Microbes impact our lives in many ways, but most of the time we are unaware of their activities. In this assignment, you will keep a daily diary enumerating the ways you personally have been affected by microbes. Upon completion of the diary, you will write a paper that explores one event in more detail. The procedures for completing this assignment are described below.

STEP 1 GET PREPARED. Before you start your diary, leaf through a microbiology textbook noting the diverse activities of microorganisms. This will help you start watching for what are usually "unseen encounters" with microbes.

STEP 2 KEEP A DIARY. I suggest you buy a small notebook to record your diary entries. The diary must be kept at least 7 days; therefore, you should have at least 7 different entries. For each event you describe in your diary, state the connection between the event and the activity of microbes. In other words, describe what happened to you (or describe something you did), and then describe what the microbes did.

STEP 3 WRITE A PAPER ABOUT ONE OF YOUR ENTRIES. Identify one entry that particularly sparked your interest in microorganisms and microbiology. Use that entry to prepare a 2 - 4 page, typewritten, double-spaced paper; it will be returned if it is handwritten. The paper should be written as though you are speaking to someone with no knowledge of microbiology or microorganisms. All sources of factual information should be cited and referenced in the bibliography. The box shows two examples of commonly used citation methods.

Clancy, M.J., L.M. Smith, and P.T. Magee (1982). Developmental Regulation of a Sporulation-Specific Enzyme Activity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Molecular and Cellular Biology 2:171-178. Sambrook, J., et al. (1989). Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual, 2nd ed. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

The paper should answer the following questions:

• What is the scientific name of at least one organism that played a role in the event you described in your Micro Diary entry?
• Precisely, what was the microbe doing?
• What type of microbe is it? What domain does it belong to? Is it a bacterium, fungus, alga, etc.?
• What metabolic, structural, or other characteristics of the microbe contributed to the role it played in the event you described in your Micro Diary entry?

STEP 4 TURN IN THE DIARY AND PAPER ON TIME. Late diaries and papers will not be accepted.

GRADING Your grade for this assignment will be determined using the attached score sheet. Submit the score sheet with your diary and paper. If the paper is plagiarized, it will be returned, ungraded.

___Journal Entries (15 points) ^a

Number of Entries	Diversity of Entries		Clear Statement of Connection Between Microbes and Events
7b___ 6 ___ 5 ___ 4 ___ 3 ___ 2 ___ 1 ___ 0 ___	All entries of different (4)c___ Most entries are different (3)___ About 2 of the entries are different (2) ___ Most entries are repetitive or similar (1)___ All the entries are repetitive or similar (0) ___		Connection is made for all entries (4)___ Connection is made for most entries (3)___ Connection is made for about 2 of the entries (2)___ Connection is not made for most of entries (1)___ Connection is not made for any of the entries (0)___

a Number of possible points.
b The number of entries equals the mastery level for this criterion.
c The numbers in parentheses indicate the mastery level.

To score:

• If 7 entries are made, sum the mastery levels and record that total as the points.
• If 5-6 entries are made, sum the mastery levels, multiply that total by 0.8, and use that value as the points earned after rounding to the nearest whole or half number (e.g., 6+3+3 = 12, then 12 x 0.8 = 9.6; 9.5 points earned).
• If 3-4 entries are made, sum the mastery levels, multiply the total by 0.5, and record that value as the points earned after rounding to the nearest whole or half number.
• f 1-2 entries are made, sum the mastery levels, multiply the total by 0.25, and record that value as the points earned after rounding to the nearest whole or half number.
• If no entries are made, or if the connection between microbes and the event is never stated, then score ) points.

^{___Citation of Resources for Paper (6 points)}

Bibliography Is Attached	Reader Can Locate Cited Documents, Articles, Books, and Web Sites in Library and on WWW		Sources of Factual Information Are Documented in the Text
Yes ___ No ___	Always (3)___ Usually (2) ___ Rarely (1) ___ Not at all (0) ___		Always (3)___ Usually (2) ___ Rarely (1) ___ Not at all (0) ___

^{To Score:}

• If bibliography is attached and at least one of the resources can be located in the library of on the WWW, sum the mastery levels, and record that number as the points earned.
• If the bibliography is attached, but none of the resources can be located in the library or web, 0 points are earned.
• If bibliography is not attached, 0 points are earned.

___Questions Are Answered (4 points)

To Score: Use the following criteria to determine the points earned.

• Student attempts to answer all questions - 4 points.
• Student attempts to answer 3 questions - 3 points.
• Student attempts to answer 2 questions - 2 points.
• Student attempts to answer 1 question - 1 point.
• Student fails to answer any of the questions - 0 points.

___ Quality of Responses to Questions (11 points)

Responses Are Thorough	Information Is Accurate		Responses Are Made in Language That Can Be Understood by Non-Scientists
All are (4) ___ More than 2 are (3)___ About 2 are (2) ___ Less than 2 are (1) ___ None are (0) ___	All information is (4)___ More than 2 of the information is (3) ___ About 2 of the information is (2) ___ Less than 2 of the information is (1) ___ None of the information is (0) ___		Always (3) ___ Usually (2) ___ Never (0) ___

To Score:

• If all questions are answered, sum the mastery levels, and record that total as the points earned.
• If only 3 questions are answered, sum the mastery levels, multiply the total by 0.75, and record that number as the points earned after rounding to the nearest whole or half number (e.g., 4+3+3 = 11 x 0.75 = 8.25; 8.5 points earned).
• If only 2 questions are answered. Sum the mastery levels, multiply the total by 0.5, and record that number as the points earned after rounding to the nearest half or whole number.
• If only 1 question is answered, sum the mastery levels, multiply the total by 0.25, and record that number as the points earned after rounding to the nearest half or whole number.
• If none of the questions are answered, score 0 points.

Overall Organization	Paragraph Structure	Sentence Structure	Proofreading & Editing	Scientific Names Are Written Properly
Overall presentation is logical and the main theses of the paper are easily understood (3) ___ Some organization problems, but the main theses of the paper are easily understood (2)___ Organization is so poor that the main theses of the paper are difficult to understand (1)___	Consistently good paragraph structure is observed (2)___ Poorly constructed paragraphs are frequently observed (1)___	Grammatical errors are rare (3)___ Grammatical errors are relatively common, but do not significantly impact readers ability to understand meaning of sentence (2)___ Grammatical errors are so serious and/or frequent that understanding sentences is difficult (1)___	No typos and spelling errors (3)___ Some typos and spelling errors (2)___ Many typos and spelling errors (1)___	Always (3)___ Usually (2)___ Rarely (1)___ Never (0)___

To Score: Sum the mastery levels and record the total as the points earned.