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Create a written summary of your group's work this semester constructing an in vitro transcription/translation construct.
Scope: Include all aspects of the creation and use of your construct this semester, beginning with PCR amplification of your target gene from yeast genomic DNA (week 3). Continue until the point at which your particular construct was dropped (or until the end of the semester, if we continued to use your construct).
Audience: Your summary should be readily understood by an undergraduate who has had molecular biology but was not part of this lab. Include enough background on each experiment so that a student who may have forgotten some of his or her molecular biology could follow your reasoning.
Data: Include any data that allowed you to assess how your particular project was going. These data can be included as photographs/printout/xeroxes of gels, numerical output from the spectrophotometer, or downloaded scans from the Bio312 web site. Be sure that each data figure is given a descriptive title, a legend that briefly describes the experiment shown, and clear and thorough labels.
Level of Detail: Please do not duplicate the methodological details in the Bio312 manual--this would be a waste of your time and mine. Assume that the manual is present as a reference. You need not explain how each procedure was done, but you should explain why it was done and what the outcome was. DO include any information that is specific to your group--the design of your PCR primers, the restriction enzymes you used, the cloning vector used, etc. Please also include a detailed and well-labeled map of your construct.
Format: You need not use a formal scientific manuscript format. Extensive introductions and conclusions are not necessary. A detailed methods section is also not required. However, your organization should be easy to follow and your logic should be clear. Your thoughts should be presented in well-organized sentences and paragraphs that flow well from one to the next. The key points to be derived from each data figure should be clearly explained in the text, with reference to the figure in question. Your paper should end with a clear set of conclusions--what worked, what didn't, and where the project stands at this point.
Time-line: A draft of your paper is due in lab on Wed 12/13 (the last day of class). You'll exchange papers with another lab group and use the in-lab time on that day to critique each other's work. (To facilitate this, you'll need to bring 3 copies of your paper--one for each member of the group doing your peer critique). Your final draft is due at the Bio312 final exam, on Tues 12/19 at 8:30 am.
Grading (50 points total):
Rough draft completed on time (by 12:40 pm on Wed 12/13) and in reasonable shape: 5 points (ungraded, group)
Thoughtful critique of another group's paper, completed in lab on 12/13: 5 points (ungraded, individual)
Final draft of paper, due 8:30 am on Tuesday 12/19: (40 points, group)
Grading criteria (also to be used for peer critiques):
pts ach pts poss criterion 5 Is the paper complete? Have all relevant data been
included and discussed? Is a well-labled map of the
construct included? Is there a clear conclusion at the end
of the paper? 7 Are the data presented in a format that is clear and easy
to follow? Are they well-labeled? Does each figure have a
descriptive title and a useful legend? 5 Is the rationale behind each experiment
well-explained? 5 Are interpretations of the data clearly presented? Are
they reasonable? Do they make sense? 5 Have all details that are specific to this group's
project been presented? Was the presentation clear and easy
to follow? 10 Is the text of the paper clear, well-organized, and easy
to follow? Does it proceed clearly and logically from one
experiment to the next? Are transitions included and
well-structured? 3 Is the paper free of errors in grammar and spelling? (5) (bonus) Is this paper particularly interesting to read?
Has this lab group made an extra effort to present their
work in a compelling way?
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