Download You are also welcome to suggest your own topic

SUGGESTED TOPICS
(You are also welcome to suggest your own topic)
- Physiology and diversity of photoheterotrophic bacteria
- The ecology and function of photoheterotrophic bacteria in the ecosystem
- Relationships between resource availability and microbial diversity
- Links between microbial diversity and ecosystem functioning
- Microbiology of deep-sea hydrothermal vents
- Microbiology of the deep bedrock biosphere
- The species concept and the ecotype concept in microbiology
- Microorganisms as model systems in ecological research
- Diversity and ecology of Prochlorococcus- dominant autotroph in the Sea
- Microbial predators-eukaryotes
- Effects of grazers and viruses on bacterial diversity
- Microbial motility in nature
- Microbial seed banks
- Sensing the environment: chemical communication in microorganisms
- Microbial survival under starvation conditions
- How do microbial communities respond to environmental changes?
- Challenges and opportunities in environmental metagenomics
- Challenges and opportunities in single cell genomics
- Fighting infections with bacteriophages
- Phage and the origin of molecular biology
- Phage and the future of molecular biology
- Viral Metagenomics
- Diversity and ecology of non-extremophile Archaea in nature
- Microbial biofilms
- Diversity and ecology of sulfate-reducing bacteria
- Novel cultivation approaches in microbial ecology
- Bacteria and the nitrogen cycle
- microbes and methane
- Archaea and the nitrogen cycle
- Interactions between bacteria and fungi
- Microbial degradation of pesticides and antibiotics
- The role of bacterial diversity for ecosystem processes
- A new archaeal phylum – is this justified?
- A novel carbon fixation cycle in archaea
AIMS WITH THE LITERATURE PROJECT
– acquire a more in depth knowledge of some topic within microbial diversity and environmental
microbiology
– improve skills in written and oral presentation and in reviewing and summarizing scientific
information
– train and improve the ability to evaluate and comment on texts and provide feed-back
WRITING GUIDELINES
Your report should be between 4 and 5 pages and be an up to date review of your specific
topic. The scope and aim of the paper should be clearly stated in the beginning of the paper.
All claims or statements should be backed up by references. NOTE: generally, it is not
enough to merely provide references to webpages and other non-peer-reviewed sources.
References should primarily be peer-reviewed publications in the scientific literature. Check
some of the papers in the Ping-Pong library for guidance on how references should appear.
The report should consist of the following elements:
Title (One-sentence summary of the paper that catches the curiosity of the reader)
Abstract (a short, but concise, summary of the entire report)
Introduction (General introduction and background to the topic)
Results (More specific findings and examples, think whether you can include a Figure or Table)
Discussion (Summarize your findings. Is there some consensus or are there contradicting results? What
can you conclude from the studies you present, what are open questions etc.)
Reference list
Think primarily of the other course participants as the target group, i.e. your text should address readers
that are very interested in the topic, but do not necessarily have the same background than you!
Some advice on writing style:
Be as short and concise as possible! To get a nice “red thread” through the text
try to do the following:
- Start each paragraph with a so-called topic sentence, where you introduce what the paragraph will be
about. The topic sentence should set the limit for the paragraph and the entire content has to be related
to the topic sentence.
- Use transition words to link sentences and make the text as a whole more readable. Examples are:
however, thus, therefore, as a result, in contrast to that, on the other hand, and many more. Use them,
but don’t exaggerate. Repeat words and synonym to tie the text together and link different paragraphs
together by pointing out differences or similarities to the previous paragraph.
We will check your text for plagiarism using a programme called URKUND. So beware of the
following:
Don’t take somebody else’s idea without giving them the credit for it, i.e. always cite the sources
(unless it’s basic textbook knowledge)
NEVER copy and paste from other texts (internet, paragraphs from articles etc.).
ALWAYS use your own words!
COMMENTING ON TEXTS
Reading and giving constructive feed-back on the writing of others is a very efficient tool to learn how
to write yourself (it is always good to see how others do it). Therefore you will read and comment on
the report written by another course participant. To give feedback we use the DiaNa form which you
can find on ping-pong. These forms are used in the MSc Programme in Natural Science at Uppsala
University to get systematic training of oral and written communication, so some of you might already
know them). More information about DiaNa can be found here:
http://www.ibg.uu.se/diana/english/aboutthedianaproject/index.html
How to give text comments using the text comments form (Utvecklat för kommunikationsträningen i
Naturvetarutbildningen, Uppsala universitet [email protected])
You give feedback in order to help someone to develop his/her communication skills.
Everyone can acquire good communication skills by taking many small steps in the right direction and
by actively engaging in the writing assignments throughout the education.
The feedback giving procedure involves reading the text and noting what is well presented and why it
is good, and what can be developed. We try not to write suggestions for wordings since the author
should feel s/he owns the text. It’s not good if the author just inserts the new wording without thinking
about why the new one is better. When you have read through the text you summarize the feedback
under the appropriate headings on the text comments form, and try to be clear about why something
was good or how something can be developed.
When giving feedback you should always aim to be concrete, specific and constructive. Someone who
gets the feedback: “the sentence structure is poor” will not gain self-confidence for writing and will not
have a chance to develop his/her sentence structure since the feedback is not specific or constructive.
Someone who gets the following feedback will have a chance to develop (and will probably be more
motivated to do so):”Since many of your sentences are long and have several subordinate clauses I find
the text ‘heavy’ to read. If you cut the long sentences into shorter ones the text will be easier to read
and one can focus more on the content.”
It’s good if you can give an example of what you mean, e.g. by referring to something in the text. You
don’t have to write something positive and some development suggestion on every aspect of the text,
but try to achieve balance between the positive comments and the development suggestions.
Questions to consider when using the DiaNa form
Context:
Is there a clear main idea that is stated in the introduction of the text?
Is the focus of the text on this main idea?
Are technical terms satisfactorily explained?
Have good similes been used to give the reader a better understanding of the issue?
Will the intended audience be able to understand the text?
Do you get the impression that the writer is committed to the topic?
Does the writer explain why this issue is interesting/important in a bigger context, i.e. in society, for
our understanding of the world, or our knowledge within different scholarly fields?
Content:
Has the writer selected relevant examples and information?
Will the examples help the readers to gain a better understanding of the issue?
Is the scope of the report appropriate for this particular assignment?
Have the illustrations been well selected?
Structure and disposition:
Does the title make the reader curious and provide information about the topic of the literature report?
Is there a clear introduction that makes the reader want to go on reading?
Is there a “red thread” in the text? Do things appear in a logical sequence?
Is there a clear conclusion or does the text just end? Does the conclusion point back to the introduction?
Is there a twist at the end (a question, a quote, a query etc.) that makes the reader remember the
message of the text?
Are the paragraph breaks correctly placed or do they occur in the middle of a topic?
Is there one topic per paragraph?
Would a different layout make the text easier to read?
Language and formatting:
Is the language engaging and adapted to the genre? Is it too formal or informal?
Are the technical terms correctly used?
Are the sentences of a good length and is the sentence structure correct?
Is the language varied or repetitious? Have correct words been used?
Are table headings, captions etc. in accordance with the instructions provided or according to
convention?
Are there recurring spelling mistakes or grammatical mistakes?