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Homework Guide for Critical Analysis Notes:
This is a Microscoft Word template for you to use to prepare your written analysis. We need you to use it rather than inventing your own format. If you do not have access to MSWord, you may use an equivalent program, but recreate the format shown here. The italicized blue text here and below is just advice. We don't want to see any of the blue text on your notes. Delete it and fill in the appropriate material for the paper we are analyzing. On Thursday at the end of class, you will hand in a print-out of your Critical Analysis Notes. Notes that are emailed to us or notes that are turned in after we leave the class room, will not be accepted. Hand written text or hand drawn flow charts will not be graded. Text or chart elements blotted out such that we can't see what was in the original printout will result in deductions.
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Your Name:
Critical Analysis of first author's last name BIOL200A Date
I. The Big Question: Write a grammatically correct, complete sentence for this. That means a noun, a verb, and proper punctuation (including a question mark at the end).
II. Background Topics: Just a short phrase for each line will do. List, in a logical order, the topics and subtopics you would lecture on to help someone from outside this research field understand the context/importance of the questions addressed by the paper. This is a conceptual funnel with the Big Question at the large end of the funnel. Why is the Big Question important/interesting? What was previously known (before the paper was written) regarding the Big Question? What topics will funnel down your listeners' thoughts such that they will be interested in the smaller Question Addressed by the Paper, and will understand how it relates to the Big question? Organize it as follows. (You are not restricted to 2 topics with 2 subtopics each. Use as many or few as you need.)
A. Topic area
1. Subtopic area
2. Subtopic area
etc.
B. Topic area
1. Subtopic area
2. Subtopic area
etc.
III. Question Addressed by the Paper: Write a single, grammatically correct, complete sentence for this.
IV. General Approach: The authors studied blah-blah by doing this and such (general logic, strategy and general methods, but not experiment details)..... Write one grammatically correct, complete sentence for this. It is a difficult task to do it well, so put serious effort into drafting and redrafting it.
V. Experiments:
A. Table 1 or Figure 1 or whatever is in the assignment:
1. Question Addressed by the Experiment: Write a single, grammatically correct, complete sentence for this.
2. Approach: The authors studied blah-blah by doing this and such (general logic, strategy and methods, not experiment details)..... Write one complete sentence for this.
3. Experiment: Experiment details
If you are using MSWord or some compatible program, boxes and arrows can be drawn, dragged around, grabbed by the sides or corners and stretched/shrunk. Expand this small start that I have shown you to portray the entire experiment. The chart should end with boxes naming the final Figure panels (e.g. Panel A or Table 1).
4. Results: (these are in the form of notes that you could use to help you make an oral presentation in front of the class. The notes do not need to be word-for-word what you would say, and they don't need to be complete sentences. Two sections:
a. FIRST! go over the organization of the table or Figure and what the different parts represent. For example: what do the rows represent? what does each table column/row represent? or What do the X and Y axes of a graph represent? or What does the image represent (a western blot or a fluorescence micrograph or etc.) There should be no arrow, asterisk, scale bar, or error bar left unnoted.
b. Point your listener to the real results, the numbers, or the amino acid sequence, or the locations of staining etc., focusing on the ones that you think are the most important for uderstanding the literal interpretation, but DO NOT make any interpretations (e.g. Therefore this means........ blah blah.).
5. Literal Interpretation: Write one complete sentence for this. It should if possible relate to the Question Addressed By The Experiment (V.A.1.). It must relate JUST to the single experiment. If your Results and Literal Interpretation look very similar, something is wrong. .
6. Authors' Interpretation: Find a direct Author quote and either copy it intact or compress it. Do not "shotgun this by pulling in all the statements made by the authors about this experiment. Copy the quote here and note where it came from (e.g. para 2, pg 234).
7. Discussion: Write a few sentences here. This is the most interesting part of Bashing... What do you think? Are there interesting diffferences between the Literal and Authors' interpretations? How might their experiment be improved on? Please show some serious critical power and depth of thought here.