Michael R.J. Forstner, Ph.D.

Genetics 2450                                                                                        

Lab Manual                                                        Printer Friendly Version 

 

Introductory Material

 

General Rules for Genetics Lab Papers (from pages 3-6 of printed manual)

 

Papers are due at the beginning of class on the due date; that means if class begins at 2:00, papers are due at 2:00, not 2:01. Late papers will not be accepted, not even if they are one minute late. This means a grade of ZERO.
Papers should be stapled, with no covers/binders.
Must include a title page with the following information:

• title of paper

• your name

• BIO 2450 Genetics

• date

• lab instructor�s name

In addition to a paper copy, a disk with your paper, in an appropriate word processing format (Microsoft Word, WordPerfect), must be turned in. If this is not done, you will receive a grade of ZERO.

Papers are graded as follows:

ABSTRACT - 10%

 

• Every section of your paper (Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion) must be represented in the Abstract.

• The Abstract is sort of a one sentence per section �outline� of your paper. Must include some results and general conclusions.

• Does not have to be very detailed or long.

 

INTRODUCTION - 15%

 

• Introductory material. - 5%

  • Introduce the reader to your topic.

  • Stating definitions or concepts is not acceptable. Relate them to your own study.

  • Almost every sentence in the Introduction will include a citation.

    • If you say, �Something is defined as � �, then you must have a citation.

    • If you did not discover something then you got the idea somewhere; cite that source.

    • Do not use information from the lab handout. Find it somewhere else to cite it.

• Purpose of your study (objectives/why you did it). - 5%

  • Use the past tense when describing your purpose.

• Summary of what you did in your study. - 5%

  • Use the past tense when describing what you did.

  • This can be simply a list of procedures, if appropriate.

• Purpose and what you did are generally at the end of the Introduction. Begin the Introduction generally and work your way to more specific topics � purpose and what you did. The paper easily flows into the Materials and Methods this way.

 

MATERIALS AND METHODS - 15%

• This section allows your study to be re-created.
  All information that is needed to perform the study must be listed or cited; that is, if you find an article that describes what you did exactly, then you can cite that work instead of describing the study.
  • DNA was extracted following the modified CTAB procedure described by Doyle and Doyle (1987)
• Use a logical order; for example, chronological.
• Do not describe the study step-by-step. For example, �A computer was found.
•  It was then turned on. The Genewright icon was then clicked on.� is not acceptable.
• Say what �it� was, not how �it� was set up.
• Use the past tense since the study has already been performed. Do not instruct.
  • Incorrect: Set initial allele A1 frequency to 0.01.
  • Correct: Initial frequency of allele A1 was 0.01.
• Do not list things like writing utensil, paper, computer, library, and Microsoft Excel.
• Do not describe any demonstrations conducted in class.

RESULTS - 20%

• Use the same logical order as in Materials and Methods.
• Describe the results with words in paragraph form.
• State any trends in the data.
• Do not describe the lines in a graph. Describe the data.
• Use the past tense since the experiment has already been performed.
• Here is where you can mention tables and graphs, because you are probably referring to them. For example, �Results are summarized in Table 1 and Graph 1�. Then continue describing the data from there.
• Tables and graphs, if necessary, are part of the Results, but should be placed at the end (after the Literature Cited) of the paper. Any tables and graphs must have titles so the reader can distinguish between them. Tables have the description at the top of the table (Table 1 � Frequency of allele A1 at different s-values.). Graphs have the description at the bottom of the figure (Graph 2 � Part 2: Frequency of allele A1 over time).
• Report any error(s) here. Later, in the Discussion, is when you discuss why the errors may have occurred.

DISCUSSION - 25%

• This section is one-quarter of the grade. Make it good!
• Discuss possible reasons for these results and what this may mean overall. - 20%
  • Do not simply restate your results.
  • Discuss relevant studies (that may validate your results and/or conclusions) found in your literature search.
• Discuss why any error(s) may have occurred. - 5%

