Report Description & Schedule

Remember to submit an outline of your report at least one week before the report is due.

DATE DUE	TOPIC
Sept. 5	Describe a biological question that you would like answered. Summarize two different points of view in the literature on the subject and form your own answer.
Sept. 19	Choose a geographic area. Describe relevant land forms, climate, source and availability of water.
Oct. 3	Describe a native or economically important plant from your area. Include information on its roots and shoots and how they contribute to its adaptations and prevalence in your area.
Oct. 15	Describe a native or economically important animal from your area. Include information on its Group, anatomy and physiology and how they contribute to its adaptations and prevalence in your area.
Nov. 5	Choose a molecular biology or biotechnology project that is being conducted in your area. Describe its purpose and at least one technique that is involved. Choose a technique from class material, ie, PCR, DNA fingerprinting, DNA sequencing or recombinant DNA/genetic engineering.
Nov. 19	Describe a type of food (plant or animal) that grows well in your area and why it grows well. Describe a major consumer of this food and the major benefit (carbohydrate, protein or fat) of eating this food to its consumer. Include a few sentences on the chemical breakdown of the food (see p. 119, fig 7.13, in text).
Dec. 10	Describe an important or unusual organ system in an animal in your area. Choose from skeletal, muscular, respiratory, or circulatory systems. Describe the importance of this system for homeostasis in your chosen environment.

REPORT DESCRIPTION
The first report can be on any biological question that you think is interesting. There will be no required outline for this report, only a short paragraph describing the question to be answered.

Choose one geographic area on which to base all your reports. Your choice can be an area you know well or one about which you would like to know more. Illustrate the principles discussed in lecture with the information you find about your area. You will combine your six topics to form a coherent story for the final.
The list contains the subjects to be covered for your area. For example, if you are interested in the Livermore area, your reports will describe the Tri-Valley area; its water supply and weather; a plant and an animal that lives here and their adaptations to local conditions; a current genetic modification of a local organism; the utilization of a local food; and a special adaptation of a local animal for its lifestyle.
Each report must be at least one typewritten page. Use 1-3 reference articles from newspapers, magazines, journals or the internet in addition to the text. Cite references at bottom of the report. The report will not be accepted without references. Extra credit may be given for exceptional depth of coverage. Points will be subtracted for excessive matching test.

TURNITIN
Submit your report to the anti-plagiarism program, Turnitin, on or before the due date. Instructions are on another sheet. If you submit a second version, it must go into the "revision" folder for that assignment as the program only allows one paper per article for each folder.
There is a short movie on the LPC site that shows how to get started with Turnitin and submit an assignment. It is located on the Preventing Plagiarism page at http://www.laspositascollege.edu/academics/plagiarism.htm
The link to the movie is under the section titled "Are there any directions for my students?"

Go to www.turnitin.com and open "New Users". You will have prompts to set up your account.

LATE REPORTS
Papers must be turned in as a hard copy and on Turnitin on due date to be eligible for full credit (10 points).
The following are the maximum number of points for late reports:
8 points if submitted by the following scheduled class date.
5 points if submitted by the second following scheduled class date.
2 points if submitted by the third following scheduled class date.
No credit if submitted more than 3 class dates after due date.

Reports must be submitted as a hard copy in class and to turnitin before 8am on due date to be eligible for full credit. See "Report Schedule, Topics and Descriptions" for late penalty.
Report will not be accepted without references.
Points will be subtracted for excessive matching text.
Extra credit may be given for exceptional depth of coverage.

Oral reports may be given during the semester, if arranged with Instructor OR at end of semester, May 15 or 17.

10 pts for each topic – distribution the same as above
2 pts/topic for skill in integrating each topic into theme

Date Due	Topic	Points	Point Distribution
Sept. 5	Biological Question	10	2 pts-describe question
			2 pts each- summaries of 2 answers from literature
			4 pts-your conclusion
Sept. 19	Geographic Area	10	1 pt –location description
			1 pt-biome description
			1-2 pts-relevant land forms
			1-2 pts-climate
			1-2 pts-source of water
			1-2 pts-availability of water
Oct. 3	Plant	10	1-2 pts-describe plant
			1-2 pts-describe root
			1-2 pts-contribution of root to local adaptation
			1-2 pts-describe shoot
			1-2 pts-contribution of shoot to local adaptation
Oct. 15	Animal	10	1 pt-describe animal
			1 pt-name Group
			1-2 pts-describe anatomy
			1-2 pts-contribution of anatomy to local adaptation
			1-2 pts-describe physiology
			1-2 pts-contribution of physiology to local adaptation
Nov. 5	Molecular Biology or Biotech Project	10	1-5 pts- describe project & its purpose
			1-5 pts-describe technique involved in project
Nov. 19	Predator/Prey	10	1-2 pts-describe food
			1-2 pts-why food grows well in area
			1-2 pts-describe consumer
			1-3 pts-major benefit of food to consumer
			1 pt-brief description of chemical breakdown of food
Dec. 10	Organ System	10	1-5 pts-describe organ system
			1-5 pts-describe importance of this system for thriving in its environment.