BIOL1333 Signature Assignment:
Scientist Role Models
INTRODUCTION
Biologists do a wide variety of research to answer many different types of questions. They also come from many different places and backgrounds. This activity gives you a chance to find a biologist you can relate to in some way. Maybe you’ll relate to the work they are doing, some part of their identity, or the environment where they work. The choice is yours!
Why are you doing this activity?
Biology is a very broad subject, so it can be hard to cover everyone’s interests in class. This activity lets you pick a scientist, and the part of biology they study, to explore on your own.
What will you, as a student, get out of it?
By doing this activity, you may discover a part of biology that interests you in some way. You may also be inspired by your scientist and become more aware of the natural world.
What are you supposed to do?
Follow the steps in the procedure below to choose a scientist and learn about their work. At the end, you will need to write a short essay about your scientist.
How will you know if you did the activity successfully?
To complete this activity successfully, review and revise your essay using the rubric at the end of this handout. When used well, it can give you a sense of how well you completed the activity. It also gives you an opportunity to revise and improve your work, which are important scientific habits.
PROCEDURE
- Use the following resources to choose a scientist to explore. Pick someone whose work interests you and/or whom you can relate to in some
- Scientist Profiles PDF in Canvas
- BioInteractive’s Scientists at Work
- HHMI Investigator list
- I am a Scientist Project
- UTA’s College of Science
- Do the following to learn more about your scientist and their work and complete Table 1:
- If you picked a scientist from the “Scientist Profiles” document, watch the BioInteractive video listed for that scientist.
- Find and explore your scientist’s website by searching Scientists often have a website hosted by the university or institute at which they do their research.
- Perform a Google search to read other articles or resources that mention your Remember to use only reliable sources.
- Find a scientific paper written by your scientist, either as an author or co-author. (You can use Google Scholar, a UTA library database, or the scientist’s website to locate papers.) This should be original research conducted by the scientist. Go through the paper as follows:
- Read the abstract and
- Examine the figures in the What data are being represented?
- Read the discussion
- Begin to organize the information you have located. Note that this section is for taking notes for your own reference. Do not turn this in. It is intended to help you develop an outline for your essay.
Make sure the information in this table is incorporated into your essay before you submit the assignment.
| Table 1: Scientist Details | |
| Scientist’s name | |
| Describe the field of biology they are working on (for example, evolution or infectious diseases) in 1 or 2 sentences. | |
| Why are they doing this research? Why is it important? What motivates them either personally or professionally? | |
| What questions are they trying to answer? Give 2 minimum. | |
| Sources. You must use at least 3 sources for your essay. One should be the Scientist’s website and another the primary article. These sources will be referenced using APA formatting. | 1. Website:
2. Primary literature article: 3. Other reliable source 4. Other reliable source |
- Write a 400- to 500- word essay that summarizes your scientist’s work and why you relate to it.
Type your essay in a word document. No copying- you must always paraphrase and cite. You are permitted to include 1 scientist quotation if pertinent to the essay and it does not count toward your word count and will not be used to evaluate the quality of your work since it is not written by you.
Grading
Your paper must include the following components:
- Overview/introduction: an overview of your scientist’s research interests, including the questions they are
- Research Summary: a summary of the research as you understand it from the scientific paper you read. This should be in your own language and written so that a high school student could understand
- Personal Relevance: a description of why the scientist’s work is relevant to you, your career interests, and/or society in
- References: citations for any sources you used, including the scientific paper you read
Review your essay using the associated rubric on Canvas. Revise your essay as needed to fulfill the criteria for “Exceptional” on the rubric. You are encouraged to utilize UTA writing center resources. Note that the instructor and TAs will not read drafts or “pre-approve” your work. This assignment must be completed individually and should not contain anything copied from any source.
YOU WILL NOT UPLOAD THIS FILE FOR THE FINAL DRAFT.
Make sure you have included everything from the checklist above before you submit your essay.
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