What is the time commitment required for this course?
This directed study course involves a student workload of a minimum of 45 hours work per credit (total workload for the entire semester). Some of this effort involves consultation with the faculty member who is directing the study and the remainder would be time spent by the student reading appropriate literature, and writing/rewriting the summary report.

How does assigning a significant amount of writing serve the purpose of this course?
Students will have the opportunity to write a review article on a topic in their discipline of interest. They will learn to survey the current literature in a specific area of research, organize the data available relevant to the research topic, and effectively communicate this information in their paper. Also, students will draw conclusions from their investigation of the research topic and suggest directions for future research.

What types of writing (e.g., research essays, formal lab reports, journaling) are likely to be assigned?
Students will be required to write a 10-15 page paper in the format of a scientific review article. An extensive survey of the literature will be required in order to present the most current information in the selected research area. This paper will contain an introduction that presents an overview of the research topic and several subsections that describe aspects of the topic in detail. The conclusion section will summarize the information presented in the review article, comment on its significance, and propose future research directions. Articles from the literature or other reference sources that were cited in the paper will be listed in the Reference section.

What types of instruction will students receive on the writing aspect of the assignments?
Students will receive general guidelines on writing a scientific review article that outlines the sections to be included. A recently published review article in the student's research area will serve as a model. The mentor will help guide the student in selection of an appropriate topic to be reviewed and be available for discussions. Throughout preparation of the initial drafts of the paper, the mentor will advise the student with regard to organization and presentation of the information (graphs, diagrams, tables, etc.). The mentor will read the draft of the paper and comment on format, content, and writing style. The student will then prepare a final version of the review article based on the mentor's comments.

How do students' grades depend on their writing performance?
This course will be graded pass/fail. The final grade will be based on successful completion of the review article.

The following is a sample assignment handout for a paper that students will revise and resubmit after receiving feedback on the initial draft.:
The writing assignment will involve the preparation of a 10-15 page paper that will be written in the format of a review article. The paper will include the following: a. Title b. Author c. Table of Contents d. Introduction. The introduction will summarize the research topic to be reviewed and the significance of this area of research. e. Subsections. The reviewed material will be organized into subsections. Each subsection will present background and current information related to a particular aspect of the research topic. f. Conclusions and Future Research. This section will summarize the information presented in the review article and propose future experiments that would address unanswered questions or new directions in that research area. g. Acknowledgements. The student will acknowledge any help received from others in preparation of the paper. h. References. The journal articles, books, etc. that were cited as references in the paper will be listed in this section.