Epigenetics

atch the epigenetics video from PBS. Begin your paper by defining epigenetics in your own words and discussing your reaction to the video. (you can choose whatever disease)
Interview your family members and complete the Family History-Dr. Oz.pdf . Find out which disease(s) you are most at risk for.
Research and locate one article on epigenetics and whatever disease you are most at risk for (select a study on research conducted on humans) from a reputable academic source:

Reputable Sources:

journal articles
government publications based on research

Do not use:

magazines of any sort, whether they are on paper or online
Websites of any type, including epigenetics websites
Wikipedia

How to Perform Your Research

Use the College Library in person or online (log in with your new MDC ID number (the one that is all numbers). Your password is the last four digits of that same MDC ID unless you have changed it.

Read the epigenetics article you find. Continue your paper with a discussion of the epigenetics article. Be sure to paraphrase (put things in your own words) and be sure to cite the author(s) of the article you find using APA style (see the section below on using APA style). Aim for about a page for this part of your paper.

Discuss the concept of epigenesis in light of your family history and the article you read. Aim for one page for this section of your paper.
Complete the Living to 100 Questionnaire. Integrate your findings on the questionnaire into your discussion. Aim for another page.
Discuss how you can improve your health and longevity in light of your findings in this questionnaire, your understanding of epigenetics, and your knowledge of your family history. This should be your final page.

You can go over or under a page for any of the sections of the paper as long as your total paper is 1,000 words not counting the references.

General Rules for an “A” Paper (check your paper against this list)

◻ 1,000 words

◻ Original work; plagiarism score of less than 10% (90% original work)

◻ Double-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins

◻ Covers all 6 tasks

◻ Spellchecked

◻ College-level grammar

◻ Cite your article APA style (author & year within body of paper; full reference at end)

◻ No abstract, no cover

◻ Place your name and reference number on the first page. Use page numbers.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.

LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.