Evaluation of student performance:
Students are challenged to use effective writing and oral communication skills to demonstrate competence in applied molecular genetic concepts.

Homework (100 pts.)
There will be 10 homework assignments consisting of 3-5 short answer questions. These take-home quizzes are given out at the end of class on Thursdays and written answers are due at the beginning of class the following Tuesday. Each homework assignment is worth 10 points. Group study on homework assignments is encouraged, however, each student must write their own answers and be able to explain their answer in class if called upon.

In-class Exams (200 pts.)
There will be two in-class exams (Midterm and Final) which count for 100 points each. The Midterm exam (Sept. 27) covers material in lectures 1-10, and the Final exam (Dec. 6) covers material from Lectures 11-26 and student-generated questions from the Class Presentations. Bioc 471a and Bioc 571a students take separate exams to reflect graduate course credit.

Class Presentation (100 pts.)
Each student is required to participate in a group project consisting of an original Lab Practicum that is presented in class using WWW-based media. Each group of 2-3 students is responsible for 1) generating and posting a group web site using templates provided, 2) presenting the Lab Practicum in class using the web site materials, and 3) writing three study questions for the Final Exam using material discussed in their lab practicum. All group members will receive the same score for the project which is based on peer evaluations of the presentation and instructor evaluation of the study questions.

Graduate Level Assignment (100 pts - Bioc 571a students only)
Bioc 571a students are also required to write an original independent lab practicum with study questions. This written assignment is 2-3 pages long and due on or before Dec. 13. Information regarding this Bioc 571a written assignment can be obtained from the course web site at: http://www.biochem.arizona.edu/classes/bioc471/pages/Info-571assgn.html.

Final Course Grade
The course grade will be based on percentage of total points (400 pts. for Bioc 471a students, 500 pts for Bioc 571a students), with allowance for adjusted scores depending on overall student performance with regard to the in-class exams. Conventional percentages for assigning grades will tentatively be; 100-90% = A, 89-80% = B, 79-70% = C, 69-50% = D, <50% = E.

*Participation in class discussions will be used as a subjective evaluation for students that earn a total number of points for the course that fall on or near the grade cut-off.