Category: Natural science : Microbiology

I. Title page
II. Abstract: A one paragraph summary of the key points of your paper and list of keywords
III. Main body
  a. Introduction: general background information; discovery of disease and/or etiologic agent
  b. Organism characteristics: organism type, structure, culture methods if applicable and any identification methods
  c. Disease characteristics: signs and symptoms, duration, etc.
  d. Epidemiological data: geographic distribution, mechanisms of transmission, prevalence and incidence
  e. Diagnosis of disease: provide details of methods (e.g., culture, PCR, antigen detection, immunoassay, etc.)
  f. Prevention: what measure may be taken to reduce disease probability (avoidance, vaccination, etc.)
  g. Treatment: provide details of mechanims such as antimicrobial action, if applicable; treatment duration and patient prognosis
  h. Current research (optional): provide brief description of research findings relevant to your topic
  i. Conclusion
IV. Appendix: Maximum of two pages featuring color, high resolution images with figure numbers and description for each. All figures must be referenced in the body of the paper
V. Bibliography
must have 4 sources

How to Guide to Characterizing your Unknown

For your unknown, you should find all of the following information before your start writing your report:
– Gram reaction
– Shape and arrangement of organism
– Catalase test (for Gram + only)
– All media needed for ID (use the Gram + and – ID labs) and descriptions of any color changes

Checklist for your Unknown Report:
This is your original work – Show off what you have learned this semester! 🙂 Please don’t copy and paste passages from the internet/books/articles. Plagiarism (or more then 40% similarity) will result in at least 10 point deduction. Reports that have a higher than 50% similarity will receive 25 points deduction. This report should be in full sentences (Methods excluded)

Title (5 Points)
– Describes in a few words what was done
– Is short and precise (no longer than one sentence)

Introduction/Background (20 points)
– Describe the purpose of Microbiological Testing
o Why is testing important in the medical field?
o What is the goal of microbiological testing?
– Background on Gram negatives and Gram positives
o Differences between Gram + and – (color doesn’t count…)
o Give some examples of each
o Describe at least two diseases for each, signs, symptoms

Methods (15)
– Describe the Gram staining procedure
– Describe how catalase test would have been done (if this test was used)
– Name all media that should have been inoculated to ID your unknown and why

Results (20 points)
– Describe results for Gram reaction, cell shape and arrangement (look up information)
– What color changes were observed for each test? Any zones of inhibition (for antibiotics only)?
o Use pix of media found in the Gram + and – powerpoints for this
– Choose a good microscopic picture (e.g. Gram stained organism) found on the web but you must reference the source.

Discussion (20 points)
– Explain how your organism’s tests differed from the other gram – or +
– Write at least two paragraph about the significance of your organism
o e.g. Diseases it causes, Interesting facts etc. (The information can be collected from sources such as your text book, lab manual, or internet.)

References (5 points).
– Contains a list of sources you used for your report. You should always give credit to a source.

Overall organization (5 points)
– Report is easy to follow and contains all the subcategories in a logical order.
– Grammar and spelling counts

Submit electronic copy on due date (5 points)
– Late reports will receive 0/5 points in this category.

How to Guide to Characterizing your Unknown

For your unknown, you should find all of the following information before your start writing your report:
– Gram reaction
– Shape and arrangement of organism
– Catalase test (for Gram + only)
– All media needed for ID (use the Gram + and – ID labs) and descriptions of any color changes

Checklist for your Unknown Report:
This is your original work – Show off what you have learned this semester! 🙂 Please don’t copy and paste passages from the internet/books/articles. Plagiarism (or more then 40% similarity) will result in at least 10 point deduction. Reports that have a higher than 50% similarity will receive 25 points deduction. This report should be in full sentences (Methods excluded)

Title (5 Points)
– Describes in a few words what was done
– Is short and precise (no longer than one sentence)

Introduction/Background (20 points)
– Describe the purpose of Microbiological Testing
o Why is testing important in the medical field?
o What is the goal of microbiological testing?
– Background on Gram negatives and Gram positives
o Differences between Gram + and – (color doesn’t count…)
o Give some examples of each
o Describe at least two diseases for each, signs, symptoms

Methods (15)
– Describe the Gram staining procedure
– Describe how catalase test would have been done (if this test was used)
– Name all media that should have been inoculated to ID your unknown and why

Results (20 points)
– Describe results for Gram reaction, cell shape and arrangement (look up information)
– What color changes were observed for each test? Any zones of inhibition (for antibiotics only)?
o Use pix of media found in the Gram + and – powerpoints for this
– Choose a good microscopic picture (e.g. Gram stained organism) found on the web but you must reference the source.

Discussion (20 points)
– Explain how your organism’s tests differed from the other gram – or +
– Write at least two paragraph about the significance of your organism
o e.g. Diseases it causes, Interesting facts etc. (The information can be collected from sources such as your text book, lab manual, or internet.)

References (5 points).
– Contains a list of sources you used for your report. You should always give credit to a source.

Overall organization (5 points)
– Report is easy to follow and contains all the subcategories in a logical order.
– Grammar and spelling counts

Submit electronic copy on due date (5 points)
– Late reports will receive 0/5 points in this category.