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Pathology Report

(Worth 100 points)

Research and write a paper about a pathological condition that affects one of the anatomy and physiology systems that we are studying this semester.    The paper must be about any of the following systems: Integumentary, skeletal, muscle and nervous.

If the paper is on a system that is not covered in AP I the paper will lose 50 points off the top.

It is very important that students learn to follow instructions. Chose your own topic, however if you are not sure it is acceptable: ask! 

ALL SUBJECTS MUST BE CLEARED THROUGH ME AND LISTED ON THE DISCUSSION BOARD AS BEING OKAYED.

Your paper is expected to be written at Level 4 of the Essential Methods of Expression Through Performance and Production (www.octcs.kctcs.edu/expectations)

Professional sources only:  WEBMD, NEWRx, Wikipedia, etc articles will NOT be allowed.

I.                   Your paper should include:

a.       A complete analysis of the condition and the physiology that is affected. Do not say it applies to AP because it should be obvious.

b.      An analysis of the prognosis with and without treatment.

c.       How the condition is diagnosed

d.      Where is the research headed (are there any discoveries on the horizon)

e.       Any connected issue that applies (i.e. genetics, precursor conditions, social issues, history of discovery and treatment. etc.)

f.       All passages must be cited in APA style only (-15 points if material is not cited in the body of the paper) There should not be any paragraphs that do not have citations (author, year).  You can not cite a source on the reference page that is not cited in the body of the paper.

II.                What Qualifies as a Source

a.                  Do not use encyclopedias.  This includes WIKEPEDIA The information in an encyclopedia becomes outdated fast.  There are more than enough databases for you to work with.

b.                  No personnel interviews.  Having a disease or being a Health Occupation worker does not make a person an expert.

c.                   A medical dictionary does not count as one of the 5 primary sources.

d.                  The textbook does not count as one of the 5 primary sources.

e.                   No more than one of the 5 references should be an Internet site.  That refers to personal or group sites.  Professional journals (ie Nursing, New England Journal of Medicine etc) that are found on-line are not Internet sources.  They are referenced as journals.  If there are more than 5 references the additional ones can be internet sites. 

III.             Cite the paper using the APA.  Attribute specific material by using parentheses at the end of the passage that includes the authors name and the pages that the material came from.  (Last name of the author, year)  This occurs before the period. Follow the APA Format handout.  The paper is not required to have references from each category.

In the body of the paper cite all quotes and information even if it is not directly quoted must be cited with the author’s last name followed by the year.  If there is more than one author use the term et. al. it means “and others”. ie.  (Smith, et. al. 2004).  You must cite all information from a source not just the quotes. Do not use Dr. X says ”…”  statements

Only APA style will be accepted.  All other styles will lose up to -15 points.

IV.             Presentation of the paper:

a.       It must be well documented at the end of passages from specific sources (Author's name and year) and it must have a separate reference page. (The reference page is not part of the  page count) These are technical papers you will need more than a couple of references in the body of the paper. Papers that are poorly referenced in the body of the paper will lose -15 points.  Cite all sources in the body of the paper.

b.      It must be stapled together. Unstapled papers lose 5 points Do not bother with a fancy cover. 

c.       Papers must be 12 font New Roman type.  I would also like page numbers. 

d.      Do not skip extra after the paragraphs.  It looks silly in a double spaced paper.  I will take points for extra spaces between lines.

e.       All tables and pictures must be added as appendixes after the reference page and do not count as a regular page.

f.       Do not bullet information in the body of the paper.  Include it in the paragraph and in sentence format. Using bullets or long lists in a paper makes it look like you are trying to stretch the paper.

g.      Do not staple your sources to the paper.  Just use a reference page.

 I am interested in professional, technical and concise papers.  Grading will reflect how well the paper is written and researched, however, to receive a grade the paper must meet at least these qualifications.

·         a 5  page paper with 5 references can qualify for an A (100%)

·         a 4 page paper or 5 pages with less than  10 lines on the last page with 4 references will not receive a grade higher than B (85%)

·         a 3 page paper or 4 pages with less than 10 lines on the last page with 3 references will not receive a grade higher than a C (75%)

DO NOT TURN IN ANYTHING LESS THAN 3 COMPLETE PAGES.  Anything less will receive 1 point.  You cannot rewrite a paper and increase its length. There is no punishment for long papers 

An order to count as a page the last page must be at least 20 lines long. Anything less will not count as a page.  I do count lines.  Title pages and references pages do not count as pages.  If you needed some ideas on additional material that you can include you can come and talk to me.

Summary: In addition to the scoring that was listed on the Rules for Writing a Good Science Paper & APA FORMAT I will remove points for the following.

Checklist