Hello Team,
I am posting my revised definition for assignment 1.3 below.
Thanks for your feedback Hutton, I found it valuable in making my definitions more accessible to a non-technical audience.
Best,
Mira Foster
As part of the Lesson 1.3 assignment, I am writing three definitions of the term “Gametophyte”. The purpose of this assignment is to describe a technical term to a non-technical audience. The objectives include appreciating the importance of definitions in technical writing, to understand different audiences need for a definition, differentiate between levels of detail in a definition, and to choose the right amount of detail to add in a particular situation. In this assignment, I provide a parenthetical definition, sentence definition, and expanded definition, as well as an APA works cited list.
Term:
Gametophyte
Situation and Audience:
A biologist is explaining the term to a group of people from a gardening club.
Parenthetical Definition:
The gametophyte (stage of plant that produces sex cells) is small and heart-shaped in ferns.
Sentence Definition:
Gametophyte is a plant generation that is multicellular and contains only a single set of chromosomes. This stage exists in all plants and produces the sex cells.
Expanded Definition:
Origin of the word:
The word gametophyte originates from the words gameto and phyte, with gameto referring to “gamete” and phyte referring to “a plant with a specific characteristic or habitat”.
What it does not mean:
A gametophyte is not to be confused as the sex cells of a plant. Instead it is the multicellular stage of a plant that grows the reproductive organs which produce the sex cells.
How it works:
All plants will alternate between the gametophyte stage and the sporophyte (stage of plant that produces spore) to reproduce. The sporophyte and gametophyte generation are dependent on one another for reproduction. Understanding the gametophyte stage can help scientists breed plants for desirable properties, and gardeners take better care of their plants.
Examples:
The morphology of a gametophyte varies across plant types. In non-vascular plants such as moss, the gametophyte can be identified as the leafy section making up the majority of the plant. In vascular plants such as the flowering plant, the entire gametophyte resides within the flower.
Figure 1: Gametophyte morphology in a moss.
Source: Bryology 101. Ohio Moss & Lichen Association. Retrieved from https://ohiomosslichen.org/bryology-101/
References:
Bryology 101. Ohio Moss & Lichen Association. Retrieved from https://ohiomosslichen.org/bryology-101/
Dotson, J. D. (2019, July 11). The Difference Between a Sporophyte and Gametophyte. Retrieved from https://sciencing.com/difference-between-sporophyte-gametophyte-8491200.html
Gametophyte. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/science/gametophyte
Gametophyte. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gametophyte
Gilbert, S. F. (1970, January 01). Plant Life Cycles. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK9980/
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