LITERATURE CITED - 5%

• Correct format of both the Literature Cited and the citations within text. - 3%
  • This is a list of literature (books, articles from standard journals, etc.) that you cited in your paper. Do not include anything in this list for which you do not have a citation within the text of your paper.
  • This list should be in alphabetical order.
  • Literature Cited format should follow (i.e. the punctuation, number of spaces, and other format) the journal Genetics which can be found in Alkek Library. Look at one of the volumes of this journal.
  • Do not list first or middle names of authors; just use their initials.
  • All authors must be listed in the Literature Cited.
    • Correct:
      MCHENRY, D. J., S. J. WHITE, and E. M. LAWSON, 1999 Effects of mutations on rate of evolution in South American dragons. Genetics 44: 205-206
    • Incorrect:
      MCHENRY, D. J., et al., 1999 Effects of mutations on rate of evolution in South American dragons. Genetics 44: 205-206.
  • Do not cite the lab �book� or use it as a reference. It is not published.
  • Do not cite any Internet addresses or use them as references.
    • Internet sources tend to have unverifiable authors.
    • Internet pages change frequently, and are hard to trace should someone else try to find the source.
    • Internet sources are not peer-reviewed which weakens their credibility as a scientific source.
    • False �facts� are easily posted as facts.
  • Look in the Bibliography appendix of Russell�s Genetics, 5th ed. for literature.
  • Full-text articles can be found on the Internet at www.jstor.org. These are usable because they were first published as paper journal articles, but can now be found on the Internet. They are listed in the Literature Cited as if from the paper journals.
  • Use the author-year parenthetical citation within the text of the paper: (Rose 1974), (McHenry and Smith 1999), or (Forstner et al. 1998). Citations should look like this:
    • Mendelian genetics was discovered by Gregor Mendel in Australia (McHenry 1988).
    • McHenry et al. (1998) defines evolution as a big boring bunch of protein mutations.
• Minimum number of peer-reviewed journal articles. - 2%

MISCELLANEOUS - 10%

• Grammar - 5%

  • Papers are double-spaced, except the Literature Cited page. The Literature Cited page is single-spaced, with each listing separated by a line-space (there is an example at the end of this handout). Your lab instructor will not grade a paper if it is not double-spaced.

  • This font is Times 12. Use it or another font very similar.

  • Use correct/proper grammar! Use complete sentences!

  • There should be two spaces after the period at the end of a sentence.

  • Use consistent verb tense. Correct verb tense is generally present or past.

  • Do not use first or second person: I, you, etc.

  • Indent paragraphs or leave a space in between paragraphs.

  • Keep sections separate and title each: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited.

  • A species name, or scientific name, is a binomial; that is, it has two parts (genus and specific epithet). A species name is italicized or underlined: Tyrannosaurus rex, or Homo sapiens.

  • Do not allow a computer spell- or grammar-check to write your paper. These �checks� are often wrong!

  • Numbers in decimal form should look like this: 0.01, 0.86. Incorrect: .01, .86.

  • Affect is a verb. Effect is a noun.

  • Use references properly: paraphrase, do not quote. Relate others� works to your own. Do not just plop it on paper and expect the reader to understand the connections.

• Typos - 1%

  • Proofread!

  • 3 B4 me - Before turning your paper in, have three others read/critique it.

• Flow and wording - 4%

  • Use proper scientific voice; that is, avoid slang, �creative� metaphors, etc. Remember, this is a science class and not creative writing. Do not try to be cutesy or humorous.

  • Be aware of your wording. For example, drastic, dramatic, significant, and random have meanings different from what you may think. Do not use �action� words when describing data: climb (a ladder), erase (with a pencil), jump (off a cliff), drop (a bomb).

  • Be concise.

  • Read the paper aloud. This helps you avoid awkwardness in your wording and helps you check grammar.

  • "In this study" means your study.

  • Write clearly. If your lab instructor cannot understand what you are trying to say, then you cannot get credit for it.

• The library is your friend. Go in the morning when no other students are there. The librarians are there to help you. Make them help you if necessary.

If you need help, ask for it! Your lab instructor will not read your entire paper, but can answer specific questions. If you wait too long, your lab instructor may not have time to help you.

Following is an example of how the Literature Cited should look.

 

Literature Cited

 

BIGGS, W. H., and S. L. ZIPURSKY, 1992 Primary structure, expression,

     and signal-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of a Drosophila homolog

     of extracellular signal-regulated kinase. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 89:

     6295-6299.

 

JONES, D. K., H. I. KILLEEN and F. G. PETERSON, 1991 Escape from the

     past: DNA mutations. Genetics 54: 43-45.

MCHENRY, D. J., 2001 How to teach polymerase chain reaction at the

     college level. Bulletin of American Teaching 77: 876-879.

RUSSELL, P. J., 1998 Genetics, 5th ed. Benjamin/Cummings Publishing

     Company, Inc., NY.