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Hypothyroidism in pregnancy
BIO-131 Writing Your Literature Review
A. Know what the assignment is. A literature review is a
review of recent peer-reviewed journal articles on a selected
topic in anatomy and/or physiology that is part of one of the
systems studied this semester in your anatomy and
physiology course.
1. Minimum number of peer-reviewed sources: Three or
more. Textbooks, web sites, or other non-journal articles
are not peer-reviewed sources. Peer-reviewed articles
from scientific journals are the only type of acceptable
source for information used in this assignment.
2. How current must the sources be? Publications from one
of the following years are acceptable for this assignment:
2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2120. Older sources are
“out-of-date” for scientific purposes and your assignment
is to review the “current” state of scientific knowledge on
your topic.
3. Type of writing: integrative and synthetic. This means
you need to relate what different scientists have found out
about your topic so that you can compare, contrast, and
relate the content of your articles to each other. It is not
enough to summarize the three articles (but that may be a
helpful first step as you begin the writing process). You
need to note patterns, assumptions, gaps in present
knowledge, different approaches to a question, or ideas
for future research.
4. Audience: college students like yourself. Define any
terms that a typical college student would find unfamiliar in
a concise statement.
5. Page requirement: Approximately five pages, not
including the title page and the literature cited
page. Doing a good job of handling the content is more
important than a specific word or page length. Papers
shorter than 4 full pages are not acceptable for this
assignment. Do not submit short papers for review or for a
grade.
6. Font and spacing: Use Times New Roman 12 font with
double spacing.
B. Narrow your topic. Term paper topic and three peer
reviewed articles you are considering using as sources
for your paper are due to the instructor no later than
beginning of class on Tuesday February 18, 2020 (note
this is a later date than is found in the syllabus). This
needs to be typed and printed. The following items need
to be included:
a. name of student
b. the course name, number, and section letter
c. date assignment is due (February 18)
d. a minimum of 3 peer-reviewed journal articles listed
in APA format
APA format in this course must include:
1. Names of all authors (if you cannot find the
author, it is not a peer-reviewed journal article and is
unsuitable to use as a scientific reference in this course).
2. Year of publication (if you cannot find the year
of publication, the article is unsuitable to use as a scientific
reference in this course).
3. Title of journal article (check APA style on use
of upper and lower case letters in the title). Do not use
italics or quotation marks.
4. Name of scientific journal in italics
5. Volume of journal in italics. If the source has
the issue number of the journal, please include that but
remember it is NOT italicized.
6. Page numbers on which the article can be
found in the published journal.
7. The first 6 items immediately above are
REQUIRED. If you cannot find this information, move on
to a different reference for your paper. The DOI (digital
object I.D.) is optional for references in this class and would
be in addition to the format items required above. It does not
substitute for any of the 6 required items above.
Before you submit your chosen topic for approval by the
instructor, it is important that you check the peer-reviewed
sources of information on your subject. The tendency is to
pick a broad topic like “diseases of the cardiovascular
system.” One cannot scratch the surface of such topics in
approximately 5 pages. See the reference librarians (Stacey
McKenna, Janell Verdream, Katie Blocksidge, or John
Crissinger) in the Warner Library for assistance in locating
peer-reviewed sources. We have available hundreds of
thousands of articles through our CINAHL database (see
logging into the CINAHL database under the Writing
Assignment tab on Moodle).
C. Plan your paper. The paper may begin with a quick review
of why the topic is important to you and the reason you
chose to research it. This should take only 1-2
sentences. As stated earlier, the body of the paper should
not be a simple summary of three separate
publications. You need to show that you studied and
understood the content of the papers by integrating them
through discussion of areas of similarities and differences or
through the investigated details of the subject. Your goal is
to bring the articles together to better understand the
current status of your chosen topic and to convey this
knowledge to your readers. The body of the paper is the
longest part. The paper should end with a brief conclusion
that may include not only a summary of the ideas in your
chosen references, but also a mention of where gaps in
research exist or what future research is suggested by the
status of science at the present time. Avoid using casual
terms in your paper that typically are used in oral
communication such as “I,” “you,” “your,” etc. Do not say
“your body” but rather use a phrase such as “the body” or
“human body.” Eliminate any jargon or slang. Make sure to
communicate ideas without being overly simplistic or
esoteric. Rephrase anything that is ambiguous or too
wordy. Remember that scientific writing is succinct, saying
the most with the fewest words. Choose words to give
precise meanings with clarity to avoid confusion. Do not
repeat the same idea. Scientific writing explains an idea
clearly and then moves on to the next idea. Do not “pad” the
paper with unnecessary words. Grades will involve your
ability to convey information clearly without repetition.
D. Remember to use evidence. Do not use ANY quotations
in your paper since the assignment is to combine ideas from
multiple sources by using your own words. Remember that
with our present computer technology, it is very easy for
instructors to use available plagiarism detection resources
that require only submitting the student’s work. Within
minutes, the instructor receives the returned term paper with
areas marked as to the original source of phrases or
sentences from the published literature. You are required to
submit your paper to turnitin.com. Do not submit a rough
draft but rather submit your final draft to check for areas that
need to be changed since they are too similar to published
material. Your paper should be your own words backed by
the research of professional scientists. Be sure to
paraphrase and summarize your sources by accurately
representing the author’s information in your own
words. You will be citing your references but NOT quoting
them. Relate the research findings to the content of your
review.
E. Formatting guidelines. Make sure your paper meets not
only content guidelines but also formatting guidelines. Write
your paper following APA (American Psychological
Association) format. This is required. On the Moodle site,
there is a link to the OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue.
