Assignment Detail

Assignment ID: FG133178446 , Length: 2000 Words

Critical literature analysis – Cell & Molecular Biology

The coursework will be in-depth, critical analysis of a recent Cell Biology article. A critical analysis examines an article to determine how effective it is at making an argument or point. To make this determination, you will need to explore prior work that provides the context for the article, carefully examine the scientific methods and results presented in the article, and consider how the conclusions made relate to the topics covered within the module.

You will be provided with the article in the introductory lecture, and the article will be available to download from Blackboard at this point. The report should be similar to a “news and views” article found in journals such as Nature and Cell – you can find an example of this kind of article at this end of this brief, and there are other examples on Blackboard for you to use to familiarise yourself with this style of writing.

Support: a tutorial session will be arranged in week 14 where you will be able to ask specific questions about your work to date. I will also hold “drop-in” sessions to provide support as you progress through the assignment, and a Padlet wall is available for specific questions on the “support” tab of the module site. Topics relevant to the coursework will also be highlighted in appropriate lectures, so that the coursework and lecture series complement each other.

Word count: “News and views” articles are concise, focussed reviews of around 1500-2000 words, so there is a 2000 word limit for this coursework. You should provide a word count at the end of your coursework. An important skill in writing this kind of article is being able to write concisely, exceeding this word count will affect your marks in the “communication and structure” component of the marking criteria, as you are not demonstrating an ability to communicate the key points clearly and with focus.

References: The report should be based on the article provided, but in order to provide context you will need to read around the literature to identify the key studies that have lead up to this article. These should be cited and referenced in the SHU-Harvard style. There is no limit on the number or references you can use, but “news and views” articles generally use 12-15 references to support their argument.

Figures: “News and views” articles often include a figure to illustrate the overall message of the article. You do not have to include a figure, however you may wish to consider whether including one would help to explain the concepts in the article.

You should consider when writing your review:

Background: What is the context for this study? What area of Cell Biology is being addressed, and why was this necessary? What prior work provided important findings which led up to this study?

Hypothesis/aims: Clearly state what the study aimed to identify.

What methods were used: what approaches did the study take? What property of cellular function do these approaches measure? Why were these approaches appropriate?

Findings: What were the key results? What conclusions did the authors draw from these results? How did the experimental data link to the conclusions?

Future work: What was the overall message from this work? Were these conclusions appropriate? What would be these next steps for this work?

An example of this type of article is provided on pages 3-7 as a guide.

Article – Mechanical regulation of glycolysis via cytoskeleton architecture by Jin Suk Park, Christoph J. Burckhardt, Rossana Lazcano and Luisa M. Solis