Written Assignment 2: Informational Booklet
Addresses course outcome 4:
weigh and make health-related decisions based on an understanding of the value and limits of scientific knowledge and the scientific method
Process:
Choose and research a topic related to human biology. Imagine that you are creating a small booklet that will become available at a local health clinic. The booklet should be educational and understandable by the general public. This assignment is to prepare the text and graphics (if applicable) for the booklet in an APA-style paper format. You may select one topic that relates to either homeostatic mechanisms or to a disease that may interest you because of your own health or family history. You will find a list of suggested topics below, or you may come up with your own. If you select a topic that is not listed below, discuss your topic with your instructor before beginning work.
Suggested topics
Homeostasis: Hydration and exercise, adaptation of the human body to pregnancy, adaptation to cold or hot weather, adaptation to starvation and its consequences, sleep and health, or nutrition and health in children, biological clocks and shift work, acid/base balance and kidney function, calcium levels in blood and bone, meditation and brain health.
Assignment criteria
Select one of the suggested topics above.
Find at least five recent sources (including peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, books, journals, and the Internet). You can find assistance with searching for articles at the UMUC Library Subject Guides at http://libguides.umuc.edu/science. You may not use online encyclopedias as a source more than once. Do not use Wikipedia as a reference; its information is unreliable and unsuitable for scholarly work. All source material should be paraphrased or summarized in your own words and cited in your text. You should have no more than one direct short quote (less than 40 words) and no long quotes (more than 40 words) in your paper.
Write six to eight 8.5″ x 11″ pages of text (minimum 1500 words), excluding references and graphics (if using). Use Times New Roman font size 12, 1-inch margins, double-spaced text (APA formatUse APA style for citing references in your text and in the reference list (see http://www.umuc.edu/library/guides/apa.html). Cite all information that is not common knowledge in your text; cite all information from your sources in your text in APA style. Cite all graphics in APA style.
The sections of your booklet paper should be divided into section with headings that include a title; an introduction that defines or describes your topic and what current/ongoing research has discovered about this topic; background information on what healthy organ system(s) is/are affected by the topic; the mechanism of action (e.g., how does the topic disrupt homeostasis? how does a disease spread and infect a person?); its symptoms and how it is diagnosed; current treatment options; conclusions; and your references. You may include additional section headings as necessary to cover your particular topic.
