Writing Assignments

As part of this course, each student is required to write a review paper on a topic in environmental, comparative or evolutionary physiology that has been approved by me. (See list further below for some possible topics.) We will also write two shorter review papers to gain some practice with the skills necessary to write this paper.

Scientific review papers have a style of their own. They use a format different than scientific papers reporting the results of a single project (the “primary literature”); review papers generally lack a "Methods" and "Results" section, for example. The format is also somewhat different from the sort of term paper you might write in a history class, with the science format using no or few direct quotations and a different reference format. Finally, the tone is normally more objective than that used in many other types of writing.

The “Writing a Scientific Review Paper” handout has more information on this style of writing, but I also strongly encourage you to read some review articles in scientific journals before beginning your own term paper. Journals such as the Annual Review of Physiology, Physiological Reviews, and/or Biological Reviews publish exclusively review articles, and reviews can also often be found in other physiological journals such as Integrative and Comparative Biology, The Journal of Experimental Biology and Physiological and Biochemical Zoology. These published articles, along with the information below, should provide you with a model of the format and style expected in your review paper. I will also provide a few examples of papers, both good and bad, written by students in previous years.

Grading Breakdown and Standards

Papers are expected to be on time. Specific due dates for each assignment are given on the class schedule. A penalty of 10% of the possible points will be taken from your score for each day a draft is late unless prior arrangements are made.
The following are the criteria for an “A” paper. Papers of lesser quality will be graded accordingly.

• The content will demonstrate the following: 1) the paper deals completely and creatively with the assigned topic, reflecting the degree to which the topic has been researched; 2) major concepts are well integrated and thoroughly understood; 3) the tone reflects a university level of intellectual maturation. (40% of total score)
• The organization and structure will include: 1) a clear and fully developed thesis, 2) support for every claim/scientific statement via suitable references, 3) logical and concise overall organization, 4) paragraphs that are constructed to assist concise and orderly flow of ideas, and 5) absence of repetition. (30% of total score)
• Style and grammar: Sentences should read smoothly and clearly, avoiding constructions that are either choppy or too convoluted. There are no significant errors in grammar, spelling or punctuation, and no or very few typing errors. (10% of total score)
• Reference papers are of sufficient quantity and quality for the topic covered, and are appropriately cited and referenced. (20% of total score)

Important notes:

• As noted, any assignment not turned in on the due date will be docked 10% of the total points for that assignment per day late.
• Each student must work independently on his/her paper, and papers written for another course may not be “recycled” for this course.
• All submitted work must be original – remember that simply rewriting each sentence of an existing paper does not mean you have avoided plagiarism! Copying the detailed structure, arguments and reference list of another paper still constitutes the inappropriate use of someone else’s work.

Information on the “Warm-up” Papers

The first two writing assignments will be short reviews based on articles I provide. Giving a standard set of articles to everyone allows me to have read the papers you are reviewing, which in turn allows me to assess not only your writing skills but your ability to extract and synthesize information from the primary literature. The topic of each of the papers will relate to material we have covered in lecture, so you should have a general understanding of relevant concepts when you approach the review. Depending on your particular background, however, you may have to do some additional reading in the textbook or elsewhere to fill in some gaps.

These papers should be about 1200 words, or roughly four double-spaced pages, not including the reference list. Because they will be considerably shorter than the term paper you write, the format will be somewhat simplified. These papers should include:

• A title that reflects the topic of the review in a specific manner.
• A brief introduction that explains the common theme of the articles being reviewed. It could also include some background information to help the reader understand the significance of the projects in question.
• A discussion of the studies being reviewed. This discussion should emphasize the results and conclusions of the studies, but might also include some information on motivation or methods if important to the reader’s understanding of the work.
• A brief set of concluding remarks. These might reflect common patterns seen in all the studies (or alternatively important differences in the findings), areas in need of further work, etc.
• The list of references cited, of course.

Again, the “Writing a Scientific Review Paper” handout will provide guidelines, especially on the format for citing and listing references.

For each paper, you will first turn in an initial draft worth 30 points. This draft should be approached as though it were the final version; in other words, it should read as a cohesive and complete work, with proper formatting, grammar, etc. The draft will be evaluated, critiqued and returned to help you improve your next draft. Suggestions may include additional sources, possible reorganization for improved flow, etc. You will then turn in a second (and final) draft of the paper, worth 20 points. For both drafts, please provide an electronic version (preferably by email) rather than a paper copy.

Information on the Term Paper

The term paper is written on a topic you select (after approval by me), and is based on articles your find. Again, a list of possible topics is below. This paper should be about 3500-4500 words in length (not including the reference list), and should include all the components described in the “Writing a Scientific Review Paper” handout. The single graded draft of your review is worth 100 points. As for the other assignments, please submit an electronic version of your paper.

In addition to the written version of your review, you will also give an oral presentation on your topic. During the last three weeks of class, you will give a talk of about 15 minutes on your research topic, using whatever audio-visual aids you desire (PowerPoint, chalk, overheads, giant robots, etc.). The presentation is worth 20 points.

Possible Topics for Term Papers

• Any of the topics discussed in lecture may be expanded upon for a term paper. This includes: osmoregulation, gas transport, temperature acclimation, body size effects, special topics, etc.
• An evolutionary perspective on any of these topics. E.g.: How and why did endothermy develop in mammals and/or birds? Were dinosaurs endothermic? How did flight evolve in birds or insects? How do enzymes evolve in response to different thermal environments?
• You may wish to consider either a detailed investigation of a particular group (e.g., adaptations to xeric environments in kangaroo rats) or an examination of trends and patterns across groups (e.g., mechanisms of anoxia tolerance in animals).

Other specific examples include:

• Human physiological responses to “foreign” environments: SCUBA and deep-sea diving, space travel, etc.
• The role of heat-shock and related proteins in resisting environmental stress.
• Homeoviscous adaptations of membranes to temperature changes.
• Hormonal control of acute and acclimatory responses to changes in an aspect of the abiotic environment.
• Biochemical and cellular mechanisms of environmental resistance in extremophiles.
• Animal locomotion – effects of body size, mode of locomotion, etc.
• Animal navigation
• Physiological challenges of a parasitic lifestyle
• Any other topic related to environmental physiology approved by me.

Sources

Much of your initial search for sources can likely be conducted through one of the online scientific databases available at Creighton. Note that these are specifically oriented to journal article searches, and work much better than a general web search for locating scientific papers (although Google Scholar may be useful). We will discuss these in class.

Once you find a few papers on your subject, you may find that they ultimately lead you (through their citation lists) to a sufficient number of additional papers to complete your review. If you hit a dead-end, however, or are stuck for a topic, you may want to browse through some appropriate journals to see what you turn up. The following is a by-no-means-complete list of possibilities. (Note that not all of these journals may be available at Creighton.):

American Journal of Physiology
American Naturalist (Occasional articles on physiological evolution)
Annual Review of Physiology
Biochemical Journal
Biochemistry
Biological Bulletin
Biological Chemistry
Biological Reviews
Canadian Journal of Zoology
Canadian Journal of Physiology
Cell
Comparative Physiology and Biochemistry
Integrative and Comparative Biology (previously American Zoologist)
Journal of Experimental Biology
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Journal of Experimental Zoology
Journal of Crustacean Biology
Journal of Insect Physiology
Marine Ecology
Oecologia
Physiological Reviews
Physiological and Biochemical Zoology (previously Physiological Zoology)
Trends in Biochemical Sciences
Trends in Cell Biology
Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Trends in Microbiology

General biology or science journals with occasional articles on environmental and evolutionary physiology:

Nature
Science
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
PLoS Biology
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences