Bio 71 - Stem Cells and Society        Term Paper

Final draft due December 9, 2010

Select a topic related to Stem Cells and Society.  This can  focus on human or non-human systems, agriculture, environmental restoration, banking stem cells for future use, or any topic that relates to the course topics.  

The most important criterion is that you, the author, find the topic sufficiently interesting to learn about it and write about it.

It is strongly recommended that you submit your topic, with a short description of what you intend to explore, before investing much time and effort doing research.  Feedback to ensure that your intentions are sufficiently focused, not too broad, not too narrow, will help you during the research and writing phases of the composition.

Components of the paper:

•    summary of information related to the topic: this should be as factual as possible, and well cited
    •    summarize and discuss the topic, not the authors of the papers or articles that you are using, nor biographies of the people involved in the research
    •    focus on the information, not the people
    •    focus on the information, not a description of the sources (just cite them properly)

•    exploration of published arguments in favor of, and against the use of stem cells in this sort of project;   this should be as honest a prtrayal of the points of view as possible, and well cited
    •    summarize and discuss the opinion or perspectivr, not the authors of the papers or articles that you are using, nor biographies of the people writing the articles unless that is relevant to your assessment of their bias
    •    focus on the opinion, not the people
    •    focus on the opinion, not a description of the sources (just cite them properly)

•    assess the credibility of all of your citations - which do you find more or less credible, and why?

•    your own opinion, well-documented and elaborated clearly and carefully

The paper should be about 5-7 pages long (not counting references); if you need to write more, you may, but please do not go overboard.  Good writers know when to pare down their expositions, and remove repetitive sections.

You may turn in drafts for review and comment.  However, be sure to do this well in advance of the due date, if you hope for a response early enough to help you.