NUTRITION 11 � MINI-TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES

Assignment: The Mini-Term Paper (25 pts): 1000 words (�150), research paper on a nutrition topic approved by your TA. You must include a reference page. The paper with references, .pdfs of your peer-reviewed sources (3 original research articles and your review) and a picture of the title page of your book must be uploaded on to SmartSite>MiniTermPaper by 5 PM on the last day of class.
Required Sources:
1. A review article
2. 3 original research articles
3. A book (not a fad diet book or anything promoting a product or point of view)
Electronic Submission: You will not receive a grade for your mini term paper if these guidelines are not followed. Your mini term paper will be submitted electronically on SmartSite, a physical copy will be submitted on the last day of class. All submissions will be subject to electronic plagiarism checks.
� Upload a Word document of the mini term paper and references with your title and your name in the filename.
� Upload .pdfs of each original research article with the first author�s last name as the filename.
� Upload a .pdf of the review article with �review article� as the filename.
� Upload an image of your text�s title page (unless you are using either of the books on reserve.
Audience: You are writing to �typically educated adults� that do not have a nutrition background. Define scientific and medical terms for better understanding. About 5 or 6 terms should be defined, if you have too many just use your own words. (i.e. instead of saying �myocardial infarction� or �hyptertension� just say �heart attack� or �high blood pressure�.)

Construction: Your paper should include 3 basic elements:
1) Introduction � (about � of a page)
a. Describe the health outcome associated with your�
b. Nutrition component
c. How might nutrition affect this health outcome?
d. What previous research suggests a link?
e. Strong thesis statement phrased as a question
2) Body � (about 3 pages)
a. Three consecutive summaries (short reports).
b. Use the Background/purpose, Methods, Results, brief Conclusion format we have been using.
i. Background for each summary. Develop the specific background of the original research article you are writing about and state the purpose of the research. (A couple of sentences)
ii. Methods: Study type, pertinent predictor and outcome variables and a few details about the study design/protocol. Don�t overdo it describing the procedures! (A short paragraph)
iii. Results: Using the outcomes and predictors you have just described, describe the results to identify whether there were statistically significant changes, differences, associations etc. or not.
iv. Brief conclusion that answers the purpose without restating the results. (a sentence or two)
3) Overall conclusion � (about � page)
a. Answer the thesis question
b. Refer to the findings of the three articles you summarized.
c. Think critically about the sources and offer ideas about what the data say and how it might be useful to the reader.

References: You are to use at least 5 resources: 1 book, 1 review article and no more than 3 primary/ original research articles. Do not use footnotes, but rather cite within the paper using a superscript and list each resource numbered in the order in which they are cited on a cited works page. Direct quotes are not permitted in the paper.

Use a superscript with Ctrl Shift + on a PC or Command Shift + on a Mac.

Example (in paper text referring to a citation):

In an epidemiological study, overweight young women were shown to have higher LDL and lower HDL levels than normal weight women.1 LDL, or low-density lipoprotein, is a fat particle circulating in the blood that delivers cholesterol to tissues and has been associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease.2 HDL, or high-density lipoprotein is also blood-born fat particle that removes cholesterol from tissues and from LDL and delivers it to the liver to be metabolized. HDL is associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease. Results differed however with regard to the women�s menopausal status.1