One of the major assignments in this program is the Species Account. The purposes of this assignment are: (1) to familiarize you with some interesting tropical organisms, (2) to develop skills in using the primary scientific literature, (3) to practice technical scientific writing, and (4) to explore artistic representations of these organisms.
The technical write-up of the Species Account will follow this outline:
I. Phylum/Division, Class, Order, Family, Species Name
II. Taxonomy, Systematics, Geography
III. Ecology, Natural History
IV. Cultural/Economic Importance
V. Literature Cited
There will be a strict page limit of 3 pages.
Each student will be assigned a latin name, either the genus or full species name of a tropical organism. Each of these organisms has some human cultural significance. You will be set loose at 10:30, and you will have until noon to find out what you can about your species (most importantly what it is). At noon we will reconvene for a "Species Mixer." You will mingle with your classmates, being introduced to their species. At this time you are free to trade species amongst yourselves. No substitutions please. Some refreshments will be available, and you are welcome to bring a lunch.
During the mixer you will form groups of 4 students each, to act as peer review groups. There will be sign-up sheets where you can register your group.
At the beginning of seminar on week 2 you will submit a formal bibliography containing 5 references from the primary scientific literature. These will be followed with a paragraph briefly stating how each reference is relevant to your species. The 5 references must be in a standard scientific citation format. These will be returned on Thursday.
At the beginning of seminar on week 3 you will submit a first draft to Jack, and copies to two members of your peer-review group. This version will not be edited by faculty, but just kept for the record. Peer-reviewers should return their reviewed manuscripts to the authors by Thursday.
At the beginning of seminar on week 4 you will submit your second draft and your peer-reviewed copies to Jack.
At the beginning of seminar on week 5 Jack will return the edited manuscripts.
At the beginning of seminar on week 6 your final version is due.
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA. longinoj@evergreen.edu
Susan Aurand, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA. aurands@evergreen.edu
Last modified: 30 December 1999