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The final paper, written and presented by a collaborative group of students, is a major part (50%) of the grade for the course. Topics should be chosen
quite early in the course to allow time for library research and organization. Topics should be handed in Feb. 23
for comments by the instructor. Final drafts of the paper should be copied twice and one copy should be given to each of two peer groups for review March 30. Reviews are submitted to the instructor and to the
authors April 6. Papers should then be revised accordingly and final versions submitted to the instructor April 20. Using any creative format, groups will present the material in their papers in front of
the class April 27. |
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Students will be assigned to groups of 3-4 each to research and prepare an ORIGINAL, focused research proposal based on a problem relevant to
the topics touched upon during the course. That is, proposals must use the methods of systematics and developmental or molecular genetics to address a focused problem about the evolution of function or form. Papers
should be formatted as the research portion of an NSF grant proposal, except with constraint of being no longer than 10 double-spaced pages (1-inch margins, 12-point type, plain white paper). Literature cited (full references
with titles) and figures with legends should be appended. Proposals should begin with an abstracted presentation of the objectives or hypotheses tested and the significance of the problem and experiment(s) proposed.
Enough detail should be provided to demonstrate that the experiment(s) can be accomplished and to describe how the experiment(s) will be performed (e.g., what controls will be done). References may be cited with regard to
other details. A title page with the authors names and a brief (100-word) abstract should be attached to the front of the paper, which should be stapled in the top left corner (no other covers please). |
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Instructions for the peer review Papers will be submitted to 3-4 students for individualized (or group) peer review. Reviewers should read the submitted
proposals carefully with particular attention to the merits and inadequacies of the proposals. Reviewers will then write a CONCISE (2-page maximum, single-spaced) review intended to be constructive for the authors. The
review must begin with a brief paragraph encapsulating the work proposed. Major merits and inadequacies should then be pointed out, and the following queries should be addressed:
What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity? How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields? To what extent does the
proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original concepts? How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? Will the results be
disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding? What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society? One copy of the review should be given to the authors and one copy to the
instructors. The quality of your reviews is important, because you will be graded individually on this part of the assignment! |
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Instructions for the oral presentation Presentations must be practiced and must fit within a 17-minute timeframe (absolutely NO OVERTIME will be allowed by the
moderator). A 3-minute period will be allotted for questions at the end of each presentation. Presentations may take any form, but must present the material in your proposal. For example, a courtroom scene could
be staged where alternative hypotheses are presented and "tried" by two lawyers who propose different experiments or present different possible outcomes. Alternatively, a talk show could be hosted with panelists who
make alternative predictions based on a model proposed by the host. Or the proposal may be presented in straight "talk" format. In each case, each member of the group must participate in both the preparation
and the presentation. |
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