Several teachers use short essay questions in their class tests.
You will be expected to do a literature search on the topic, read primary research reports and reviews, and present the information in the form of a mini-review. These are required in all laboratory courses. In addition to the paper being free of spelling and grammatical errors, the most valuable attribute of a paper is concise and clear presentation of the subject matter. A clear statement of the specific question, a concise survey of the literature, complete description of the methods of study and the results, and an incisive discussion to place the results in perspective are valued traits of a scientific paper. Note that scientific writing is concise, direct, and devoid of flowery metaphors.