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To encourage you to make the connection between textbook biology and biology that appears in daily newspapers and weekly periodicals, you will write a short two-page paper that will help you recognize how science and technology influence and contribute to modern culture.
Biology in the News Checklist
Format, Presentation, and Citation
☐ Does your paper have a title, different from the title of the article?
☐ Does your paper have three paragraphs with at least four sentences each?
☐ Is the article cited at the bottom of the title page?
☐ Is a copy of the article stapled to the paper?
☐ Is the article no more than three months old?
☐ Is the article from a major news source used by the general public?
☐ Is it news about something related to the course, and is it not a blog, editorial, or wiki?
Summary Paragraph
☐ Does the summary mention the source of the information by providing the article title, author, and publication? For example, in a New York Times article, New Study on Heart Attacks, by John Jones, a relationship is proposed between obesity and heart disease.
☐ Does the summary include all the main points of the article?
☐ Does the summary make it clear that you understand the content of the article?
Correlation Paragraph
☐ Is the correlation logical?
☐ Did you correlate the article to all topics of the course which relate to the article? For example, an article about heart attacks should be associated with general information on the circulatory system, the heart and heart disease.
☐ Did you give details to explain what you learned in your course about the topic?
☐ Did you reference a specific chapter in the textbook or a lab topic?
☐ Did you explain why knowing this information helped you to understand the article?
Personal Reaction Paragraph
☐ Did you explain why you found this article interesting?
☐ Did you answer two or more of the following questions?
☐ Did the article make you aware of things you had not thought of before?
☐ Did the article make you change your mind about the topic?
☐ Was the article about something you have personally experienced?
☐ Did the article address ethical or public policy issues?
☐ Do you agree or disagree with information presented in the article?
☐ Did you speculate beyond the contents of the article? What else would you like to learn about the subject of the article? Did you think the author of the article omitted relevant information?
Overall Accuracy of Communication
☐ Is your paper clear and easy to understand?
☐ Is your paper written in your own words? Were you careful to avoid plagiarism and quotations?
☐ Do sentences flow and contain proper spelling and grammar?