20 Aug The purpose of this assignment is to reinforce your understanding of evolutionary theory and related concepts, and to help you practice communicating knowledge.
The purpose of this assignment is to reinforce your understanding of evolutionary theory and related concepts, and to help you practice communicating knowledge. Clear communication is an important skill not just in anthropology or other academic disciplines, but for any number of jobs when you’re explaining an idea (or set of ideas) to other people.
Skills
This assignment will help you practice the following skills:
Module-level objective 1.1: You will be able to differentiate among several concepts central to evolutionary theory (e.g., mutation, gene flow, genetic drift).
Module-level objective 1.2: You will be able to identify examples of concepts from evolutionary theory in current scientific literature or news stories.
Module-level objective 1.3: You will be able to describe research findings in biological anthropology using terms from evolutionary theory.
Tasks
Search the internet for a recent (past few years is fine) scientific journal article or news article that relates a research finding in biological anthropology (anything about human ecology/biology, human evolution, or about non-human primates, basically!). The example should be related to one of the evolutionary theory concepts we learned about (mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, natural selection, selection pressures, etc.). For example, your article or news story could be about some new genetic mutation that has been discovered in humans, or about the lack of gene flow in some non-human primate species that is causing declining genetic diversity.
Provide a paragraph to page-long summary of the findings, being sure to point out how the finding is an example of the evolutionary concept we learned about. This requires that you fully explain the evolutionary concept to show that you understand it along with the research finding.
Be sure to provide the link to the recent news story or article.
Criteria for Success
Be sure that the article or news story is from a reputable source. A blog post by a non-expert is not a reputable source! Good sources include websites supported by academic journals (Nature, Science, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, American Journal of Primatology, Evolutionary Anthropology, etc.), museums, universities (summary pages of faculty research findings), organizations (such as National Geographic), or newspapers (e.g., New York Times).
This is a graded assignment worth 8 POINTS (out of a possible 105 points you can earn in the class). Please refer to the rubric for how the assignment will be graded.
A successful assignment will be in the student’s own words, and will clearly explain how the research finding links to one of the evolutionary concepts learned. You will need to paraphrase what they found (summarize in your own words); we do not use quotes in biological anthropology scientific writing. An unsuccessful response is one that does not summarize the research finding in the student’s own words, does not attempt to link the research finding to an evolutionary concept, or has many spelling and/or grammatical errors.
Rubric
Rubric for Research Article/News Story Writing Assignment
Rubric for Research Article/News Story Writing Assignment
Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeWas write-up in your own words?Be sure not to plagiarize! Summary must be written in student’s own words.
2.0 pts
Full Marks
Written in own words.
0.0 pts
No Marks
Not in own words.
2.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDid you provide the link to the article/story?Student must provide the link to show where the article/story was obtained.
2.0 pts
Full Marks
Link provided from a reputable source.
0.0 pts
No Marks
No link provided, or comes from a disreputable source (blog, wikipedia – often times, info is incorrect there!).
2.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeProofreading/clarityMinimal/no typos?
1.0 pts
Full marks
No or minimal grammatical errors or misspellings.
0.0 pts
No Marks
Proofreading was not done, and writing contains many grammatical errors and/or typos.
1.0 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeNew research finding is explained and linked to evolutionary concept, which is also explained.
3.0 pts
Full Marks
A clear explanation is provided for both the research finding and the evolutionary concept it is linked to (or is an example of).
2.0 pts
Something is missing
The link between the research finding and the evolutionary concept is missing – or the research finding is not an example of (or not linked to) the concept named, though an attempt is made to explain both.
0.0 pts
No marks
Student neglects to explain the current research finding, or does not explain the evolutionary concept it is connected to.
3.0 pts
Total Points: 8.0
Our website has a team of professional writers who can help you write any of your homework. They will write your papers from scratch. We also have a team of editors just to make sure all papers are of HIGH QUALITY & PLAGIARISM FREE. To make an Order you only need to click Ask A Question and we will direct you to our Order Page at WriteDemy. Then fill Our Order Form with all your assignment instructions. Select your deadline and pay for your paper. You will get it few hours before your set deadline.
Fill in all the assignment paper details that are required in the order form with the standard information being the page count, deadline, academic level and type of paper. It is advisable to have this information at hand so that you can quickly fill in the necessary information needed in the form for the essay writer to be immediately assigned to your writing project. Make payment for the custom essay order to enable us to assign a suitable writer to your order. Payments are made through Paypal on a secured billing page. Finally, sit back and relax.