To gain and demonstrate expertise in one facet of marine-invertebrate biology, each student will compose a term paper discussing some detailed aspect of the ecology, physiology, functional morphology, or evolutionary biology of an invertebrate taxon that interests the student. Depending on the exact topic, the paper might focus on a single species, a single family, a single phylum, etc. Alternatively, the paper might focus on a single biological process, comparing among different invertebrate taxa. The paper should review present knowledge about the topic (i.e., what’s in the literature) and discuss the student’s original ideas and views concerning future avenues of research relating to the topic. Examples of outstanding Biol 515 term papers from Fall 2001, 2002, and 2003 are posted online (click the box to the left).

http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/classes/biology/bio515/hentschel/index.html

In general, the paper’s length should be about 12-15 double-spaced pages of text (no more than 16 pages) plus literature citations, figures, and tables. The exact length that will be required to adequately address a given topic will vary depending on the topic. Throughout the semester, Dr. Hentschel is available to help each student refine and focus his/her topic appropriately. To ensure that all students practice sound library and writing skills, as well as distributing their effort throughout the semester, the assignment is divided into six components:

1) Selection and description of the topic (10 pts max).
2) Discussion of papers written by previous students (10 pts max)
3) Outline and initial literature references (50 pts max).
4) Complete rough draft of term paper (20 pts max).
5) Written term paper (200 pts max).
6) Peer Reviews of two other students’ term papers (2 at 25 pts each).

The DUE DATES for each component of the term paper are listed in the PDF Term paper Handout (link above).