AP BIOLOGY RESEARCH PAPER
THIS PAPER HAS SEVERAL PURPOSES.
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YOU NEED PRACTICE WRITING PAPERS – YOU’LL DO A LOT OF IT IN COLLEGE.
YOU HOPEFULLY WILL LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR TOPIC.
HOPEFULLY YOU WILL LEARN SOME GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT GENETICS AND MEDICAL
RESEARCH WITH REAL PRACTICAL APPLICATION.
SO LET’S TALK TOPICS FIRST.
I WANT SOMETHING IN YOUR PAPER TO RELATE TO GENETICS, GENETIC ENGINEERING, MODERN
MEDICAL RESEARCH, EPIGENETICS, STEM CELL RESEARCH, OTHER TYPES OF BIOMEDICAL
BREAKTHROUGHS ETC., ETC. IN OTHER WORDS, I’M PRETTY FLEXIBLE. THE MAIN THING I WANT IS FOR
THE SUBJECT TO BE OF INTEREST TO YOU!!!!!
SERIOUSLY, I WANT YOU TO FIND SOMETHING THAT INTRIGUES YOU. DO YOU HAVE A RELATIVE WITH A
DISEASE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT? IS THERE A TOPIC OF INTEREST TO YOU THAT
YOU ARE THINKIING YOU MIGHT LIKE TO MAJOR IN BUT YOU DON’T’ KNOW MUCH ABOUT IT? IF YOU
PICK SOMEHTING YOU THAT YOU GENUINELY WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT, THE PROCESS WILL BE
MUCH EASIER.
I’VE HAD STUDENTS WRITE ABOUT GENETIC BASIS FOR HOMOSEXUALITY, HEROIN ADDICTION,
PHARMACOGENETICS, SCHIZOPHRENIA, HEART DISEASE, BREAST CANCER, AUTISM, ANY NUMBER OF
GENETIC DISORDERS, ETC., ETC
YOU CAN PICK A TOPIC OR A NEW DEVELOPMENT IN MEDICAL RESEARCH - LIKE STEM CELL RESEARCH,
EPIGENETICS, HUMAN GENOME PROJECT, THERAPEUTIC CLONING ETC.
NOW THAT WE’VE DISCUSSED SUBJECTS, LET’S DISCUSS FORMAT.
THIS IS NOT ENGLISH CLASS. I DO NOT WANT TO SEE YOUR NOTE CARDS, ROUGH DRAFT, OR ANY OTHER
PREPARATION – I WANT TO SEE YOUR FINAL PAPER THAT HAS BEEN WRITTEN BY YOU, REFERENCED
APPROPRIATELY AND INCLUDING AN ACCURATE BIBLIOGRAPHY.
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND OTHER PEOPLE READING YOUR PAPER, POSSIBLY EVEN YOUR ENGLISH TEACHER
BEFORE YOU HAND IT IN, BUT I JUST WANT YOUR PAPER.
NOW LET’S DISCUSS HANDING IN YOUR PAPER.
PAPER IS DUE APRIL 15TH. IT IS THE ONE TIME I AM PICKY ABOUT DUE DATE. IF YOU ARE DEAD AND
CAN’T MAKE IT TO SCHOOL ON THAT DAY, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE FUNERAL HOME SHOULD
BRING YOUR PAPER. IN OTHER WORDS, THERE IS NO REASON I WILL ACCEPT YOUR PAPER LATE
WITHOUT A PENALTY OF 50%. (SO I RECOMMEND NOT WAITING TILL 2 AM THAT MORNING TO FIND
OUT YOU DON’T HAVE PAPER OR INK OR WHATEVER ). AND YOU’RE FINDING OUT FEB 6 SO DON’T
TELL ME I RUINED YOUR SPRING BREAK – I DIDN’T RUIN ANYTHING.
FORMAT OF PAPER:
WITH A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF FLEXIBILITY, HERE IS THE BASIC FORMAT OF THE PAPER:
1. GIVE ME AN INTRODUCTION TO YOUR PAPER AS IF YOU ARE DESCRIBING THE TOPIC TO
SOMEONE ON THE STREET WHO DOES NOT KNOW BIOLOGY.
2. NOW CONVINCE ME THAT YOU DO KNOW BIOLOGY AND THAT YOU KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT
THIS TOPIC. IN YOUR OWN WORDS, TELL ME WHAT YOU LEARNED ABOUT THIS TOPIC DOING
YOUR RESEARCH. CITE APPROPRIATE REFERENCES. WHAT NEW TESTS ARE DONE, WHAT
AMAZING BREAKTHROUGHS ARE TAKING PLACE, ETC., ETC.
3. EXPLAIN HOW THINGS MAY CHANGE IN THE FUTURE – WHAT TREATMENTS ARE ON THE
HORIZON, WHAT CHANGES IN HOW THIS EFFECTS THE AVERAGE PERSON ARE TAKING PLACE
ETC.
4. IF THERE IS CONTROVERSY ABOUT TREATMENT OR THE TOPIC ITSELF (STEM CELLS, CLONING,
GENETIC ENGINEERING, ETC.) DISCUSS WHAT THE CONTROVERSY IS AND GIVE BOTH SIDES.
THEN ACTUALLY TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK, BASED ON WHAT YOU LEARNED DURING YOUR
RESEARCH. THERE’S NO WRONG OPINION, BUT I WANT IT TO HAVE SCIENTIFIC FOUNDATION
(DON’T TELL YOU DON’TLIKE CLONING BECAUSE YOU’RE SCARED OF AN ENTIRE COUNTRY OF
ADOLF HITLER).
UNDERSTAND THERE MAY NOT BE ANY CONTROVERSY – BUT I WANT A PERSONAL REFLECTION
OF SOME SORT HERE. WHAT DID YOU LEARN THAT SURPRISED YOU OR THAT YOU REALLY
DIDN’T KNOW? HOW DID YOUR RESEARCH CHANGE HOW YOU LOOKED AT THIS TOPIC, IF AT
ALL? I THINK IF YOU’VE DONE YOUR RESEARCH CORRECTLY, THIS PART WON’T BE DIFFICULT
WHEN YOU GET TO THIS PART OF THE PROCESS.