Dear readers,

This portfolio was developed as part of my major final project for our class, English 324: Writing in the Sciences. As a class we have been developing a website with the purpose of providing the public with more knowledge about the dangers of antibiotic resistance. Our goal throughout this class was to broaden our knowledge about antibiotic resistance while learning to communicate effectively and integrate our newly obtained subject matter knowledge in a variety of different manners. To obtain these goals, our class frequently participated in discussion boards relating to both the new styles of writing we were learning as well as to the new information we were learning about antibiotic resistance. We also kept our classmates up to date on our final project by posting our proposals, article reviews, annotated bibliographies, and progress reports throughout the semester.  All of this was accomplished online via Blackboard, Facebook, our class website, and email. Individual students and groups of students’ work culminated by producing literature reviews, research reports, and popular science articles for our class website. The culmination of my work for this class was to produce a literature review focusing on antibiotic seeking and prescribing behaviors.

As a psychology major at North Dakota State University (NDSU) I focused on a subject both pertinent to my major and this class, antibiotic seeking and prescribing behaviors. The misuse of antibiotics cannot be blamed on one side or the other of the patient/physician relationship; instead the blame lies mutually on both parties.  My first step towards learning more about antibiotic seeking and prescribing behaviors and creating my portfolio was to write my proposal for our class’s final project. Writing my proposal allowed me to explore antibiotic seeking and prescribing behaviors while setting a timeline and expressing my intent to add to our class’s website by creating a literature review for my final project.  My second step was to create an article review focusing specifically on one of my articles I planned to use within my final project. I chose to review Antibiotic-seeking behavior in college students: What do they really expect? a study which discusses a variety of different antibiotic seeking behaviors within college students as well as the general lack of knowledge college students have about antibiotics. This article review gave me the tools to review each of my other articles I intended to use within my literature review and to glean the information that was pertinent to my review out of each article. My next step was to compile all of the articles I intended to use into an annotated bibliography. My annotated bibliography not only allowed me to efficiently compile a list of all of my reference articles but it also allowed me to practice using the proper formatting procedures for my citations throughout my final project. The next piece of my portfolio involves two reading responses; these are two responses of the ten total reading responses we created throughout our entire course. These responses allowed us to explore the information we had learned about antibiotic resistance, from The Antibiotic Paradox,  and about different writing styles, from Writing in the Sciences.  My first reading response reflects my newly learned knowledge from reading chapters three and four in The Antibiotic Paradox. Within these two chapters the history of beliefs about illnesses is discussed along with the development of antibiotic resistance. My second reading response reflects my newly learned knowledge from reading chapter eight in The Antibiotic Paradox. This chapter is what made me start thinking more deeply about antibiotic seeking and prescribing behaviors and is part of the reason why I chose my topic for my literature review.  Specifically this chapter discusses causes of bacterial outbreaks throughout the world along with what would happen if bacteria ran rampant. All of these steps and pieces of my portfolio contributed and lead to the creation of my final project, a literature review on antibiotic seeking and prescribing behaviors.

Working on this portfolio and all the projects included within this portfolio has provided me with the ability to conduct information analysis, to organize data, and to produce a publishable end product. By working tirelessly throughout the semester with the focus of providing the public with more information about antibiotic resistance, I have had the chance to learn not only about antibiotic resistance but to learn how to put any pertinent information I learned into a format which makes it easy to communicate with a general audience. Along the way I have also had the chance to hone more specific writing abilities such as writing clear and concise prose, citing sources, and filtering and adapting technical data for public audiences. As well, I have had the chance to exercise my ability to communicate effectively in a restrictive environment, due to our online class settings, and to effectively interact with other classmates as a group to create an end product, our website.

Respectfully,

Samantha Magnus