TERM PAPER: TRENDS IN ECOLOGY IN EVOLUTION (TREE)
For this assignment, you will be preparing a mock submission to the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution, called TREE for short. This journal publishes reviews that summarize the current scientific understanding about a hot topic in ecology. The style is somewhat like a news article that summarizes the research work of others, rather than focusing on original experimental results. This is the perfect format to explore the current work in a topic that you are interested in.
The term paper assignment is divided into several parts that take place throughout the semester.
First and foremost, you must choose a question that you are interested in researching. This can be something related to your graduate research, but also doesn't have to be related at all. It should relate to some current topic or debate involving the nature of tropical ecosystems.
Second, you are required to complete an annotated bibliography and make a brief (5 min) presentation to the class about your topic of choice.
Third, you will submit a copy of your paper to the editors (professors Schuur and Kitajima), and it will be sent out for anonymous review (by your fellow classmates).
Fourth, you will receive a copy of a term paper from one of your classmates. You will provide a critical review of the term paper in the form of 1-3 pages of detailed notes to the author. You will return those notes to the 'editors' along with a 1 page cover letter and a ratings sheet briefly summarizing your overall review.
Lastly, you will have a chance to revise your paper using the notes from the anonymous reviews along with additional notes from the editors. This finished version of the paper will be due at the end of the term.
TERM PAPER MATERIALS: PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE FOLLOWING MATERIALS FOR CLASS, WED 2/4.
Download guidelines for starting your term paper and annotated bibliography here. This document contains some hints on how to come up with a term paper topic, and how to begin your annotated bibliography.
Download an example of an annotated bibliography here. The example is a very long and complete version. For this class, your annotated bibliography will be shorter and must include a minimum of 12 references.
Download the guidelines for the term paper here. This is what is expected for this class, based on the elements that TREE articles contain.
Download some sample TREE articles here: 1, 2, 3. This is the best way to understand the format and content of TREE articles. We will follow the format of the more recent papers, since the TREE style has changed a bit through time. You can find more examples online at the UF library web site.