General Instructions:
Do you ever ponder how Biology applies to and is used in your everyday life? (After all, Biology is the study of life and you are living. ;-)) In fact, it is often at the center of current events and an underlying component of news stories you read or hear about from various media sources. Biology affects all of our lives on many personal levels. Medicine development, athletic cheating scandals, global climate change, GM (genetically modified) crops, stem cell research, emerging infectious diseases, food and nutrition – all of these topics have a foundation in biology. For this semester project, you will research a topic that is related to the material you will be learning about in lecture by using scientific articles, current biological research journals, the news/current events, textbooks and library books. You will then apply your biological knowledge to analyze the topic, and in turn, get just a taste of how much biology affects your life!
Note: Be sure to thoroughly review all of these instructions and the respective rubrics for each assignment before beginning work on a task given that the criteria for grading your work are contained therein.
Choosing Your Thesis Statement:
Use the “Choose your broad topic” survey in the Semester Project Module to select a subject that interests you or that you want to learn more about. Each topic has a limit of two students. If you would like to investigate a topic that is not on the list, please send me your idea and let’s discuss it – preferably, in person during office hours.
Once you have decided what topic you will be writing about, the next thing you should pay attention to is the scope of your paper, which must relate to course content. The broader your topic is, the more difficult it is to discuss your topic in full detail. Therefore, you should focus your chosen topic to a more defined and narrow subtopic, or “thesis statement.” Your thesis must be written in a manner that takes a debatable stance on the topic and then you must support that viewpoint, while also refuting contradictory interpretations of the topic, with support from peer-reviewed sources, of course. For example, if you chose “Hurricanes” as your broad topic, you could narrow that down to “Anthropogenic climate change is increasing the strength of hurricanes and consequently causing ecological and economic recovery from such natural disasters to take much longer than in decades past.” You may need to do a little research to find a suitable subtopic. If you need help with this, please let me know sooner rather than later.
Submit your thesis statement for approval using the link provided in Canvas.
Once you have an approved thesis statement, you may begin your research!
Conducting Your Research:
You must use the following sources to retrieve information for your paper:
Scientific journal articles (minimum of five)
The following websites can be used to find these articles (please note that the websites are not sources in and of themselves; rather, they are databases that contain various sources of information, each of which must be cited individually):
SCC’s LRC (Learning Resource Center) website, which links to NCLive & other databases:
SCC Library Guide for Biology : https://stanly.libguides.com/genbiology
(Links to an external site.)
https://stanly.libguides.com/instructionalvideos
(Links to an external site.)
Library books (minimum of two) – preferably from SCC’s LRC (https://noca.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/stanly/?
(Links to an external site.)
), but may be from any library.
Textbooks – only in addition to your peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and library books.
News articles/current events from approved websites – only in addition to your peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and library books.
e.g., Science Daily
(Links to an external site.)
, Scientific American
(Links to an external site.)
, Environmental News Network
(Links to an external site.)
Other websites – only in addition to your peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and library books.
NO WEBSITES ending in .com – unless they are pre-approved.
Websites ending in .edu or .gov should be fine, but it does not hurt to double-check with me.
Some .org websites may be acceptable – please ask your instructor before using.
Creating an Outline:
Before you begin writing, you must make an outline of what information you will include in your paper. This will help you organize your thoughts and establish a logical flow of information. Follow the guidelines in the “Basic outline structure” document in the Course Resources Module and the rubric for the outlining assignment.
Writing Your Paper:
Keep in mind that you are writing a formal, academic paper and should therefore write out the numbers zero through ten and avoid informal writing such as contractions, addressing your audience as “you,” and other colloquialisms. As writing is one of the most important skills in any field of study/career, proper grammar and spelling are also part of your grade. Please see related grammar resources by clicking the “Help” button in the Global Navigation menu (below the SCC Eagle) in Canvas. Your paper must have four main sections (do not include the headings indicated below [except for “Literature Cited”], just the corresponding content in standard paragraph format):
1. Introduction
Of course, the purpose of an introduction is to introduce your topic to the audience. The introduction must be one paragraph and should have some of the following elements, depending on the type of paper: You may choose to start with an “attention grabber”: a brief story, example, statistic, and/or historical context that introduces the paper topic. Give an overview of any issues involved with the subject, define key terminology needed to understand the topic, reveal the controversial nature of the subject, and highlight background information that is important to understand the direction of the paper.
