Biology in the News The biology concepts presented in this course encourage you to make the connection between textbook biology and biology that appears in daily newspapers and weekly periodicals. This assignment will encourage you to make the connection between the textbook and the world you live in and to recognize how science and technology influence and contribute to modern culture.   This assignment is worth 20 points. Late work will count half credit. Select an article from a current newspaper, periodical, or the Internet which correlates with the content of one or more units of instruction covered in the course .  Appropriate sources are any major newspaper, news website, scientific magazines, or any other major news source for the public.  Tips on choosing an article  - Article MUST relate to content presented in class  - Article is an appropriate length for the assignment (not a tiny blurb, not 10 pages long)  - Article MUST BE less than 3 months old  - Article is news, not reference material, and from a reputable source  - Article MUST be readable by the general public, not scholarly.   Your essay should consist of the following three items, all stapled together: 1) A cover page , including your name, course and section number, date and instructor name   in the upper right corner, the title of the article centered on the page, and works cited or bibliography at the bottom of the cover page.   2) The body of your essay , which should consist of three carefully prepared paragraphs, each a  minimum of 4 sentences, double spaced.   Paragraph one : Summarize the article with the who?, what?, when?, where?, why?, and how? of the main ideas in the article.   Paragraph two: Correlate the article with a unit of instruction covered in class.  Give specific information you learned in class, citing the text and or lab manual sources, and explain how it helps you understand the article, or contradicts the article.  Paragraph three: Give your personal reaction and explain why the content of this article is important to you, your friends, or family.  This involves relating the topic of the article to real life, by answering two or more of the following questions.   1. Did the article make you aware of things you had not thought of before?  2. Did the article change your mind or feelings about the topic? 3.  Was the article about something you have experienced personally? 4.  Did the article address any ethical, value, or public policy issues? 5.  Do you agree or disagree with arguments presented in your article?  Explain.  6. If you were “in charge”, how would you proceed with the information in the article?    3) A copy of the article must be attached, either original, printout, or photocopy. This assignment must be your own work.  No plagiarism will be tolerated.  Papers that the instructor determines contain plagiarism in any part will be given a zero for the entire paper.  See http://www.plagiarism.org/ for mor ...

1. Biology in the News
The biology concepts presented in this course encourage you to
make the connection between textbook biology and biology that
appears in daily newspapers and weekly periodicals. This
assignment will encourage you to make the connection between
the textbook and the world you live in and to recognize how
science and technology influence and contribute to modern
culture.
This assignment is worth 20 points.
Late work will count half credit.
Select an article from a current newspaper, periodical, or the
Internet which correlates with the content of one or more units
of instruction covered in the course
.
Appropriate sources are any major newspaper, news website,
scientific magazines, or any other major news source for the
public.
Tips on choosing an article
- Article MUST relate to content presented in class
- Article is an appropriate length for the assignment (not a tiny
blurb, not 10 pages long)
- Article MUST BE less than 3 months old
- Article is news, not reference material, and from a reputable
source

2. - Article MUST be readable by the general public, not
scholarly.
Your essay should consist of the following three items, all
stapled together:
1)
A cover page
, including your name, course and section number, date and
instructor name
in the upper right corner, the title of the article centered on the
page, and works cited or bibliography at the bottom of the cover
page.
2)
The body of your essay
, which should consist of
three
carefully prepared paragraphs, each a
minimum of 4 sentences, double spaced.
Paragraph one
: Summarize the article with the who?, what?, when?, where?,
why?, and how? of the main ideas in the article.
Paragraph two:
Correlate the article with a unit of instruction covered in class.
Give specific information you learned in class, citing the text
and or lab manual sources, and explain how it helps you
understand the article, or contradicts the article.
Paragraph three:
Give your personal reaction and explain why the content of this
article is important to you, your friends, or family. This

3. involves relating the topic of the article to real life, by
answering two or more of the following questions.
1. Did the article make you aware of things you had not
thought of before?
2. Did the article change your mind or feelings about the topic?
3. Was the article about something you have experienced
personally?
4. Did the article address any ethical, value, or public policy
issues?
5. Do you agree or disagree with argume nts presented in your
article? Explain. 6. If you were “in charge”, how would you
proceed with the information in the article?
3)
A copy of the article must be attached, either original, printout,
or photocopy.
This assignment must be your own work. No plagiarism will be
tolerated. Papers that the instructor determines contain
plagiarism in any part will be given a zero for the entire paper.
See
http://www.plagiarism.org/
for more information on what is plagiarism. Do NOT cut and
paste information from any source into your paper. Use your
own words to relay information from the article, text or any
other source. Then cite the source of that information using a
standard citation format.
POINT DISTRIBUTION FOR THE PAPER:

4. Assignment Format & Presentation(4pts)
The student is able to understand and follow formatting
instructions/criteria
Cover sheet containing:
· Name, course and section number, date, name of instructor
· Article title
· Citation (works cited or bibliography) in a standard format
such as APA or MLA.
http://libguides.brookhavencollege.edu/mlacitations
for MLA guidelines
http://libguides.brookhavencollege.edu/apacitations
for APA guidelines
see Brookhaven Library website for NoodleTools link which can
help create your citation
http://www.brookhavencollege.edu/library/
Three Paragraphs
· Minimum of 4 sentences
· Double spaced
A copy of the article stapled to the essay, after the cover sheet

5. § Article accurately relates to content presented in class
(Chapters 1-5 for BITN 1; Chapters
6-10 for BITN 2)
§ Article is less than 3 months old
§ Article is news, not reference material
Accuracy of written communication skills(4pts)
The student is able to write coherent paragraphs to effectively
express correlate and discuss ideas
Coherent paragraphs with proper sentence structure
Paragraphs are written in the students own words (no parts of
the article, textbook, or other sources are quoted or copied). No
plagiarism (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism).
Correct use of appropriate technical and scientific terminology
Correct spelling and grammar
Summary Paragraph(4pts)
The student is able to analyze an article to determine the main
ideas and inferences of the article
Main points and inferences are summarized into one coherent
paragraph
Student evaluates main points and inferences

6. Student displays understanding of article content by correctly
explaining the content of the article
Correlation Paragraph(4pts)
The student is able to coherently correlate main ideas from their
article with relevant class material.
Student specifically discusses how the main ideas relate to
textbook, lab or lecture material OR
Specifically references textbook, lab manual, or notes to
provide a clear explanation or evaluation of the articles main
ideas
Does not include information that belongs in Summary or
Personal Reactions paragraphs
Personal Reaction Paragraph(4pts)
The student is able to relate material contained in the article to
self, family and/or friends.
Clearly explains why article was chosen and why it is
important
Clearly explains why article is relevant to self, family and/or
friends by answering two or more of the questions mentioned
for paragraph 3 under body of the essay on the previous page