AP Biology Article Instructions 2011-2012

This year we will be reading a total of sixScientific American articles. The due dates are written in your syllabus. You will submit a written report for each article on the due date listed.

You can find the articles on the web using LM’s library resources. You should also be able to access these readings from your computer at home.

Reading these articles will expose you to current research in the field of biology and will sharpen your skills in reading and interpreting scientific literature. The articles cover topics from a wide range of fields, and all of them were chosen by last year’s AP students. Each article review is worth 20 points. Please follow the format below.

Write-up format:

  1. All article reviews must be typed unless there is an emergency that prevents you from doing so. Please provide the following headings in your write-up: Summary, Critique, Terms.
  1. Write a briefsummary (1-2 paragraphs only; this is a nutshell summary) of the article. Summarize the major topic of the article, the research presented in the article, and the major conclusions of the author(s). This is similar to an expanded abstract for the paper. Do not cut and paste together sentences of the article; I will consider this plagiarism and give you no credit. Use your own words!
  1. Write a critique of the article. Consider some or all of the following questions: Did you find the article convincing? Did you find this article interesting? Were the data presented well? Did the authors write the article in a clear, understandable manner? Do you feel like you have a greater understanding of this topic after reading this article? In what ways do you think the topic or findings of this article are important to you or society (or not important)? Would you recommend that a friend read this article? You will need to support your claims and opinions with specific details and examples from the article. Please put considerable effort into this part of your review.
  1. List, in two separate lists, new and familiarscientificterms you found in the article (N.B.: Scientific names are not terms.). Define the new scientific terms (onlynew terms) you found in the article. Do notcut and paste the definitions from internet sources. Every article must have new terms; a new term is one you cannot readily define without help (but you may have heard of it before).

Your class period will be assigned to Group 1or 2. You are to do reviews only for the six articles in your group. You must do the articles in the order listed. Due dates are on your syllabus.

Scientific American articles for 2011-2012

Group 1:

  1. Forbes, Peter. Masters of disguise. Scientific American, May 2011: 80-83.
  1. Bartholet, Jeffrey. Inside the meat lab. Scientific American, June 2011: 65-69.
  1. Long, John A. Dawn of the deed. Scientific American, January 2011: 34-39.
  1. Stickgold, Robert and Jeffrey M. Ellenbogen. Quiet! Sleeping brain at work. Scientific American, August/September 2008: 22-29.
  1. Hall, Stephen S. Diseases in a dish. Scientific American, March 2011: 40-45.
  1. Morrow, Matthew P. and David B. Weiner. DNA drugs come of age. ScientificAmerican, July 2010: 48-53.

Group 2:

  1. Adler, Jerry. The growing menace from superweeds. Scientific American, May 2011: 74-79.
  1. Jones, Menna E. and Hamish McCallum. The Devil’s cancer. Scientific American, June 2011: 72-77.
  1. Shubin, Neil H. This old body. Scientific American, January 2009: 64-67.
  1. Moyer, Melinda Wenner. Obsessions revisited. Scientific AmericanMind, May/June 2011:37-41.
  1. Hochedlinger, Konrad. Your inner healers. Scientific American, May 2010: 46-53.
  1. Greenwood, Veronique. Why are asthma rates soaring? Scientific American, April 2011: 32-33.