Biology Writing Assignment
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BIOL100 Lab: Writing Assignment #2, Human Disease
Choose one of the diseases listed below. You may want read a quick summary (look online) before you
decidethe following list includes some very interesting (if not well known) diseases! If you wish to
write about a disease not on the list, you must receive instructor approval.
**You may not turn in a paper from a previous semester.**
Seek out science-based websites (i.e. CDC.gov) on the Internet to read about the disease you have
chosen. You must have at least two (2) references where you actually read about the disease. You may
start with Wikipedia, but it is NOT a legitimate reference source!
Proper citations are required. This includes both in-text citations and a references/literature
citation section at the end of the paper. UNLV has a strict policy regarding plagiarism. We
require students to utilize APA citation format for in text citations and for the works cited. Many
students have found the following websites helpful.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
http://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-website
A. In-Text Citations
In-text citations are required, but NO QUOTES ARE ALLOWED. Any material that is
summarized, paraphrased or data used must be cited (within parentheses or with a
footnote) immediately following the material and preceding any punctuation marks that
divide or end the sentence. Please follow APA guidelines for in-text citations.
Assignments submitted without in-text citations will receive a zero and no resubmissions
will be accepted.
B. Literature Cited / List of References / Bibliography Page
Each source mentioned in the paper must have its own entry on the literature cited page.
Please follow APA guidelines for the works cited page. Assignments submitted without a
literature cited section will receive a zero and no resubmissions will be accepted.
Next: Write a fictional essay about a person that gets infected with the disease. Your essay must include
the following information:
1. Describe in detail how the person acquired or developed the disease. You should describe the
actual transmission of the disease and/or the risk factors associated with the disease.
2. What were the persons first signs or symptoms of the disease? In other words, how did the
person know that they had acquired the disease or what drove them to seek medical attention (if
they sought medical attention)?
3. What was the underlying cause of the disease (bacteria, virus, autoimmune, etc)?
4. Did the person receive treatments? If not, why? How did the person respond to treatment (if they
received any)?
5. What was the final outcome? Describe in detail what happened to the person over time.
**Your creativity will be needed to relate aspects of this disease to the specific objectives listed above. If
you simply regurgitate information from your source, you will receive no more than a 7/10.**
Anthrax, Bacterial Meningitis, Bubonic Plague, Chagas Disease, Colorectal Cancer,
Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever, Genital Candidiasis, Herpes Zoster (Shingles), HSV Type 1,
Lung Cancer, Mad Cow Disease, Mercury Poisoning, Mumps, Polio, Rocky Mountain
Spotted Fever, Salmonella Enteritidis, Scurvy, Syphilis, Tuberculosis
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
http://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-website
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Assessment:
In-text citations and a literature cited page are required, but QUOTES ARE NOT ALLOWED. If your assignment does not have both in-text citations and a literature cited page, your assignment will
receive a zero (0) score.
Your essay will be graded based on your meeting each of the specific objectives outlined above, on length, on quality of writing (thus very few writing errors), and on creativity.
The essay must be typed, 11 or 12 font in a standard style (arial, times new roman), 1½ line spacing, 1 inch margins. Handwritten assignments will not be accepted, no exceptions.
We expect about 2-2.5 pages (at least 500 words), but not more than 3 pages, excluding the literature cited section. Essays that are well below this word count will receive an equivalently low grade.
**Warning: Papers are submitted to a system that assesses for plagiarism of online sources and of papers
turned in across laboratory sections. Plagiarism of websites or fellow students will result in a zero (0)
score. QUOTES ARE NOT ALLOWED, and you will receive a zero (0) score if you use quotes. If you
have any questions regarding proper citation or plagiarism, ask your instructor or visit the following
website:
http://www.unlv.edu/studentconduct/misconduct/policy
Assignment MUST be submitted through the TurnItIn program on Webcampus by the specified
deadline. NO LATE OR EMAILED ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED! NO EXCEPTIONS!