YOUR FINAL PAPER

All sections should appear in this order.

No exceptions.

  1. Title Page. Center the project title and put your name, Lakeside High School, your address, and my name at the bottom right.
  1. Table of Contents. Put a page number for each section. That means that the pages of your paper need to be numbered! Use MLA style for this.
  1. Introduction. This sets the scene for your report. The introductory paragraph should explain what prompted your research, what you hoped to achieve (your purpose), and your thesis statement. Then, from the review of the literature, summarize information essential for understanding your research project. Establish a strong rationale for the study by emphasizing unresolved issues or questions. Conclude by stating the research hypothesis in a final paragraph of this section.

Cite your sources correctly. Failure to cite your sources will result in a zero for plagiarism.

  1. Materials and Methods. Describe in detail the procedure used to derive your data and observations. Your report should be detailed enough so someone would be able to repeat your experiment just by reading your paper. Use photographs and drawings of your equipment to describe your experiment further. Step listings are not acceptable. Include precise description of the sample, any apparatus that was constructed or modified for the study, methods of data collection, and brand names for materials. Put extended and detailed explanation of any construction in Appendix.
  1. Results. Present the data collected in the experiment in the tables and graphs AND summarize the data in paragraph form. Include statistical analysis of the data. Raw data is placed in the appendix.
  1. Discussion/Conclusion. The discussion is the finale of your paper. Your results and conclusions should flow smoothly and logically from your data. BE THOROUGH! Compare your results with theoretical values, published data, and commonly held beliefs and/or expected results. Was your hypothesis correct? A complete paper also should include a discussion of possible errors as well as the following observations:
  1. How did the data vary between repeated observations of similar events?
  2. How were your results affected by uncontrolled events?
  3. What would you do differently if you repeated this project?
  4. What other experiments should be conducted?)

Make sure not to introduce anything in the conclusion that has not already been discussed in your background information. Lastly, in a final paragraph, briefly summarize your results. Be specific, do not generalize.

  1. Acknowledgements/Credits. This is where you give credit for assistance from mentors, sponsors, parents, teachers, and other sources. You may use first person in this section only. (optional)
  1. Works Cited. Your works cited should include any material that is not your own (i. e., books, papers, journal articles and communications cited in the paper). If it is on your Works Cited page, it should be cited in your paper. Follow the MLA style. Be sure you have correctly cited sources within your paper.
  1. Appendix. Include critical information that is too lengthy for the main section of the paper, such as raw data, additional tables and graphs, copies of surveys or tests, construction details and diagrams of specialized equipment. (Not all will have this section – depends on equipment used in experiment and data collected – See your teacher for more information.)
YOUR GRADE
THE PAPER 60%

Title page through Appendix, plus 5 points for: Format - double space, Times New Roman font, 12 point. TOTAL PTS 100

SCIENTIFIC METHOD and MECHANICS 30%

Applicability of project (10 pts), Poses a question we do not already know the answer to (10 pts), Methodology included a control (10 pts), Independent variables were limited (10 pts), Spelling (10 pts), Grammar (10 pts), Logical writing with transitions (15 pts), Developed paper correctly (15 pts), Works cited correctly (10 pts). TOTAL PTS 100

DUE DATES 10%

Project ideas (10 pts), Science Fair Project Plan (10 pts), GSEF/ISEF forms (15 pts), First draft and logbook (10 pts), Revised Science Fair Project Plan (10 pts), Second draft (and first draft) and logbook (15 pts), Third draft (and second/first draft) and logbook (15 pts), Final paper (including previous drafts and logbook - 15 pts). TOTAL PTS 100