Semester Assignment

This project asked students to research a topic of their choosing that is related to some aspect of biology, and create an informational “tri-fold” brochure on the topic. The assignment is spread out over the second half of the semester, with three separate assignments:

  • Topic submission
  • Literature search and outline
  • Final brochure (submitted as a PDF document)

Here is an example brochure:

Below, I have included the instructions for the project, along with a few examples of student work.

Semester Project Overview

For this semester project, you will select a topic related to some aspect of biology. You will then research that topic and create an informational brochure about it, to be submitted to Canvas as a PDF file. 

  • Deliverables and Deadlines:
    • Submit topic for approval (5 points), due October 23
    • Literature search and outline (35 points), due November 13
    • PDF file, uploaded to Canvas (60 points), due December 11
    • Total points: 100

Step-by-step Project Guidelines

You will: 

  1. choose a topic (guidelines below)
  2. conduct a literature research on that topic and write an outline to help plan your brochure
  3. create an informational brochure using the google slides template provided
    1. Puedes escribir tu folleto en español si lo prefieres.
  4. submit your completed project as a PDF file via Canvas

Choice of Topics

Each student will choose their own topic of interest, but the topics must relate to some aspect of biology. The only topic that is off limits is COVID-19.

  • It is important to find a topic that is as specific as possible, so your brochure is truly informative and not vague or elementary.
  • When you submit your topic to Canvas, I will let you know if the scope is appropriate, and will offer suggestions if your topic is too detailed, or not detailed enough. 

 Outline and Literature Search

  • You will use typical internet searching techniques to find information on your chosen topic.
  • References may include research papers, news articles, science magazine pieces, and other informative sites.
    • Any resource used to build the content and image captures for this project must be properly credited in the List of Sources section on the brochure.
    • You should keep a list of all URLs visited so you can easily copy and paste into the final product.
  • Create and submit an outline of your brochure.
    • Your outline should include ALL of the text that you intend to include in the brochure. The idea is that you have basically written the brochure at this point, and will just need to copy and paste the text and images into the brochure template.  
    • You may use AI technology to create the outline, but only using the guidelines below:
      • Guidelines to be posted soon 

Finding and filling-in the brochure template

  • Once I have graded your outline, the brochure template will be available to you on Canvas. 
  • You will need to download the template and open it up in PowerPoint or Google Slides.  
  • As soon as you open it, change the file name using this format:
    • yourlastname_yourfirstname_biol110_semester_Year
    • for example: stjohn_wendy_biol110_fall_2025
  • Complete the brochure sections using the information and visuals from your outline.

Saving and submitting the final product

  • Once you have completed all elements of the assignment, please save the document as a pdf.
  • Upload your file to the assignment page
    • The deadline is December 11 at 11:59 p.m.
    • Late assignments will be accepted through December 15, with a 10% penalty to the grade for each day the assignment is late.
    • No assignments will be accepted after December 15. 

Topic Submission

Submit your topic here, for me to review. Please give a sentence or two description of what you plan to research for your brochure. 

Brochure Literature Search and Outline

During this assignment, you will complete the bulk of the research for your brochure and determine how you will lay out the information. If you do a thorough job with this outline, making the actual brochure will be a breeze!

Topic Research

Before you can do an outline, you’ll need to research your topic. You must have at least 5 different references. Here is how to approach the literature search:

  • Use typical internet or library searching techniques to find information on your chosen topic.
  • If you are having difficulty finding good information, try adjusting your search terms. There are some good tips for how to do this here: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/internet-searching.htm.
  • If you find the internet search to be challenging, reach out to our campus library for assistance.
  • References may include research papers, news articles, science magazine pieces, and other informative sites.
  • Any resource used to build the content and image captures for this project must be properly credited in the List of Sources section on the brochure.
  • Include the URLs you have visited in your outline (this will also be helpful when it’s time to copy and paste into the final product).

Outline

Create and submit an outline of your brochure. After you submit the outline, I will read through it and give you suggestions for how to improve it. If your outline is as complete as possible, you will get more meaningful feedback from me.  (See the example at the bottom of this assignment to see what your completed outline should contain). There are two ways you can choose to format your brochure.

