Biology 104
General Biology II
Internet Exercise:
Human Disease
As we look at the different sections of animal biology, I will make occasional references to various diseases or conditions that arise when some part of the animal body is not functioning properly. But I may not touch on your favorite disease. This exercise will allow you to find out more about something that is of interest to you through the Internet. You will gather information through one of two routes and then write a paper on what you have found.
I would like you to look up either a disease (caused by a virus, by bacteria, or other pathogen) or a condition caused by abnormal body functioning (like asthma or diabetes). That does not include injuries, so please don’t choose broken bones or torn ligaments!
Route A: Search Engines. Use this route if you already know what you want to write about. Try Google (www.google.com) first, because it searches millions of pages, and allows you to search within results so you can keep narrowing your focus. Once you get some pages that look worthwhile, start taking notes and keeping track of their URLs (Internet addresses). Or use other search engines, such as Yahoo (www.yahoo.com), AltaVista (www.altavista.com), etc. Note: Be careful to use reputable sources, ones that are not trying to sell you something. The most reliable are ones whose addresses end in .edu or .gov or .org. Avoid “dot-coms” hoping to convince you that their product is the cure!
Route B: Browse Reliable Web Sites. Three reputable sites are listed below. In each case, if you choose Health Topics you will be led to an alphabetical list of diseases and conditions.
Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/
National Institutes of Health Medline http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
Amer. Academy of Family Physicians http://familydoctor.org
Once you have gathered the information, organize it in a coherent form. Put similar material together before you start writing. Do not simply copy what you have found! I expect most of the words to be yours, not those of your sources. If you must use your source’s words, put them in quotation marks (“ ”) and indicate the source of the information. At the end of the paper, include a Sources section and list the sites that you visited and actually used. The format for citations is indicated on the back of this sheet.
You should be able to get enough information for a four-to-five-page paper, double-spaced, with one-inch margins. The assignment will be worth 30 points (see Grading Rubric).
Within the body of your text:
(Author, Year if known)
Example: (National Center for Infectious Diseases, 2003)
If you do not know the author or the year, use the title.
Under Sources (at the end of your paper):
Author, Year of publication on the web. “Title of the Page.” Full web address. (Date visited)
Search the page for some indication of author; if there is not a person, perhaps there is an organization listed. Look also for some indication of update or date of publication. If there is nothing, use the year of your visit. The title should be at the top of the page.
Example: National Center for Infectious Diseases. 2003. “Influenza: The Disease” http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/flu/fluinfo.htm (3 February 2003)
Plagiarism (from the SAU Student Handbook)
Simple plagiarism is occasionally using words or ideas from outside sources without documenting the sources. As a penalty, the instructor may require the work to be resubmitted with documentation and/or require the student to work on documentation at the Student Success Center.
Aggravated plagiarism is purchasing a paper, having another person write a paper, or extensive copying of words or ideas from outside sources without documentation. Penalties range from resubmitting the assignment to receiving a grade of F for the course.
Grading Rubric
Form and Mechanics (10 pts)
Content (20 pts)