This site summarizes and illustrates proper APA format. Do
NOT use MLA format for this scientific literature review. All
references must include an internal (in-text) citation as
well as be part of the Literature Cited page at the end of the
paper.
F. Rough Draft Review. Once you have found your articles
and written a rough draft, it is time to proofread your
paper. Check for errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation,
etc. Do not attempt to proofread immediately after
completing the rough draft. The brain needs some
separation in time from the work so that errors or rough
areas are recognized. A different set of eyes may find
mistakes that you do not see since you know what you
intended to say (even if that is not what is written on the
paper). You will need to sit down and spend time with a
writing tutor reviewing your rough draft at the Writing Center
in Room 214 of Warner no later than Thursday March 26,
2020. Remember that just before the due date, the tutors
will have very limited time available since many students
from different courses will need help at the same time.
Submit your rough draft a week earlier than the due date to
get more assistance from the tutors. Their hours this
semester are 9-7 M-Th and 11-4 on Friday. The tutors there
will review your work and offer suggestions for improvement
but YOU MUST BE THERE. You WILL NOT drop off your
rough draft. For the best result, the rough draft needs to be a
minimum of 5 pages and the best job you are able to do on
your own. The tutors will NOT write your paper for you.
They will not find every example of an error in your paper.
They will discuss areas of potential revision to improve the
paper. You will need to acquire their form that will
summarize their suggestions for improvement. This signed
and dated form will be stapled to the end of the final hard
copy paper that will be turned in along with an electronic
copy of the paper no later than the beginning of class time
on Thursday April 9, 2020. This assignment is worth 100
points.
Literature Review Rubric
Grading of Assignment:
The following rubric will be used to assess your literature review.
Rating in points awarded
20
10
Articles
(current = 2016 or later)
Body of Paper
Organization/Structure
(5 pages before the
literature cited and after
the title page)
Introduction
Conclusions
Reference Page/Literature
Cited (All articles must have
5
0
Information is
gathered from at least
3 current peer
reviewed journal
articles.
Well organized,
demonstrates logical
sequencing and
structure. Free of
errors in spelling,
punctuation, and
grammar. Margins,
font, and line-spacing
are all properly
formatted. Words are
chosen for their
precise meaning and
appropriateness.
Sentence style is
appropriate for a
literature review;
sentences are varied,
carefully structured,
and focused. Guides
the reader through the
chain of reasoning or
progression of ideas.
Aim and scope are
given and topic is
introduced, rationale is
explained.
Information is
gathered from 2
current peer
reviewed journal
articles.
Well organized,
but demonstrates
illogical
sequencing or
structure.
Information is
gathered from 1
current peer
reviewed journal
articles.
Weakly organized
with no logical
sequencing or
structure.
Information is gathered
from no peer reviewed
journal articles.
Aim and scope are
given and topic is
introduced,
rationale is not
explained.
Aim and scope are
not given, topic is
introduced, and
rationale is not
explained.
Aim and scope are not
given, topic is
introduced, and
rationale is not
explained.
Detailed conclusions
are reached from the
evidence offered.
Comparisons or
contrasts are
highlighted. Concisely
summarizes major
points.
Information is cited
properly and contains
Conclusions are
reached from the
evidence offered.
Not all major
points are
summarized.
There is some
indication of
conclusions
from evidence
offered.
No conclusions are
made from the
evidence offered.
Information is
cited properly but
Information is
cited, but has more
Information is not cited
or is cited incorrectly.
No organization,
sequencing, or
structure apparent.
an in-text citation as well as be
included in the final reference
list.)
no errors in APA
format.
has an error in
APA format..
than one error in
APA format..
Here are 20 types of errors that I have seen in student papers. Each error will reduce the score received
on the writing assignment. Check your paper that you do not make any of these errors.
1.
2.
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5.
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8.
9.
10.
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12.
13.
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15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Lack of complete sentence structure.
Repeating information: scientific writing is concise.
Lack of subject/verb agreement in tense.
Incorrect use of possessives.
Spelling errors.
Dangling prepositions.
Punctuation errors.
Separate page for references with heading.
Used informal terms like “you” or “your” in a formal scientific paper. Do NOT!
Capitalization should be reserved for proper names or beginning a new sentence.
Incorrect in-text citations. All in-text citations need to be a part of the sentence to which they
refer. When a period is placed before the citation, it becomes an “orphan” citation that is not a
part of any sentence. Periods should go after in-text citations to include them in the sentence
composed using the cited information.
Cannot omit authors and choose to use only the name of the first author. Need to use “et. al”
when appropriate. See OWL examples.
Literature cited needs to be in ABC order of last names of the first authors of articles.
All sources cited in the paper must be in the literature cited list.
All references listed in the literature cited list must have an in-text citation in the paper.
Names and dates of publications must agree when in-text citations are compared to those in the
literature cited list.
Sentence structure is confusing or missing needed information.
Lack of paper documentation of rough draft review before the deadline date
Lack of submission of paper to Turn It In to check for plagiarism
NO quotations are allowed in this paper since the assignment is to put ideas into your own
words
Have fun researching a topic you chose. If you are interested in the subject, you will do a better job of
finding information. Choose an area that stimulates your curiosity. Remember the library has millions
of sources available to it. Ask the reference librarians or the tutors in the Writing Center if you need
help. Your goal is to make your final paper something of which you can be proud. It should have
significantly contributed to your understanding of the current state of knowledge about your topic.
You should ask any general questions about the paper or particular inquires about an aspect of your
topic. I will review and grade the final paper.
