Experimental Biology - Communications Intensive

Assignments

In-class Activities

During each class session you will be engaged in a variety of writing activities that use self-editing, peer-editing, and instructor feedback to develop your skills. The goal of these exercises is to limber you up and make you more flexible as writers, revisers, and editors. They will also prepare you for the out-of-class writing assignments.

In addition, during each session three or four students will be responsible for a brief (no more than 5 minutes each) oral presentation on a particular aspect of an assigned research article. The four assigned roles for these presentation are to 1) summarize the article, 2) analyze the article according to the goals of that particular component of a scientific research paper, 3) analyze the article according to the pitfalls of that particular component of a scientific research paper, 4) act as a discussion leader and ask two to three open-ended questions to class.

Out-of-Class Writing

Out-of-class exercises will put in-class experience to work on scientific content. You will experiment with the relationship between audience and style/format, as well as explore and critique writing the readings assigned for each class. Further descriptions of out-of-class exercises will be provided during each class meeting.

Long-Term Project (PDF)

In addition to various in-class and out-of-class exercises, you will be asked to choose one on-going writing project. Each choice will require that you turn in sections of the whole at each class meeting and regularly revise those sections based on instructor and peer feedback. You will then hand in a final version of your project at the end of the semester. Please note: The first section to your long-term project - the introduction - will be due before the second class meeting and some preliminary work on your project will be done at the first class meeting; thus, please make your topic choice as soon as possible. Choices are as follows:

• 7.02 / 10.702 Experience: Write a reflective research article on yourself as a student learning the laboratory techniques and biological content of 7.02 / 10.702.

• Mendel Paper: Use selected data and related aspects of the experimental design from Mendel’s original paper to write a shortened, more contemporary scientific paper.

• Oswald Avery paper: Use selected data and related aspects of the experimental design from Avery et. al.’s original paper isolating DNA as the “active principle” involved in transfer of genetic material and write a shortened, more persuasive, and more contemporary scientific paper.

• UROP: Use the data and experimental design from your independent research to compose a research article suitable for publication in a scholarly journal.

• Interviews: Investigate the process of writing scientific research and the “norms” of well written research articles by interviewing working scientists and collecting examples.

• Textual Analysis: Conduct a textual analysis of a series of scientific research articles on a single topic.

