Grading criteria
Review article - 30% of final grade
During the course of the semester each student will write a review article covering an area of current research in the broad field of biotechnology and prepared in the format of the Current Opinion in Biotechnology/Microbiology/Pharmacology series. The paper must be within the scope of the course and be prepared according to the Instructions to Authors. Broad areas and topics that are suitable for coverage include:
- Biotechnology
- Analytical, chemical, environmental, food, in silico or bioinformatic approaches, plant, pharmaceutical, or protein technologies, commercial enzymes, and biochemical engineering
- Microbiology
- Ecology and industrial microbiology, techniques, host-microbe interactions, microbial classification and identification, microbial diversity, cell regulation, growth and development, antimicrobials, diagnostics, and genomics
- Pharmacology
- Target-centric, focusing on diseases of the cardiovascular, renal, or respiratory systems, cancer, immune disorders, anti-infective agents, diagnostics in personalized medicine, and new screening technologies
As is the case with a manuscript submitted for publication, there are several possible outcomes of the peer-review editorial process. These are: Accept, no revision (grade = 4.0), accept, minor revision (grade = 3.5 to 3.0); accept, major revision (grade = 2.5 to 2.0); reject (grade = 1.5 - 0.0). Evaluation will be based on the quality of science, the ability of the author to explain the science to the reader, and conformance to the style sheet. Grades can be improved by addressing all outstanding issues in the revised manuscript.
In class presentation - 30% of final grade
Each student will present their review paper to the class, in the form of a 10 minute mini-seminar with a 5 min Q&A session. The student will be evaluated on both the technical accuracy of the presentation and the manner in which the paper is presented.
Grades will be based on the ability of the student to clearly present the underlying scientific concepts of their chosen topic. Also factored into the grade will be their organization of the presentation, their preparation and use of visual aids in the presentation, their speaking style, and their response to questions received through the MMG 445 blog.
Scientific/editorial review - 30% of final grade
Students will be assigned as anonymous peer reviewers of four of their classmates' papers/presentations, three of which will count towards their grade. Written reviews must evaluate each manuscript for scientific and technical accuracy, compliance with the Instructions to Authors and overall clarity. Reviewers must provide constructive criticism that will help the author of each paper understand what is required to improve the submitted manuscript as well as convey to the editorial board their recommendations as to whether or not the manuscript is acceptable for publication.
Class participation - 10% of final grade
Viewing of all lectures and student presentations is required and students will be evaluated on their participation (or lack of participation) in the classroom and on the blog. Each student will be expected to be actively engaged in the online discussions of faculty lectures and student presentations and must submit one well thought-out question on the MMG 445 blog within 24 hours of the posting of the lecture or presentation.