1 BSC1005L Science---in---Action Report (up to 100 points.docx

1
BSC1005L Science---in---Action Report (up to 100 points)
Assignment idea adapted from Dr. Ron Gray, Northern Arizona
University
All written reports will be graded by Ryan Coker, a course
coordinator for BSC1005L, and must be turned in
through Canvas by the due date and time stated in the syllabus.
Please consult with Ryan Coker
([email protected]) if you have any questions.
Rationale
Abstract ideas, such as some of the ones we discuss in this
course, can often be clarified through examples. For
this optional assignment, you will read a book---length account
of “science in action” – real people engaging in
the practices of science to generate new scientific knowledge.
There are many books that are intended for a
public audience and provide a window into the thoughts,
emotions, and motivations of scientists. This
optional assignment offers an additional challenge to synthesize
supplemental reading and course objectives,
while delving further into some of the big ideas of biology.
This assignment is an analytical paper, not a book report. Your
writing should clarify the reader’s
understanding of what scientists do, how science is done, and
how new scientific knowledge is generated.

Assignment
Analyze two specific examples of science---in---action from the
book you chose in response to the guiding
questions below and make explicit connections to what you
have learned and experienced in BSC1005L. Choose
examples to demonstrate that you read the book completely;
these should be the BEST examples of science---in---
action from the book and your analysis should provide evidence
that these are appropriate examples.
Paper Guidelines
Include an introductory paragraph to orient the reader to the two
examples of science---in---action you will analyze
and, briefly, how these examples illustrate science---in---action.
For each example of science-in-action, you must
use specific evidence from both the book, and from the
BSC1005L General Biology Laboratory Course (student
experiences engaging in science/scientific reasoning during lab
and information from the lab manual) to support
your argument. Be sure that each of your two examples of
science-in-action in your report, you address the guiding
questions (see following page) as part of your analysis. Include
a concluding paragraph summarizing how the
book, as a whole and in the specific examples discussed,
illustrated science---in---action and influenced your
perspective on what scientists do and how new scientific
knowledge is generated.
The length of the report, not including references, MUST
exceed 1700 words, depending on how concisely you
write. Failure to meet this word count will result in a “0” on the
assignment. If you do not write concisely, expect to
have a much higher word count for a complete analysis. Your
written report must be a cohesive analytic narrative
with clear transitions between paragraphs, and an overall

analytic argument you are making about how people
engaged in, with, and around the processes of science to
generate new knowledge.
Students must earn at least a “C” grade (70 out of 100 points)
on their paper to be awarded any credit. Papers
that earn less than 70 points when graded by the rubric below
will be awarded 0 points. This is an optional
assignment, therefore the expectations are very high and it is
rare that students earn an “A”. This paper cannot be
written well in one sitting; plan to revise multiple drafts before
submitting your final paper.
NOTE: Students must adhere to the Florida State University
Academic Honesty Policy and, if you must use a
phrase directly from the text or lab manual, cite all quotations
appropriately. Students must complete this
assignment individually using their own words. Students should
not collaborate with their peers or copy from
online sources.
mailto:[email protected]
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Guiding questions for your analysis of EACH of your two
Science-in-Action examples:
You will analyze FOUR (4) guiding questions for EACH of your
examples of science-in-action. Answer the 2
required guiding questions and choose 2 additional guiding
questions that make sense for each of your
science-in-action examples. Besides the required questions, the
other two guiding questions may be the
same or different for each of your examples. Be sure to answer
the questions for each example IN DEPTH,

assuming your reader has not read the book or taken BSC1005L.
Include sufficient detail that someone who
has not read the watched or taken BSC1005L could follow the
arguments in your paper.
NOTE: If it is difficult to answer Guiding Question #1, your
science-in-action example is likely inappropriate. Your
example needs to include what the scientists did to generate
new knowledge, not just summarize facts.
REQUIRED Guiding Questions (must be answered for both
examples):
GQ.1 For this example of science in action, how was the
investigation designed and carried out?
• What question(s) were the scientists trying to answer?
• What data did the investigator collect and how did they collect
it?
• Did the investigators answer their question? What evidence
did they use to support their
conclusion? Was this evidence sufficient?
GQ.2 How is this example specifically related to the biology
concepts or processes of science you engaged in
during investigations from BSC1005L? Cite specific evidence
from the lab manual or lab experiences
to support the connection.
CHOOSE AT LEAST 2 Additional Guiding Questions:
GQ.3 What factors – personal, technological, cultural, and/or
scientific – led this person to the
investigation? Cite specific evidence form the book to support
your claims.
GQ.4 How did the investigator try to persuade others that the

results of the investigating were valid? Did
contemporaries accept the ideas? Are they accepted today? Why
or why not?
GQ.5 How did the results of this investigation influence the
investigator, fellow investigators, and society
more broadly?
GQ.6 Were there ethical dimensions to this
investigation/research? If so, what were they and how were they
resolved?
Approved books for SIA Analytical Paper:
A Feeling for the Organism (Fox Keller)
Inheritance: How Our Genes Change Our Lives – and Our Lives
Change Our Genes (Moalem)
Magical Mushrooms, Mischievous Molds (Hudler)
Seven Modern Plagues and How We Are Causing Them
(Walters)
T. rex and the Crater of Doom (Alvarez)
The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time
(Weiner)
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer
(Mukherjee)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Skloot)
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals
(Pollan)
The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature
(Ridley)
The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease
(Lieberman) The
World Is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean’s are One (Earle &
McKibben) The
Vital Question: Energy, Evolution, and the Origins of Complex

