Report for Biology class

REPORTS
You will write a series of original research articles on a non-infectious, human disease/disorder/syndrome. See below for relevant dates, requirements for each article and possible topics. Do not submit a paper copy. All reports will be read/graded electronically using the anti-plagiarism website turnitin.com. LATE REPORTS WILL BE DOCKED 5 POINTS PER EACH LATE DAY! Being away for the weekend is NOT a viable excuse.

1. Define your disease: Pick a disease that pertains to Human Physiology (keep away from cancer or viral and bacterial infections). Provide for me a brief overview (one page maximum-500 WORDS) of the disease. Here you might want to include history, symptoms, epidemiology, anatomy and/or basic pathophysiology. Do not pick a disorder that is very broad in scope that you cannot possibly write a one-page report on (example: heart disease). Choose your disease topic wisely. Remember you will be stuck with this disease for the next two reports! Your first report is due June 8 (20 pts).

2. Pathophysiology: Next, you will write a two page report (Maximum 1000 WORDS) on the physiological or biochemical effects of your disease. What anatomical and physiological problems does your disease cause? How are these problems manifested in the symptoms? Remember this is a physiology class, not a medical course. Keep the clinical stuff out of this part of your series. Your second paper is due June 22 (40 pts).

3. Treatments: Finally, you will submit a two page summary (Maximum 1000 WORDS) of the possible treatments for your disease, including drugs, physical therapy or future medical interventions. BUT remember this is a Human Physiology class so to get a good grade, I expect you to tell me how each treatment affects the pathophysiology/biochemistry of the disease. Your third paper is due July 7 (40 pts).

Grading of reports: The following rubric will be used to grade your reports:
1. Organization– The report contains an introduction, supporting body and adequate

conclusion.

2. Insight– The report demonstrates a clear understanding of the assignment and contains logical inferences and conclusions.

3. Style– The report contains no errors in spelling, grammar and correct word use.
4. Support– The report utilizes facts, background information, and experimental results

to support the conclusions drawn in your paper.

The course grader and I will evaluate your papers on your ability to communicate the information (i.e., your writing ability!). Therefore, have someone (for example, classmate, one of your friends, family members, etc.) read your paper and critique it prior to final

submission. Remember we grade on quality, not quantity. Thus, we will not read anything over the WORD limit. Final word of caution: watch out for plagiarism (i.e., do not copy from any source including the internet). If we detect ANY evidence of plagiarism (known as a Similarity Score on turnitin.com), at best, you will receive a zero on the report, and if the plagiarism is too extreme you will receive an “F” in the class (see below) and your name will be forwarded to the Vice President of Student Affairs for additional discipline. If you use quotations throughout your paper to avoid the plagiarism charge, you will still get docked for NOT writing an original report. Use you own words when writing the reports. In other words: DON’T BE LAZY.

Turnitin.com: All three reports must be analyzed for plagiarism using the website turnitin.com (you will be able to enter this site through the course’s Moodle page). We will NOT accept any submissions without being first evaluated by this website. Remember that you will have the opportunity to examine your own work for plagiarisms and fix any potential problems PRIOR to submitting it. Thus, any final submissions that we receive, we will assume that you have checked for any potential problems (in other words, you may not use the excuse that you didn’t know about problems with plagiarism).