1. What Courses do you attend/teach at UNG?

Sarah Smudde (Senior): This semester Im taking advanced Cell Biology,

Vertebrate Zoology, and animal physiology
Dr. Ryan Shanks (Professor): I teach Principles of Biology (1107K),
Immunology (4435), and Cellular Biology (3240)
2. What sort of text do you/your students come across on a daily
basis in these classes?
Sarah Smudde: For most classes we use text books, but my advanced cell
class approaches text differently. Instead of a text book, we read all journal
articles
Dr. Ryan Shanks: 1107K uses textbook material, Immunology is mostly
built from primary literature and focused on basic research and review, while
cell biology uses primary literature such as research papers. Students will
write extensively long reviews and interpretations of these articles
3. What types of writing do you/ your students produce in these
courses?
Sarah Smudde: We answer questions about articles we read. For
chemistry classes we turn in lab reports, but not for many of my biology
labs.
Dr. Ryan Shanks: Principles of biology requires little writing, immunology
writes multi page essays in any format of their choosing. The format chosen
is based on the format the primary source was written in. For Cell Biology,
grammar structure is graded, and many questions are answered about
primary literature they read.
4. Do you believe the readings used in these courses contribute to
ones writing knowledge?
Sarah Smudde: Writing about the articles helps advance skills in using
biology terminology.
Dr. Ryan Shanks: Yes, absolutely students become a better writer by
reading.
5. What are 3 important skills key in overcoming these readings and
writing successfully?

Sarah Smudde:
1. Being detail oriented being specific while writing
2. Persistance: Finding the answer to questions is not always easy so taking
the time to read
multiple sources is important.
3. Knowing what is a good source, and what is not. **Ex: NOT Wikipedia
Dr. Ryan Shanks:
1. Learning how to place things in your own words, no quotes allowed in
biology
2. Biology background to understand concepts
3. Language Barrier such as finding acronyms. In immunology especially
students need to identify terms they dont understand quickly.
6. What career path has biology led you to? How does literature and
writing play a role in your everyday life in this field?
Sarah Smudde: I am interested in medicine. Literature and research
papers are essential for applying new findings and improving patient
treatment.
Dr. Ryan Shanks: He is a professor at UNG, and conducts cross disciplinary
research in neuroscience. Reading and writing are a livelihood of biology,
you need to be able to write what you find for others to interpret.