software (LoggerPro, Studyworks, etc.), but graphs done by hand of graphic-artist quality are acceptable. Insert graphs, tables, and figures within the paper, on the same page that you refer to them or the next page, but not at the end of the paper. Write in complete sentences. Use active first person tense except for in the methods section, that is, I co ncluded that rather than, It was concluded that... Assume that your audience is senior SNC science students and all SNC science instructors, so write using language that they will understand, but is as concise and direct as possible. That is, you should use disciplinespecific language with regard to reproduction, evolution, and inheritance, but you should explain particulars about Drosophila eye or body color biochemistry. Take advantage of expansive English vocabulary to choose nuanced adjectives, but avoid embellishment and stylistic prose of spoken language, including contractions and slang. Cite factual information that is not widely known. Do not quote phrases, sentences, or paragraphs from sources; instead write about their findings in your own words and cite the source using a superscript number at the end of the sentence, but inside the period, consistent with the CSE citation sequence system. Number citations in the order that the sources appear in the paper. Once a source has been cited, use the same number every time you refer to that source. Organize your source list in the same order with sources numbered to match the in-text numbers.

Include these sections in the research paper in this order. Place headings at the start of each section with slightly larger type font in bold type to set the sections apart. Title At the top of the first page of text and in slightly larger font than the section headings. The title should be descriptive, giving the reader an idea of what you did. For example, Drosophila report is not descriptive, Inheritance of two Drosophila mutations is not descriptive enough, but Green body color and triangular wings are inherited as autosomal recessive alleles in Drosophila melanogaster is a descriptive title that tells the reader something about your experiment and your conclusion. Author and affiliation This is where your name goes on your paper. Center these beneath the title: Author or authors in order of the amount contributed to the work Department of Science and Technology Sierra Nevada College Abstract write this section last, after you have completed a draft of the rest of the paper. An abstract is a brief summary of the paper that scientists read to determine if the full paper will contain information of interest to them. It should include the main points of the title and conclusion and may briefly state the main trends of data. An abstract is 100-250 words long. You should not cite a source in the abstract. Introduction at least one and not more than three pages in length. In terms of text, this may be the longest section of your paper. State the problem or question that your experiment addresses. Stating the question so that it requires an open-ended answer is more interesting than making it a yes or no question. For example, the question, How is green body color inherited in Drosophila? is more interesting than, Is green body color an X-linked allele? because the former question lends itself to discussion of whether the allele is dominant or recessive, on what chromosome the gene resides, whether males and females are affected the same way, etc.

Genetics Research Paper Instructions

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Gollery

Give a little bit of background information that makes your problem or question relevant. That is, explain why understanding the inheritance of Drosophila body color is a meaningful question. You would also state your hypothesis, prediction based on your hypothesis, and logic behind your hypothesis and prediction in many papers, but this is a more descriptive work, explaining what you learned about inheritance of your unknown traits, so a hypothesis and prediction are not appropriate in the introduction. You should cite a source when you state factual information in the introduction that is not widely known. For example, if you state that acid rain has reduced the mean pH of lakes in the Sierra Nevada by 0.5% since 1900 A.D., you should cite an expert source, such as primary source (research paper or government records source) or secondary sourced (edited review of research, encyclopedia, newspaper article, textbook), as this detailed fact is not common knowledge among the literate public. You would not have to cite a source if you state that Acid rain changes the pH of freshwater lakes, ponds, and streams.

Methods describe what you did in text form. Include enough detail that a peer can understand what you did and repeat your work, but not too much. For example, o Flies were cultured in vials at 25C, is not enough detail for another person to repeat your work. o Flies were cultured in vials with equal parts Instant Drosophila media (Carolina Biological) and tap water, with several grains of bakers yeast (Red Star) at 25C, is appropriate detail for another person to repeat your work. o A plastic measuring cup that came with the Drosophila media was used to measure the tap water and dried media, is excessive detail. Research methods sections are written in passive voice to emphasize the method, rather than the researcher. For example, o Use passive voice: Parents were removed from crosses at 7 10 days. o Not active voice: We removed the parents after 7 10 days. You may separate techniques into sections with subheadings in bold type (same font size as the body of text). For example, sections might include Drosophila culture conditions, Setting up crosses, and Paper chromatography of body color pigments.

Results (data) be sure that all results are here, rather than in your introduction, methods, or conclusion sections. This is likely to be the longest section of your paper because graphs and tables take space, but the actual text should be fairly brief, with most data summarized in tables and figures. A few sentences should direct the reader to the locations of data. For example: Table 1 and Figure 2 show the F2 phenotypic ratios, tells your reader where to look for data from your F1 cross. Tables should have descriptive titles and graphs should have legends (brief descriptions of what is being shown in the graph). Graphs should have axis labels including units if applicable, and keys. A reader should be able to understand what is presented in the figure or table without reading the text of the results section. You do not need to present all of the data that you collected, but you should present all data that is relevant to your conclusion. For example, you may decide to include one table that summarizes the results of your crosses, rather than including all tables that you made in your lab notebook as you scored flies. However, if you are concluding that the green body color mutation resulted from a chromosomal inversion, it wouldnt be ethical to leave out the linkage mapping data that revealed the inversion. If you have data that is best communicated as descriptive text, write about it rather than trying to show it in a graph. For example, you might say that the green body color was not obvious in adults that had just emerged from pupae, but was obvious by the second day and had reached maximum intensity after four days. DO NOT make conclusions about what your observations and data mean in this section.

