Homework answers / question archive / BCHM 270 Genetic Disease Term Paper Rationale: The purpose of this assignment is to research a genetic disease to discover its underlying biochemical basis

BCHM 270 Genetic Disease Term Paper Rationale: The purpose of this assignment is to research a genetic disease to discover its underlying biochemical basis

Chemistry

Share With

---

BCHM 270 Genetic Disease Term Paper

Rationale:

The purpose of this assignment is to research a genetic disease to discover its underlying biochemical basis. Students will develop an understanding of the disease and be able to relate this knowledge to module content. Students will develop the skills necessary to perform independent research and evaluate the quality of primary literature, as well as the ability to write about scientific topics required for many healthcare, research, and policy-related careers.

 

What you need to do:

Part 1: Disease Term Paper (First Draft)

You will select or be assigned a genetic disease from the provided list. These diseases are all screened at birth by the Ontario Newborn Screening (NSO) program (https://www.newbornscreening.on.ca/en/disease) and while they are treatable, if undetected they can result in serious developmental issues. You will research your selected disease using primary literature, and construct a written report that describes the disease’s biochemical basis compared to a healthy individual’s biochemistry, explain the biochemical basis of the symptoms observed in the disease, current methods of screening, and the biochemical basis of both current and future treatment options. The report should focus on the biochemistry of the disease and, when possible, draw upon knowledge gained from the course. It should be structured to include an introductory paragraph, several body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph. Figures may be included if it increases the clarity of the report, and you are encouraged to provide them. Be sure to adapt figures and to cite their original source, and refer to them in the text. You may also discuss the report outline and your sources among peers on the appropriate Discussion Forum on your disease topic. The writing should be at a level that a BCHM 270 student should be able to understand.    

 

You will select a disease from the following list:

 

My disease topic: Biotinidase Deficiency

 

You will submit your first draft of your written report to the peer review tool, Feedback Fruits. The draft must be complete enough to allow your reviewers to provide relevant feedback.  Underdeveloped drafts will result in penalties on the reflection in part 3.

 

 

 

Part 2: Peer Review Feedback

 

After submitting the first draft of the written report to Feedback Fruits, each student will be assigned two different peer papers through Feedback Fruits to review and provide constructive feedback in well-developed paragraph(s). This feedback should comment on the report’s clarity and the relevance of information discussed. It should also describe whether the paper is well written, grammatically correct, and that appropriate citations to external literature are made. Students are encouraged to be specific with their feedback and use examples from the report to justify their comments. The feedback which students provide to their peers will be marked by an instructor. You will also assess the paper on the categories listed in the rubric.  You may also provide additional, optional feedback in line or under the rubric categories when you submit it to Feedback Fruits. Please see the instructions for how to complete Peer Review in Feedback Fruits here.

 

Part 3: Final Draft Submission

 

After receiving peer feedback, you will be given time to edit your report so you may incorporate the received feedback as you see fit. After making the desired changes, you will submit the final draft of the report to the Assignment Submission Folder.

 

In addition to the final draft, you will also write a paragraph reflecting on the feedback which you received from your peers. This reflection should include specific examples of feedback provided, and examples of how feedback was used to make changes to the final report. You may also describe why you disregarded the feedback given and why. This reflection paragraph will be due the same date as the final draft, and is to be submitted in a Word document to the appropriate OnQ Assignment Submission Folder. Students receiving only one peer review will not be penalized for only responding to a single peer review. Please include the main paragraphs and/or major comments from the peer reviews you received from your peers in the document, below your reflection paragraph.

 

Specifications:

Genetic Disease Term Paper word limit (excluding references and illustrations): 2000 words.

Peer Review  Feedback word limit: Main feedback paragraph is recommended at 200 words each, may go up to 400 words if necessary.  Inline comments and rubric comments are welcome beyond what is listed in Feedback Fruits, but not required.  These edit suggestions do not count in your word count.

Peer Review Reflection paragraph word limit: 250 words (recommended, not enforced). Note that students who submit empty files or incomplete outlines for peer review will have marks deducted from the peer review reflection.

Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt. or similar, double-spaced to allow inline feedback.

Margins: 1-inch.

Headings and title page are allowed, but not required.

References: In-text citations, American Medical Association (AMA) format (see this website, OWL at Purdue University: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/ama_style/index.html), please include DOI if available.

Figures, if included, should be adapted from the original source and referenced using the same reference style in the figure legend.

Unlike discussion posts and homework assignments, the textbook (including figures) must be cited using AMA format for this assignment like all other references.  Course modules and other tertiary sources like Wikipedia should not be used as references (except for figures).

First draft of the term paper and peer-review feedback to be submitted through Feedback Fruits.

First draft should be named: BCHM270_FIRST_DRAFT_YOURnetID.

Peer reviews will be entirely in Feedback Fruits.  Peer assigned grades in Feedback Fruits will not be counted for points, you are assessed on the quality of the feedback that you give on your papers assigned for you to review on a separate rubric in the gradebook.

Peer review reflection paragraph is to be submitted as a Word Document (.doc or .docx) to the appropriate Assignment Submission Folder in the following format: BCHM270_FeedbackReflection_YourNetID.

Final written report submitted as a Word Document (.doc or .docx) to the appropriate Assignment Submission Folder in the following format: BCHM270_FinalDraft_YourNetID.