Come to class
be prepared
ask questions
challenge your classmates, challenge me.

Re-write two poorly written paragraphs
Eliminate passive voice whenever possible. Hand this in by email, with track changes ON. Put word count at the bottom.

• Research Paper. De Giorgio et al., (2008). Human stem cells and ALS
• Research Paper. Lepper, 2011. An absolute requirement for Pax7-positive satellite cells...
• Research Paper. Lepper, 2009: Adult satellite cells and embryonic muscle progenitors have distinct genetic requirements
• Research article: Henriquez, et al., 2008.Wnt Signaling promotes AChR aggregation at the neuromuscular synapse in collaboration with agrin.

Format: The summary should be in the style of a Nature News and Views article (examples: A mouse is not a cow, and The right neighbors). Take a look at each of those two summaries, not for their content, but for their organization and level of technical detail (I spell this out below). Note that these are written to be understood by a generally literate biologist (like you!). Assume your reader has NOT read the paper, your summary must be self-contained.

1. The first paragraph should be a general introduction: 1 or 2 sentences of very broad introduction, then 1 or 2 sentences of slightly more specific introduction, then a one-sentence summary of the general issue/question that the research paper addresses ("When do cells commit to becoming one or the other, and how?"), and then a one-sentence summary of the general answer ("...the answers to these questions are not the same for mice and cattle."). Your introduction should give a context to your question (and hopefully interest the reader in its answer). This introduction and question are not specific to this particular research paper, but are more broadly relevant.
2. The next 1 to 2 paragraphs should provide a more specific introduction to this particular research paper. Present the most important details necessary to understand the specific question being addressed. Here you will introduce specific cell types, genes, and sometimes specific techniques.
3. The next 4 - 8 paragraphs should present the important results of the research paper. Describe what you think the most important experiments are (importance is created/defined by your phrasing of the question(s) you think the authors are addressing). Your description of the experiments should be specific, but not technical ("To establish the relative importance of the various SCF-producing cells in HSC growth, Ding et al. developed a mouse model in which the Scf gene could be replaced with a gene encoding green fluorescent protein, in all or in selected cell types, at different times during the animal’s life. In this way, cells that would normally express Scf became fluorescent instead. Using this mouse model, Ding et al. found ..."). Your reader wants to know what the experiment was, but will look at the original paper for the exact transgenes and knockouts and genetic recombinations.
4. The last 1-2 paragraphs should again be broad. Present the larger conclusions, the new or revised questions that the paper raises, what the paper might mean for the broader field of muscle/nerve, or of medicine or biology. [Note that mouse-not-cow intersperses some of this within the central 4-8 paragraphs. This is also a perfectly good organization.]
5. You need to give at least one citation (the paper you are summarizing), and probably at least two (a general review for the background), or a reference to related work. Use a citation and bibliography format that you have seen in one of the assigned research papers or the Nature News and Views.

Print double-spaced, put the number of words on the top of the first page.
16 different writers will come up with 16 different views of the same research paper, and I am interested in YOURS! Frame your question and its introduction and answer in a way that emphasizes what YOU think is important.