Purpose - The purpose of these short essays is for you to learn more about certain aspects of microbiology, and for you to communicate what you have learned succinctly and clearly.  Avoid unnecessary jargon.  Don't simply quote the text or other source; rewrite it so that you explain clearly.  However, YOU MUST CITE THE SOURCE from which you obtained the material.  Be selective in what you include.  You should choose a part of your topic that is of interest to you, or it might even be an extension that goes beyond the assigned topic.  Each person in the group should write on a different aspect of the topic, perhaps the part on which you have worked toward the presentation.

Length - Essays should be roughly 1200 words in length (about 3 pages long).

References - You must cite at least several references (which may include your text). Use American Society of Microbiology conventions for reference citation. Such references would look like this:

                     Wu, Hui, K. P. Mintz, M. Ladha, and P. M. Fives-Taylor. 1998. Isolation and
                     characterization of Fap1, a fimbriae-associated adhesin of Streptococcus parasanguis
                     FW213. Mol. Microbiol. 28:487-500.

IF YOU USE THE WEB, YOU MUST CITE THE WEB URL. REMEMBER WEB SITES ARE NOT REVIEWED.  THAT IS, WHAT IS SHOWN MAY, OR MAY, NOT BE ACCURATE.   THEREFORE YOU MUST HAVE AT LEAST ONE PRIMARY  REFERENCE SOURCE (YOUR TEXT, A PUBLISHED PAPER OR REVIEW, ETC.).

Submission - Papers must be handed in, to any of the instructors, no later than the date of the presentation, in order to be eligible for credit and put the name of your faculty advisor on the paper along with your name.   IN ORDER TO MAKE HANDING THEM BACK TO YOU EASIER, PLEASE ALSO PUT YOUR LAB SECTION AND BENCH NUMBER ON THE TITLE PAGE.