BIOTECHNOLOGY
This quarter, you will complete a project which will culminate in a 5–6 page paper on an established or
emerging biotechnology. The project covers both the biological basis of the technology, as well as its
benefits, drawbacks, and ethical aspects. The project is broken down into four stages, with deliverables
due at each stage. In the final stage, you will combine your previous work, edited according to the
feedback you’ve received, into one coherent final paper.
? Assignment 1: Biotechnology Article – This first assignment, and the entire project, begins with
your selection of one article about a particular biotechnology. Subsequent assignments will build
on this first assignment, and thus extend your research on the same biotechnology. In
Assignment 1, you will summarize the article you’ve chosen (your “target article”), and address
some additional issues about how your article relates to the course, to your life, and to the
funding of ongoing research.
? Assignment 2: Biological basis – In the second assignment, you will explain what your chosen
biotechnology accomplishes and how it is implemented, and describe the body of knowledge that
it is based upon. Your overall goal in this assignment is to show that you understand the
underlying science behind the technology.
? Assignment 3: Benefits, Drawbacks and Ethical Aspects – In the third assignment, you will look at
your technology in more depth to analyze the pros and cons, and to also consider any ethical
issues that arise from the technology.
? Assignment 4: Biotech paper – You will pull this final paper together using edited pieces from
Assignments 1, 2, and 3, along with an additional section providing your personal viewpoint and
summation. The result should be a coherent paper on the biotechnology you’ve chosen.
Assignment 4: BIOTECHNOLOGY PAPER
Due in week 9 and worth 80 points
In this assignment, you will integrate new material written specifically for Assignment 4, with
appropriately-edited material from Assignments 1, 2, 3, to form a coherent final paper. Please organize
your paper into sections corresponding to the following requirements:
1. Introduction. Introduce your biotechnology using appropriately-edited excerpts from Assignments
1 and 2. Explain what the technology accomplishes, as well as your interest in it.
2. Biological basis. Using appropriately edited material from Assignment 2, provide a full and
complete description of exactly how the technology works, as well as the key biological principles
that underlie the technology.
3. Social and ethical implications. Using appropriately-edited material from Assignment 3, provide
an analysis of the social and ethical implications of your chosen biotechnology. Use an honestbroker,
even-handed approach, without disclosing your personal opinion..
4. Personal viewpoint. In this section, use what you’ve presented in the previous sections of your
paper to explain and justify your opinion about the technology. This will provide a final
summation and conclusion. [Note: do not bring up new issues in this section. Instead, refer to
issues you’ve covered. If you think of new issues, then add them to one of the earlier sections].
Use at least 4 quality resources in this assignment. You must have a reference section which contains an
SWS reference to all of your sources. Additionally, you must provide in-text citations (in SWS format) to
your references in the body of the text. Integrate all sources into your paper using proper techniques of
quoting, paraphrasing and summarizing, along with your in-text citations.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
This course requires use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The format is different than other Strayer
University courses. Please take a moment to review the SWS documentation for details.
Double-space your paper. Use standard margins and fonts. Also, follow any additional formatting
instructions provided by your instructor.
Objectives evaluated by this assessment:
1. Categorize a wide range of organisms, from single-celled to multi-celled organisms.
2. Describe how organisms acquire and utilize both energy and material.
3. Describe the cell cycle, cell reproduction and control.
4. Investigate DNA and gene expression as well as technologies based on our understanding of
them.
5. Discuss interactions between organisms in ecosystems.