Oral Presentation (Due Week 7)
Each student should prepare a 15–20 minute presentation to introduce a self-chosen manuscript to the peers. The manuscript should be broadly related to the class's topic and must be submitted to the instructors for approval at least two weeks in advance. The instructors will check the manuscript for its suitability and to ensure that no two students plan to present the same study. Students are expected to lead a class discussion session focusing on the manuscript they selected. The use of visual supports (PowerPoint presentation, flip chart, black board, etc.) is recommended. For the discussion, students should point out the key experiment(s) and control(s) and present their own conclusion whether the results support the claims made in the manuscript completely, partially or not at all. The oral presentations will be on Week 7.
Written Assignment (Due in Final Class)
Student will receive a partial (not yet published) manuscript missing the introduction and discussion sections but including figures and tables along with the written results section. Each student is expected to individually write a short Introduction (1–2 paragraphs; about 400–500 words), a short Discussion (1–2 paragraphs; about 400–500 words), and an Abstract (should not exceed 300 words) based on the information received. The abstract should summarize the main results while highlighting the major conclusions. The introduction section should give the background to the subject so readers can see what questions and hypotheses the authors are addressing and understand their significance. The discussion should include a summary of and conclusion from the results, state the impact of the results to the field, and highlight potential drawbacks of the study. Students are highly encouraged to perform a literature search using PubMed and cite references used for Introduction and Discussion sections. Students may consult with instructors should any question / doubt arise during the execution of the assignment. The main objective is to help students learn to interpret data and write a manuscript. Written assignments will be due at the beginning of the final class period (Week 13).