Include here the reason you chose the particular topic, and the significance of your research paper’s topic in the bigger picture of life and our world. Generally, your introduction should state briefly all the major points of your paper, in line with the old adage of “Tell them what your going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them.” Conclude the introduction with your thesis statement that takes a debatable viewpoint on the topic.
2. Body
This section of your paper will contain your research findings. Depending on your topic, the information here will vary. You must include strong evidence from your peer-reviewed sources, et al., and provide examples, details, and explanations to support your thesis statement. Include at least four distinct points to support your thesis, and also be sure to explore viewpoints counter to yours and refute those perspectives with specific examples as well. Include at least one figure and one table with proper captions and parenthetical citations to support your argument, and discuss the figures and tables in the text near where you place them in your document. For example:
Nests placed closer to large trees were more likely to be parasitized (Table 1). or Table 1 shows that nests placed closer to large trees were more likely to be parasitized.
There is a clear positive correlation between sun exposure and rates of skin cancer (Figure 1). or Figure 1 illustrates a clear positive correlation between sun exposure and rates of skin cancer.
3. Conclusion
End your paper with a one-paragraph summary of your case. You should include potential future implications of your topic and recommendations based on your research. You can also mention any ongoing scientific investigations that are being conducted on your topic. You should end with a “strong clincher statement:” an appropriate, meaningful final sentence that ties the whole point of the paper together and seals the argument initially stated in your thesis.
4. Literature Cited
Begin your Literature Cited section two lines after the end of your conclusion and follow APA (American Psychological Association) format for full citations. You must use a minimum of five peer-reviewed articles from scientific journals and two books from the SCC Learning Resource Center, preferably, or other library, as sources for your research. All sources used in your paper must be cited in this section. These sources will link back to any information you used from them in your paper through in-text, parenthetical citations. It is important that you use proper citations throughout your paper. You must ALWAYS cite any information that is not your own thought or opinion by including a reference to the source. You may have a parenthetical citation at the end of every sentence in your paper, and that’s perfectly fine! However, you may not have paragraph-length direct quotations from any sources, nor may you have more than three direct quotations of a sentence or less – even with a proper parenthetical citation. You must use the name-year system for in-text citations. Each source in your Literature Cited must be cited parenthetically within the text of your paper at least once. Review the example papers in the Research Project Module.
Why Choose Us
Top quality papers
We always make sure that writers follow all your instructions precisely. You can choose your academic level: high school, college/university or professional, and we will assign a writer who has a respective degree.
Professional academic writers
We have hired a team of professional writers experienced in academic and business writing. Most of them are native speakers and PhD holders able to take care of any assignment you need help with.
Free revisions
If you feel that we missed something, send the order for a free revision. You will have 10 days to send the order for revision after you receive the final paper. You can either do it on your own after signing in to your personal account or by contacting our support.
On-time delivery
All papers are always delivered on time. In case we need more time to master your paper, we may contact you regarding the deadline extension. In case you cannot provide us with more time, a 100% refund is guaranteed.
Original & confidential
We use several checkers to make sure all papers are plagiarism-free and do not share them with third parties.
24/7 Customer Support
Our support agents are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week and committed to providing you with the best customer experience. Get in touch whenever you need any assistance.
Try it now!
How it works?
Follow these simple steps to get your paper done
Place your order
Fill in the order form and provide all details of your assignment.
Proceed with the payment
Choose the payment system that suits you most.
Receive the final file
Once your paper is ready, we will email it to you.
Our Services
No need to work on your paper at night. Sleep tight, we will cover your back. We offer all kinds of writing services.
Essays
You are welcome to choose your academic level and the type of your paper. Our academic experts will gladly help you with essays, case studies, research papers and other assignments.
Admissions
Admission help & business writing
You can be positive that we will be here 24/7 to help you get accepted to the Master’s program at the TOP-universities or help you get a well-paid position.
Reviews
Editing your paper
Our academic writers and editors will help you submit a well-structured and organized paper just on time. We will ensure that your final paper is of the highest quality and absolutely free of mistakes.
Reviews
Editing your paper
Our academic writers and editors will help you submit a well-structured and organized paper just on time. We will ensure that your final paper is of the highest quality and absolutely free of mistakes.