Course Assignments by Session

Lec #	TOPICS	IN CLASS ACTIVITY	ASSIGNMENTS DUE
1	Introductions Druker, Brian J., et al. “Efficacy and Safety of a Specific Inhibitor of The BCR-ABL Tyrosine Kinase in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.” The New England Journal of Medicine 344, no. 14 (April 5, 2001): 1031-1037.	Three research articles will be distributed in class. Review the introductions and break into small groups to discuss the features they share and the differences between them. What general properties of introductions can you distill?	Due in Lec 1 Send an email to Neal describing 1) your experiences with writing up scientific content (e.g., lab reports, reviews, research papers), 2) how you would describe yourself as a writer, 3) your writing goals for SciComm, 4) your expectations as areader of research articles. Due on the off week Paraphrase in plain language (suitable for a high school senior) the Introduction to the Druker, et al. article. Due by next class Write the introduction to your long-term project. Four students (to be contacted) will prepare oral presentations (5 minutes maximum) on the Druker, et al. article: Role 1: Summarize the article as a whole. Role 2: Identify how introduction establishes context, justification, and focus. Role 3: Identify pitfalls of the introduction. Role 4: Prepare two to three open-ended questions to lead a class discussion of the article.
2	Materials and Methods Druker, Brian J., et al. “Efficacy and Safety of a Specific Inhibitor of The BCR-ABL Tyrosine Kinase in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.” The New England Journal of Medicine 344, no. 14 (April 5, 2001): 1031-1037.	Peer reviews of Long-Term Project Introductions. Student oral presentations (5 minutes maximum) on the Druker, et al. article.	Due in Lec 2 Responding to a peer’s Long-Term Project Introduction: The peer you should respond to is the person who posted his/her LTP Introduction immediately BEFORE yours. Your response should be in the form of a file attached as a reply to your peer’s message. Feel free to use inserted comments or Track Changes to comment within the text, but also offer summary comments. Due on the off week Paraphrase (suitable for a high-school senior) the introduction to the Druker, et. al. Chronic Myeloid Leukemia article. Remember to label your file with your name and assignment (e.g., Lerner_Druker_Intro.doc). Due by next class Read “The Science of Scientific Writing” for class discussion. Designated students will be giving oral presentations on this article. Write a draft of your long-term project Methods section.
3	Neal Lerner: Illustrations (Figures) Marilee Ogren: Tables and Figures Gopen, George D., and Judith A. Swan. “The Science of Scientific Writing.” American Scientist 78 (November-December 1990): 550-558.	Class discussion and student oral presentations on “The Science of Scientific Writing”.	Due on the off week Write a brief critique (2-3 pp.) of “The Science of Scientific Writing.” Revise LTP introduction. Due by next class Create two illustrations (tables or figures or other) for your long-term project. Find in the published literature for one example of a good illustration and one example of a poor illustration. Print or photocopy them and drop them in NL’s mailbox or send as a pdf/tiff/jpg. Read the Heyman, et al. paper on Lupus (and the accompanying Perspective article); students responsible for presenting will be contacted with specific roles. Revise your Druker, et al. introduction paraphrase.
4	Results Arbuckle, Melissa R., et al. “Development of Autoantibodies before the Clinical Onset of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.” The New England Journal of Medicine 349 (2003): 1526-33. Shmerling, Robert H. “Autoantibodies in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus - There before You Know It.” The New England Journal of Medicine 349, no. 16 (October 16, 2003): 1499-1500.	Class discussion and student oral presentations on the Heyman, et al. paper on Lupus.	Due on the off week Write a brief critique (2-3 pp.) of Arbuckle, et al. “Lupus” article, focusing on the illustrations. Due by next class Write a Results section for your long-term project. Read the Lapostolle, et al. “Pulmonary Embolism” article (and the accompanying Editor’s Perspective); students responsible for presenting will be contacted with specific roles. Revise your LTP Methods. Revise your Druker, et al. CML introduction paraphrase.
5	Neal Lerner: Discussions Marilee Ogren: Discussions/Conclusions Lapostolle, Frédéric, et al. “Severe Pulmonary Embolism Associated With Air Travel.” The New England Journal of Medicine 345, no. 11 (September 13, 2001): 779-783. Editorial. “Air Travel and various Thromboembolism- Is The Evidence In?” The New England Journal of Medicine 345, no. 11 (September 13, 2001): 828-829.	Class discussion and student oral presentations on the Lapostolle, et al. “Pulmonary Embolism” article.	Due on the off week Write a critique of the LaPostelle, et al. paper on pulmonary embolism, focusing on the Results section. Submit a revised critique of “The Science of Scientific Writing” (if you choose). Submit revised LTP Illustrations (if you choose). Due by next class Write up the Discussion/Conclusion section of your Long-Term Project. Read S. Michael Halloran’s “The Birth of Molecular Biology” and Watson and Crick’s “A Structure for DNA” for class discussion. Students who will present on these articles will be contacted. Submit revised LTP Results (if you choose).
6	Title and Abstract Watson, J. D., and F. H. C. Crick. “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids.” Nature 191, no. 4356 (April 25, 1953): 737-738. Halloran, S. Michael. “The Birth of Molecular Biology: An Essay in the rhetorical Criticism of Scientific Discourse.” Rhetoric Review 3, no. 1 (September 1984): 70-83.	Class discussion and student oral presentations on S. Michael Halloran’s “The Birth of Molecular Biology” and Watson and Crick’s “A Structure for DNA”.	Due by end of term Write a title and abstract for your long-term project, which we will discuss during your conference. Revise critique of Lupus article. Submit final versions of long-term projects to me in my office or in my mailbox (unless you request an extension). Turn in course evaluation form with your long-term project.