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Breast Cancer Research Paper
Biology 101 –Spring 2014
This writing assignment is designed to provide opportunities for the student to find, evaluate, select, synthesize, organize, cite, and present information and arguments clearly and effectively for understanding scientific issues on personal, societal, and global levels.

Your aunt came across a news segment about Angelina Jolie’s breast cancer scare. Reactions from the locals and celebrities were conflicting: was the double mastectomy an act of bravery or fear? Your aunt is in her late 40s, leads a healthy lifestyle, and has a yearly mammogram. It is her two daughters that concern her. If genetic testing is available for breast cancer, then why shouldn’t her daughters benefit from this technology? Your aunt knows you are taking a biology class and has turned to you for some additional understanding. You’ve decided to research this topic and report back to her.
Write a research paper that addresses the following key points (allocate about 1-2 paragraphs for each point):
1. Describe the normal function of proto-oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes within the cell and explain what occurs when these genes mutate. Which category of genes do BRCA1 and BRCA2 fall under, and how are mutations in these genes related to breast cancer?

2. Are most forms of breast cancers inherited? Identify and discuss other factors that increase one’s risk of breast cancer.
3. Discuss the pros and cons of BRCA genetic testing. Would you recommend this test to female family members, even if there is no history of breast cancer in your family? Your opinion must be supported by your references.
4. Was Angelina’s decision for a double mastectomy too extreme? If one of your family members finds out that she has an increased risk of breast cancer, what preventative and treatment options would you recommend and why? Your opinion must be supported by your references.
*NOTE: Your entire paper, even parts that ask for your opinion, must be well supported by evidence. Having a good number of quality references will help in this regard.
Assigned article (must read and use in your paper):
Time magazine article “The Angelina Effect” by J. Kluger and A. Park
Total number of references (3):
You must use and reference the above article and at least two additional sources for this paper, making the minimum number of references for your paper 3. You may review relevant chapters in your textbook and use other sources to fill in missing information.
It is important that your response to your aunt be thoroughly researched and clearly written. You should define all your terms and be concise (1,250 words maximum). This assignment is designed to give you the experience of applying your knowledge of biology to a current controversy or topic of interest. You will use the same sort of method that you will later use as an informed citizen and consumer when making decisions that involve biology.
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Other resources
Primary Sources: You will find information in the “primary literature,” which is where the research was originally published. You can find these articles by using CSUF’s on-line search engines, or by asking for the help of a CSUF librarian. Examples of the primary literature include Science, Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy, and Genetics.

Secondary Sources: You may also find relevant articles in recent newspapers, popular magazines, or popular science journals. These are referred to as “secondary” sources, since they describe research that was published elsewhere. Examples of these include The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Time, Scientific American, Discover, New Scientist, and Science News.
Websites: If you choose to use a website, be aware that most websites are not peer-reviewed, and often present inaccurate information. Examples of excellent websites include those of the National Academy of Science, the National Institute of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and WebMD. If you are unsure of the appropriateness of a website, check with your instructor. Alternatively, the CSUF library has an excellent guide to evaluating websites at http://library.fullerton.edu/ under Guides for Undergraduates.
The structure of your paper
? Be sure to cover all four points mentioned above and define all technical terms that you use. Anyone should be able to pick up your paper and understand it.
? Your paper must be between 800 to 1250 words (including references). Your paper should be double-spaced with one-inch margins, using 12 point Times New Roman font. No cover page is required.
? You are not allowed to include any quotes in your paper. All of your writing must be original. You must paraphrase ideas from the literature, even if you provide an in-text citation. Be careful with your paraphrasing, and remember what we discussed about patch writing!

? Information and ideas that are paraphrased must be accompanied by proper in-text citations in the body of your paper and a corresponding reference in APA format. In text citations are appropriate any time you use a fact or idea from another source.
? You need to review your paper for format, spelling, grammar and usage errors before you submit it, or you will lose points.
? Please also review the grading rubric before submitting your paper to make sure that you have done everything you can to receive a good grade.
? Since this paper is being written for a non-scientist (your Aunt), your explanations must be clear and accurate, and understandable by a general audience. Do not worry about sounding particularly scientific or academic.
** Note that the references are formatted using APA, not the entire paper. Full APA format calls for items that are not required here (like an abstract)
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Guidelines for citing references
In-Text Citations
In-text citations should be in APA format. You can find a summary of APA guidelines for your reference page at: http://www.lscc.edu/library/Documents/apacite.pdf
Reference Page
Your bibliography should be formatted using APA (American Psychological Association) guidelines. You can find a summary of APA guidelines for your reference page at:

http://www.lscc.edu/library/Documents/apacite.pdf

Submitting your paper

An electronic copy of the paper with references is to be submitted through the link on Titanium by the deadline given. Late papers will not be accepted.
The Titanium submission will go through Turnitin.com, which is a plagiarism detection program. If you submit a paper with a similarity index greater than 10% you will probably be reported to the Vice President for Student Affairs and receive a zero for the assignment.
You may review your similarity score through Titanium upon submission of your paper (typically within a few minutes to hours, depending on how busy the site is). If there is a problem, you may resubmit before the deadline. Turnitin is set to ignore your reference page when calculating similarity (since your references will match any paper that used the same source) but this technology is imperfect. If you have a high similarity score, but it is coming from the references and not the text of your paper, you do not have a plagiarism issue. Contact me if you have any questions or concerns about this.
I make no guarantee that your similarity score will be available before the deadline, and not receiving your score is not a defense to plagiarism. If it is important to you to get your score prior to the deadline, submit your paper more than 24 hours in advance.
Preparing your paper for submission
Turnitin can accept files in the following formats: MS Word, WordPerfect, PostScript, PDF, HTML, RTF, and plain text. Be sure that you save your paper in one of these formats. Turnitin does not accept .pages files!
NOTE: Your electronic submission should include all in-text citations as well as your reference page. No hard copy is required – electronic submission only!