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2005 Guidelines
for the Environmental Toxicology Project
Purposes of the writing
project:
- To stimulate interest in an environmental
toxicology issue of personal interest. These interests may range from biochemistry
and molecular biology to population and ecosystem-level processes.
- To encourage and train students
in the insightful reading of primary scientific literature.
- To facilitate the ability to visualize
connections between your basic biological knowledge, applied environmental
toxicology, and public policy.
- To help students learn to prepare a substantial and well
crafted piece of original writing.
Choosing a Topic:
Many topics justifiably fall within a broad definition of environmental toxicology.
The most important thing is to find a topic that provides some personal excitement.
You'll want to peruse both the popular press and scientific literature for some
ideas. What can you find in journals, newspapers, magazines, or television that
reports on an interesting issue of environmental toxicology? We will also discuss
some potential ideas in an upcoming class.
Broad possibilities
include:
- A case study of a particular contaminant
at a specific polluted site.
- An ecological, population, or
evolutionary problem or phenomenon related to contaminants.
- A health problem related to contaminant
exposure (e.g. a cancer cluster).
- A chemical of debatable environmental
or human health threat.
- An interesting, poorly understood, or controversial issue concerning the molecular mechanism of contaminant toxicity.
Most reports will examine the sources and fate, routes of exposure, mechanisms
of toxicity, toxic endpoints and/or environmental consequences of exposure
to the contaminant. Strong papers will also effectively define appropriate
responses to the case. These might include possible site remediation, regulatory
controls, and how to gather the knowledge lacking to confidently determine
such responses.
Important Dates:
- February 8 (Tuesday) : Submit a Preliminary
Project Proposal. This short proposal (<1 page) will define the topic,
providing a brief description and justification for its importance and feasibility. You may submit more than one idea at this stage.
- February 24 (Thursday): Submit an
Annotated Bibliography of at least 8 to 10 scientific sources relevant to
your writing project. In addition to the conventional citation information,
the bibliography will include a brief description of each source and its usefulness
for your project. Note that this is not merely a literature database exercise; you will need to actually read the papers in order
to make useful annotations.
- April 5 (Tuesday): Project Outline.
At this stage, you should submit a detailed outline of the paper you will
write.
- April 28 (Tuesday) : Completed Paper.
You should submit the completed paper in class. Papers will be distributed
among classmates for peer review.
- May 3 (Tuesday): In-class peer
review. Class will divide into 4-5 review panels. Each student will read
the paper of another, provide a brief (1-2 page) written evaluation, and a
brief (5 minute) presentation of the paper to the panel. Panel members will
have an opportunity to respond to and augment the individual's peer review.
- May 9 (Monday): Revised Project
are due at 12:00 Noon. This date corresponds with the time slot orindarily scheduled for the final exam in this course.
Evaluation of Projects:
Progress will be graded
at each stage of the project. Don't fall behind!
- Preliminary Proposal: 5%
- Annotated Bibliography 10%
- Outline 10%
- Manuscript for peer review 20%
- Quality of peer review effort
5%
- Revised Manuscript 50%
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