Genetics Research Paper Instructions

Gollery

Discussion and Conclusions here is where you discuss what your data means. This section may have as much or more text as your introduction. State whether your data supports your hypothesis or leads you to reject your hypothesis, if applicable. State what you have concluded based on your observations for descriptive research. Explain briefly the logic behind this conclusion. For example, you could say, G raph 1 shows that when females with triangular wings were crossed to males with green eyes, one half of F 1 males had triangular wings, but all F1 females had normal wings. Thus, I conclude that triangular wings is a recessive X-linked trait because males are hemizygous for the allele, while females are heterozygous and do not express the trait . Briefly discuss any questions or improvements to the experiment that your results prompted you to think about, such as, It would be interesting to see if the triangular wing phenotype varies depending on the temperature at which offspring develop.

Sources use CSE citation sequence system: A list of sources follow the conclusion section. Use instructions at the link above to see how to indicate where in your text you are supporting a fact with a source and for the format of your source list. Unlike some disciplines (social science, for example, where all journals specify that authors cite using APA style), most scientific journals have their own source format system. Thus, scientists need to learn how to follow directions to cite sources differently for each journal to which they submit a paper. Using CSE style rather than the MLA or APA styles you are used to, gives you a chance to practice this requirement. Journals will reject a paper that is does not conform to specific directions for format, including citation format.

Resources for help with scientific writing: Here are useful resources with explanations of how to write a scientific research paper and examples. Beware that specific instructions may differ from your instructions for this assignment. If so, follow these instructions. This occurs because formatting instructions for scientific research papers vary among scientific journals; there is no single format agreed upon by all scientists. Prim Library has a LibGuide for Biology to help students locate biology sources using Prim Library book and online databases. Bates College has a detailed and informative online science writing guide. Links on this Table of Contents page take you to specific paper sections or general tips. This website has been an ongoing writing project of Bates College students for college students, so a lot of attention has been provided to editing the site and the language is very accessible to undergraduates. Columbia University has a brief online guide for scientific writing. After the descriptions of sections of a scientific paper, there is a most useful list of stylistic hints with examples. Here are the instructions that the Nature Journals give to prospective authors of papers submitted to their journals. Books in Prim Library: o Day, Robert A, How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, Greenwood Press, 2006 o Gabrys, Barbara J and Langdale, Jane A, How to Succeed as a Scientist: from Postdoc to Professor, Cambridge University Press, 2012 o Johnson, Stuart and Scott, Jon, Study and Communication Skills for the Biosciences, Oxford University Press, 2009. In addition to a how-to chapter on scientific writing, this book has lots of ideas for how to study effectively and achieve success on science course exams.

Genetics Research Paper Instructions

Gollery

Grade Element % Possible % Earned Comments/Feedback Modifications specific to this research report assignment are made by striking out common rubric words and adding red words Content Reflects college-level thought and appropriate time commitment (e.g., demonstration of revision of work) 20 Uses relevant and concrete details and/or examples to support thesis hypothesis and/or conclusion Explains ideas carefully and completely Analyzes topic at the appropriate level of rigor, including demonstration of logic Organization Contains a clear thesis question, hypothesis, prediction, and conclusion where appropriate 20 Shows care and consideration in paragraph construction and sequence (e.g., effective introductory paragraph, content in correct sections of research paper) Makes connections and uses transitions effectively (relates conclusion to results and hypothesis or question) Unifies ideas and themes throughout the paper Format Adheres to discipline- and/or instructor-specific conventions for the assignment (proposal, academic 20 abstract, essay, etc. research paper) Uses in-text and end-of-work citations where required by the assignment CSE citation sequence system for sources Integrates and synthesizes referenced material meaningfully, coherently, and accurately Figures have legends, graphs have axis labels and keys, tables have descriptive titles Grammar/Mechanics Exhibits control of grammar (e.g., use of deter-miners, 20 subject-verb agreement, and tense) Exhibits control of sentence mechanics (avoids fused sentences, comma splices and fragments) Correct punctuation, capitalization and spelling Expression/Style Employs language that is concise and uncluttered, 20 demonstrating fluency Varies word choices; avoids unnecessary repetition Uses discipline specific language appropriately Passive tense for methods, active tense for all other sections TOTAL ASSIGNMENT SCORE 100%