Instructions
BIOL180 Assignment 3: The Final Presentation
For this assignment, you will use the “species” you chose for the Week 2 Mini-Presentation.
Objective: Develop an audio-narrated PowerPoint presentation based on the research you have conducted about your chosen species.
- The Introduction Section
- Organism Introduction (((((((Snow leopard))))))
- The common and scientific name of your organism. Please see this link to help with scientific names if needed: How to Write Scientific Names of Organisms
- Where you observed your organism (country, state, park, zoo, etc.)
- A brief discussion on why you chose your organism
- If possible, a picture and/or video of you safely observing your species in the field. If not possible, search the Internet for an image (and remember to cite your source for the image) in a typical habitat.
- Organism Introduction (((((((Snow leopard))))))
- The Body of the Outline
- Physical Description
- You must include a brief physical description. You can use your personal observations. If you cannot safely observe your organism, you must research.
- size, coloring, etc. (e.g., Differences between male and female, juvenile and adult.)
- You must include a brief physical description. You can use your personal observations. If you cannot safely observe your organism, you must research.
- Life Cycle and Reproduction
- Life Cycle: describe the life cycle of your organism. The life cycle refers to the series of changes that happen from the beginning of life as your organism develops and grows into a mature organism. Please see here for some hints on the Life Cycle. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
- Reproduction: You must discuss the reproductive strategies of your organism (e.g. release of gametes by a fish or hermaphroditic reproduction in earthworms), mate choice, mating displays, mate competition, and mating systems.
- Structure and Function
- Please select one organ system of your organism that you find to be particularly interesting and describe both the anatomy and physiology of that system.
- If your organism is an animal, here is a list of the general animal organ systems
- Energy Ecology
- If you can observe these, that is best. If not, research.
- What are the food sources? Types? Amounts? Temporal pattern of feeding? Specific handling or processing of food items by the organism (e.g. the way a squirrel manipulates an acorn)
- Habitat
- Where your organism lives. This does not refer to a city or state, but rather the natural environment in which your organism lives.
- You should consider abiotic factors, such as soil, water, etc., as well as biotic factors, such as predators, hosts, etc. See here for additional information: Biotic and Abiotic Factors in Ecology
- Physical Description
- The Conclusion Section
- This section should contain four to six points that sum up the main points from the body of the outline.
- Start your conclusive section with one sentence summarizing some basic information about your chosen organism (name and geographical distribution).
- Continue with a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the life cycle and any particular body structures.
- Include a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the ecological role of your chosen organism in its ecosystem.
- Wrap up the conclusive section with a closing note that provides brief information about a unique fact and/or behavior of your chosen organism.
IV. Reference Slides
Include a final “References” slide listing a minimum of five (and no more than 10) academically and scientifically credible sources used for facts shared in your Final Presentation (Not including images or other media).
Include a final “Media References” slide of all images, videos, graphs, audio elements, etc., used within your presentation.
All references included in the reference lists should be cited internally within the Final Presentation and vice versa.
For guidance on how to format your references properly in APA style, please see here:
If you are using an electronic source, see here:
Important Note: APUS discourages the use of auto-citation tools (e.g., citation generators) by students enrolled in 100- and 200-level courses because the University believes students need to learn and understand the reasons for citing sources used in their work, as well as how to cite sources correctly.
Work that is improperly cited and referenced or lacking either proper citations or references will not be accepted for credit.
V. Internal Citations
These are not listed on a separate slide but instead placed throughout the Final Presentation via in-text citations anytime you paraphrase, use direct quotes, or want to use visual/audio components from other sources. Therefore, all source material should be cited.
All internal citations listed within the Final Presentation should be included in the reference lists and vice versa.
If you are not sure what in-text citations are and how to format them, please visit this link from the Trefry Library. Click to open the section labeled ‘IN-TEXT CITATIONS | FORMAT’.
