EEB2244W

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These instructions are for students of Prof. Turchin

My coordinates the best way to get hold of me is by e-mail:

Peter Turchin | Office: TLS 462, Phone: 486-3603, e-mail: peter.turchin@uconn.edu

If you are not one of my students, check with your instructor for requirements and deadlines (they vary). Your instructor probably already sent you an e-mail introducing her/himself.

Other instructors:

Mark Urban | Office: BioPharm 200A/211/213, Phone: 486-6113, e-mail: mark.urban@uconn.edu

Susan Herrick | Office: TLS 379, Phone: 486-5434, e-mail: susan.herrick@uconn.edu

Kathryn Theiss | Office: BioPharm 302A, Phone: 486-5731, e-mail: kathryn.theiss@uconn.edu


This website contains information for the W portion of the course only (and for students of Peter Turchin only). For the lecture part of the course, go to EEB2244 General Ecology web page on HuskyCT.

Announcements

All assignments should be submitted to (and will be graded by) me. Send me your work as an e-mail attachment (I prefer getting MS Word in the older *.doc format, but *.rtf or * .docx are also acceptable). I will also provide additional information, either by email or through this EEB2244W website, about assignment requirements, assignment submission, and required meetings.

Reminder: Assignment 1 (paper topic) is due Thursday, Sept. 9.

Library Sessions: I will come to the library session on Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 2:30 pm.

Course Goals

The goals of this course are to help you learn to present your ideas and arguments in clear, well-organized prose and to introduce you to library research in biology. Because it is a science course, some of what you learn about writing will apply principally to scientific writing, but your efforts in this course will also translate into enhanced skills in other writing tasks.

The assignments are geared towards writing a term paper on a subject that interests you in ecology. It is very important that you devote time and thought to your choice of topic so that you enjoy the research that goes into this paper. Your instructor will help you. By the end of the course, you will be an expert on this topic!

Requirements

  • Meetings: All W students must sign up for and attend one library resources session in early September. Sign-up is through HuskyCT. Failure to attend one of these sessions may result in being dropped from the W section.
  • Quiz: All students must pass one online quiz on plagiarism, which will be administered through HuskyCT.

  • Assignments: The final written product in this course is a review paper that defends a significant claim in evolutionary biology using data from the primary literature. This paper should be 4500-5000 words in length (about 15 pages) and cite a minimum of 8 references from the primary literature. Primary literature is written by the author(s) of the scientific research. Secondary literature is written by someone other than the scientists who performed the research (for example, it could be a review article, or a newspaper piece). To guide you through the process of researching and writing your paper, there are four term paper assignments.


Plagiarism

Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s ideas or words as your own. In its most blatant form, it involves quoting without quotation marks or without proper attribution of credit, including doing so from another student’s paper or from a commercially available one. This form of plagiarism will result in an F for the course. Paraphrasing without giving credit or changing only a few words (i.e., paraphrasing too closely) even if you give credit are also examples of plagiarism. Penalties for these forms of plagiarism will range from a requirement to rewrite the assignment (if proper citations are included) to a 0 for the assignment to an F for the course (if proper citations are not included). Of course, you’ll be discussing the ideas of others in your paper, but you must express the ideas in your own words and cite the reference for each idea that is not your own in the text. Direct quotes, even with quotation marks, are to be used sparingly if at all (see writing tips/advice below).

Getting help

There are many resources available to help you succeed in this course, but you need to seek them out. Good places to start are listed below. Be sure to take advantage of these resources!

  • the #EEB2244W Resources links below: these provide more information about specific assignments and tips to help you avoid common problems.
  • the UConn Writing Center: the Writing Center offers individual meetings with tutors (it’s free). Past experiences of students in this class have been very positive.
  • your W instructor

Schedule and deadlines

Date Assignment Details
Early Sept. Library resources meeting Times will be announced on this website; sign up on HuskyCT
Thurday, Sept. 9 Term paper assignment #1: topic A brief description of your term paper topic with a list of at least 3 references you plan to use, including one from 2009 or 2010. The references should be listed in the proper format for a "Literature Cited" section. Correspondence with your instructor about possible topics before this deadline is required.
Friday, Sept. 10 Quiz 1: plagiarism and citations See HuskyCT
Friday, Sept. 17 Quiz 2: characteristics of scientific writing See HuskyCT
Wednesday, Oct. 6 Term paper assignment #2: outline and introduction Your outline should reflect the logical structure of your argument. Include in the outline an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. In the introduction, state your thesis and explain its general singificance.
Friday, TBA Quiz 3: grammar See HuskyCT
Wednesday, Nov. 3 Term paper assignment #3: complete draft Turn in a complete draft of your term paper in the required format. This should reflect a serious effort on your part to produce an already polished paper that you have edited (repeatedly) and proofread carefully. The previously submitted portion should be revised in response to instructor feedback.
Friday, Dec. 10 Term paper assignment #4: revision Revision based on comments received on draft.


Grading

Term paper assignment 1 (topic)5%
Term paper assignment 2 (outline/intro)10%
Term paper assignment 3 (complete draft)35%
Term paper assignment 2 (final revision)50%


Grading notes

  • In accordance with university regulations, a failing grade for the W part of EEB 2244 will result in an ‘F’ for the entire course.
  • 5% of the points will be deducted for each day an assignment is late. However, each student is entitled to 2 free late days (the first 2 used, no questions asked).
  • No assignment will be accepted until all previous requirements have been met. For example, this means that you cannot submit a revised term paper unless you submitted, and received feedback on, a complete draft.
  • Quiz scores are not used in calculating W grades. However, students must receive at least the minimum passing score indicated on HuskyCT prior to submitting the assignment due the same day. Failure to complete the quizzes as required will result in late penalties for the associated assignment.


Grading rubric: This table explains some of the major differences distinguishing strong, satisfactory and problematic papers. Use this as a checklist to improve your grade.

Checklist

Here is a checklist you should use before submitting your complete draft. We also suggest that you review the term paper assignment and any additional information provided by your instructor.

  • Does your paper begin with an abstract that summarizes your main points?
  • Does your paper have a clear thesis statement? (See this blog entry on thesis statements for more information.)
  • Does the introduction give readers enough context and background to follow your arguments?
  • Have you supported all of your claims with evidence from the primary literature?
  • Have you cited sources properly in the text and literature cited sections? (See the citation page and quiz 1 on HuskyCT for reminders on how to do this).
  • Do you use at least 8 primary sources?
  • Does your paper have an informative title?
  • Have you formatted scientific names properly? (See the scientific writing tips sheet for more information.)
  • Have you proofread a printed copy of your paper? It helps to read the paper out loud.
  • Have you checked the spelling? Remember that MSWord doesn't always know the scientific lingo, so don't assume it's right. (For example, it will want to turn phylogenetic into phylogenic. Don't let it!)
  • Did you follow the formatting and length requirements?


EEB2244W Resources

Term Paper Assignment

Tips for Getting Started

General rules for citing sources in scientific writing

Scientific writing advice

Writing Tips