Here are the general guidelines for the assignment. The basic objective is to give you an
opportunity to communicate science to a reader who is not as knowledgeable as you. From my
(pedagogical) viewpoint, this is a way to give you an opportunity to make science accessible to
someone whose background is not science. By using a first year science student as the target
audience, you can assume they have a reasonable understanding of the basic mechanisms of
photosynthesis (so no need to review the 'basic equations and processes' of photosynthesis, just
delve into your topic with minimal introduction).

I prefer hand-written. I think it helps avoid 'copy/paste syndrome' (it's <u>your voice</u> I want
to hear) and makes it easier to integrate diagrams and graphs (which your professor always finds
helpful).

Students always want to know how long the assignment should be. For any topic that you choose, I
think that 4-6 pages would be sufficient. Longer (but not excessive length!) is fine, less than four
pages is probably too short.

Because of the nature of the assignment, the rubric will be fairly general. Described in order of
descending importance: Mastery of the topic. That is, how well you understand the topic you are
explaining. Then, your ability to explain the material effectively. That is, logical flow and
clarity. Finally, writing is a craft. Your craftsmanship improves with experience, so grammatical
skill and writing style will also be considered.

Please be aware that you should be working from a single source. You will need to reference your
source formally. If you need to refer to some material in your textbook (or lecture notes);
referencing 'Lawlor textbook', pages __-__, or 'Lew lecture notes on ____________', pages __-__ is
fine.