In your essay you should:
Outline in general terms the key features that are characteristic of most types of receptor-mediated cell signalling.
Describe how signalling via G protein-coupled receptors exemplifies these characteristics.
Describe the key components of the pathway, how they interact, what changes in these molecules occur as a result of these interactions, and the consequence of these changes.
Note that no marks are awarded for an essay plan in this question but you are encouraged to develop one and include it in your answer as it will help you construct a better essay.
A mandatory word limit of 1400 words applies for the essay. Please note that this is an upper limit and you should not feel compelled to write up to the maximum, as it should be possible to write a shorter essay that covers all the salient points. The word limit does not include the following: the essay plan; the essay title; words in tables, figures or diagrams and their captions; words in reference lists. However, the word limit does include in-text citations. You should perform a word count and state the total number of words at the end of your essay.
The 30 marks available for this essay question are allocated as follows:
Introduction – (2 marks)
Body of essay – (20 marks)
Conclusion – (2 marks)
References (including appropriate citations in the essay) – (2 marks)
Style and construction – (4 marks)
N.B. 10% of the marks for this question will be deducted for answers that exceed the mandatory word limit.