Life (Lane)
Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5---Billion---Year History
of the Human Body (Shubin)
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Grading Rubric (100 points possible; paper must earn a
minimum of 70 points to be eligible for any credit)
Assignment Element Grading
Initial checklist of expectations to determine if paper should be
graded. A
submitted report will receive a ZERO if any of the following
three items are
not completed.
- how an investigation was
designed and
carried out.
- includes explicit
connections to
BSC1005L.
If any checklist expectation is
incomplete or not met, the
assignment will score a 0.
(NO CREDIT)
Reading Engagement: Did the student demonstrate a thorough

reading of
the book through the depth of their analyses?
No
(0)
Partially
(2.5)
Yes
(5)
Introduction: Did the student include an introduction that
oriented the
reader to the examples of science---in---action?
No
(0)
Partially
(5)
Yes
(10)
Example
1:
Did the
student…
… analyze at least three appropriate guiding questions with
sufficient depth?
No

(0)
Partially
(5)
Yes
(10)
… cite sufficient evidence of connections between the book and
BSC1005L?
No
(0)
Partially
(5)
Yes
(10)
…use biological concepts correctly? No (0)
Partially
(2.5)
Yes
(5)
Example
2:
Did the
student…
… analyze at least three appropriate guiding questions with
sufficient depth?

No
(0)
Partially
(5)
Yes
(10)
… cite sufficient evidence of connections between the book and
BSC1005L?
No
(0)
Partially
(5)
Yes
(10)
…use biological concepts correctly? No (0)
Partially
(2.5)
Yes
(5)
Conclusion: Did the student include a conclusion summarizing
how book
influenced perspective on how scientific knowledge is
generated?
No
(0)

Partially
(5)
Yes
(10)
Organization and Argument Clarity: Is the report a well---
organized, cohesive
narrative using clear transitions between paragraphs, topic
sentences, and
section headings as necessary?
No
(0)
Partially
(5)
Yes
(10)
Scientific Clarity and Precision: Did the student use scientific
terms (observation
vs. inference, data vs. evidence) and phrases (supports instead
of proves)
correctly?
No
(0)
Partially
(5)
Yes
(10)

Citations: Did the student use in text citations appropriately for
book?
Include a reference list at end?
No
(0)
Partially
(2.5)
Yes
(5)
Reports that do not adhere to the assignment guidelines will not
be graded. Reports that do adhere to the
guidelines but earn less than 70 points on the rubric will be
awarded 0 extra credit points.
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Example Outline of Paper (you do not have to use this outline,
this is just an example of appropriate
paragraphing and section headings if you do not know where to
start)
Title
By FIRST NAME LAST NAME
Introduction

Start writing your introduction here! Make sure I could have a
clear idea of what your entire paper is about, the
examples you will analyze, and how these examples illustrate
science---in---action just by reading your
introduction. Do not include elaborate statements about science
or the world that do not add substance to your
argument.
Example 1: Short, informative, description
• In the first paragraph of this section, start with a brief
description of your second example (citation) and why
you chose it.
• In the next paragraph for this section, address the 1st required
guiding question, analyzing in detail how the
scientists generated new knowledge (include citations of
specific evidence)
• In the next paragraph, address an appropriate guiding
questions that is relevant to your second example
(citations of specific evidence to support analysis of question).
• In the next paragraph, address an appropriate guiding question
that is relevant to your second example
• In the next paragraph for this section, address the 2nd required
guiding question, making explicit connections
between this example and what you learned in lab and the
investigations you conducted (citations of specific
evidence to support connection to lab. ALTERNATIVELY, it
may make more sense to make connections to
BSC1005L as you answer the other three (or more) guiding
questions.

Example 2: Short, informative, description
• In the first paragraph of this section, start with a brief
description of your second example (citation) and why
you chose it.
• In the next paragraph for this section, address the 1st required
guiding question, analyzing in detail how the
scientists generated new knowledge (include citations of
specific evidence)
• In the next paragraph, address an appropriate guiding
questions that is relevant to your second example
• In the next paragraph, address an appropriate guiding question
that is relevant to your second example
• In the next paragraph for this section, address the 2nd required
guiding question, making explicit connections
between this example and what you learned in lab and the
investigations you conducted (citations of specific
evidence to support connection to lab. ALTERNATIVELY, it
may make more sense to make connections to
BSC1005L as you answer the other three (or more) guiding
questions.
Conclusion
Your conclusion should bring together your argument for how
the two examples you selected are the most
appropriate examples of science---in---action from the book you

read. Make sure to summarize the overall take
home message of how these two examples and your experiences
in BSC1005L supported your
understanding of what scientists do, how science is done, and
how new scientific knowledge is generated.
BSC1005L Science-‐in-‐Action Report (up to 100
points)AssignmentApproved books for SIA Analytical Paper:

1 BSC1005L Science---in---Action Report (up to 100 points.docx

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