Principles of Structure and Functions of Animals

At a minimum, the content of your essay should include the following:

an explanation of what surface area is, why it matters, and how it relates to the function of organs
at least one example of an organ or structure in the digestive or respiratory system with high surface area and a full, detailed explanation of how this organ functions
an explanation of the difference between conformers and regulators in the general sense
a specific contrast between osmoconformers and osmoregulators, giving example species for each
a full, detailed explanation of how the mammalian kidney and all its parts function for osmoregulation
an explanation of the difference between positive and negative feedback with the definitions and functions of each
specific examples of positive and negative feedback from the endocrine system, with a full, detailed explanation of each example, including all organs or structures, all hormones, and the stimulus and response clearly stated
Essay Format

Length should be approximately 2-4 typed pages
Essay must be in complete sentences and paragraphs (bullet points or lists are not acceptable; walls of text not broken up into paragraphs are also not acceptable).
Number of paragraphs may vary
Essay should be in 12 point size and a standard typeface such as Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, or Times
Spacing may be single to double spaced; I find 1.5-spaced easiest to read
You may choose to upload your essay as a Word document or PDF, or insert it as a text submission in the text box. Be sure to save the file in which you composed your essay on your computer so that you can revise if necessary.
Sources

Appropriate sources to find information for this essay are your lecture notes, Campbell Biology textbook, articles posted in our course Canvas page, and possibly your lab manual. Web pages are not appropriate sources.
In biological writing, direct quotes are extremely rare. Use your sources to understand the ideas, then explain the ideas in your own words in your essay. In the content essays, you do not need to cite the sources of your information, as the sources are assumed to be our course materials.