  • The simplest way is to go from start to finish through the topics of your brochure in order on the slide template
    • First slide
      • Panel 1: Title and introduction, plus image
      • Panel 2: Topic #1 and visual element with caption (image, graph, or data table)
      • Panel 3: Topic #2 and visual element with caption (image, graph, or data table)
    • Second slide
      • Panel 4: Topic #3 and visual element with caption (image, graph, or data table)
      • Panel 5: Topic #4 and visual element with caption (image, graph, or data table)
      • Panel 6: Image, photo or map and List of Sources
  • The other option is to format it the way it would need to be printed if you were actually going to create folded, paper brochures: 
    • First slide/Front (this would be the inside of a paper brochure when unfolded)
      • Panel 1: Topic #2 and visual element with caption (image, graph, or data table)
      • Panel 2: Topic #3 and visual element with caption (image, graph, or data table)
      • Panel 3: Topic #4 and visual element with caption (image, graph, or data table)
    • Second slide/Back
      • Panel 4: Topic #1 and visual element with caption (image, graph, or data table)
      • Panel 5: (this would be the back of a paper brochure when folded) Image, photo or map and List of Sources
      • Panel 6: (this would be the very front of a paper brochure when folded) Title and introduction, plus image 

Submit this outline to this assignment using the Text Entry feature. You do not need to insert your images (although you are welcome to do so, if you like). You will be graded on the organization and completeness of your outline.

Example

This example of how to write the outline is based on the example brochure attached to the bottom of this page, using the first formatting option described above. By comparing the text below to the actual brochure, you should get a good idea of how to complete your outline. 

  • First Slide:
    • Panel 1:
      • Title: “What should you know about COVID-19?”
      • COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that emerged in 2019.
      • Coronaviruses are a family of virus pathogens that can cause mild to severe disease responses.
      • Other examples of coronaviruses include: Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
      • Image: Photograph of viruses under microscope
    • Panel 2:
      • Title: “The epicenter?”
      • The COVID-19 outbreak began in Wuhan City, which is the capital city of Hubei province, China.This large city has a population of 11 million. 15,826 of the confirmed cases are from Wuhan city alone.
      • Graph of daily infected cases outside of China (Caption: This figure from Cassandra Capital shows the infection spread outside of mainland china. As of Feb. 28th, 2020 the WHO reports 83,652 confirmed cases globally and 2,858 deaths.)
    • Panel 3:
      • Title” “Zoonotic”
      • Pathogens that are transmitted between animals and humans are called zoonotic. It has been determined that SARS jumped from civet cats to humans, for example. COVID-19 appears to be zoonotic with its likely origin at “a wet animal market” in China.
      • Map of Cases of Coronavirus outside of China. (Caption: As of Feb. 28, 2020 this was the mapping of coronavirus cases outside of China. This image was taken from BBC.com (http://BBC.com) ).
  • Second Slide

Brochure Google Slides Template

Do not start creating your brochure in this template until I have graded your outline.

The template can be accessed two ways:

Brochure Submission

Save your brochure as a PDF file, and submit here by the due date (December 11th). You will not be able to upload any other type of file, so make sure you have saved your brochure as a PDF and uploaded it using the “Insert” –> “Document” –> “Upload Document” feature. Please do not email me your brochure or post a link to a file stored elsewhere. I will not accept any submissions after December 15th. 

Upload document

Grading Rubric

CriteriaExcellent (A)Medium (B/C)Substandard (D/F)
Content QualityAccurate, well-researched, clear; strong understanding; meaningful examples or data. At least 5 sourcesMostly accurate but basic or uneven; some missing details; adequate understanding. 3 – 4 sourcesInaccuracies or misconceptions; superficial coverage; weak understanding.
Fewer than 3 sources.
Visual ElementsHigh-quality, relevant visuals; well-integrated; labeled/attributed.Mostly relevant visuals; variable quality; some decorative or poorly placed.Low-quality, irrelevant, distorted, or missing visuals; poor integration.
Formatting & LayoutClean, consistent, professional; text fits panels; easy to navigate.Generally consistent with some spacing or alignment issues; readable.Sloppy or confusing layout; overflow or blank space; readability issues.
SPaGClear, polished writing; few or no errors; smooth flow.Some errors but meaning clear; occasional awkward phrasing.Frequent errors that impede meaning; unclear writing.

Examples of Student Work

Full-credit (Excellent) submission that contains excellent, accurate information, appropriate, high-quality images, consistent and appealing formatting (and PUPPIES! It never hurts to include cute animals, haha).

Medium submission with some good information, but poorly written and organized. There are several typos (including a lack of italics in scientific names), the images are repetitive or poor quality, and the formatting is poor overall. This student didn’t use my Google Slides template, and while that isn’t a requirement, in this case the brochure would have benefitted by using the formatting that I provided.

Substandard submission with poor formatting in a font size and style (all caps) that is difficult to read. The titles aren’t easily identifiable, and the layout leaves a lot of empty space. Text information does appear to be correct, but it’s written and organized very poorly. The images are appropriate, but overall this brochure is difficult to read. This student would have benefitted from using the template I provided, and using ChatGPT to assist in the formatting.