Name: ______

Research Paper- Rough Draft OUTLINE

  • This is a GUIDELINE as to how to write your paper. You DO NOT have to follow this,
  • Needs to be SIZE 12, Times New Roman
  • Must have Cover page (Name, Title of Project, Class Period, Science Teacher)
  • 2 pages of double spaced text- DO NOT skip down the page and begin half way down, START AT THE TOP
  • Last page is your Bibliography.

Paragraph 1: Introduction- this should introduce all the aspects of your project

This should be about 5 sentences long. Barely touch upon the parts of your paper. Make it interesting, ENGAGE the reader! Give a cool fact or ask an awesome question.

  • Problem you are addressing?
  • History of project?
  • When invented?
  • Variables- manipulated/responding/control?
  • Procedures?

Paragraph 2:

  • Pick one of the topics that you mentioned in paragraph 1 and write 7-10 sentences over that topic.
  • This would be a good place for the History of your project and the Problem you are looking to address.
  • Be specific. The more specific the better- Act like you are talking to someone who has never even heard of the pieces of your science fair project.
  • Write in complete sentences, capitalize the first letter of each sentence and use proper grammar.
  • If you use exact examples from a source (quotations) make sure you cite them in the paper. Only use MAX one sentence of a citation per paragraph! You do not have to use any, but do not over use quoted information.

ex) A brilliant scientist said, “Mrs. Phillips is the best science teacher in the world.” (

Paragraph 3:

  • This is where I would introduce the different variables in your experiment
  • Write 10- 15 sentences over all 3 variables.
  • Explain them in detail, Discuss them as if no one has ever heard of it before.
  • Think about who invented it, chemical equations, ingredients…. Stuff like that.
  • Be specific. The more specific the better- Act like you are talking to someone who has never even heard of the pieces of your science fair project.
  • Write in complete sentences, capitalize the first letter of each sentence and use proper grammar.
  • If you use exact examples from a source (quotations) make sure you cite them in the paper. Only use MAX one sentence of a citation per paragraph! You do not have to use any, but do not over use quoted information.

ex) A brilliant scientist said, “Mrs. Phillips is the best science teacher in the world.” (

Paragraph 4:

  • This paragraph is up to you. If you have any left over information you have not addressed about your experiment, this is the place.
  • If you have nothing else, this is where you can talk about your procedures.
  • You will need about 10 sentences here to complete your 2 pages of information,
  • If you talk about procedures, be very specific- make sure you include your plan to repeat the experiment 3 times (that is very important to your project!)
  • You could also talk about if you prove something to be true, how could that affect science or how could that affect you as a person?
  • Be specific. The more specific the better- Act like you are talking to someone who has never even heard of the pieces of your science fair project.
  • Write in complete sentences, capitalize the first letter of each sentence and use proper grammar.
  • If you use exact examples from a source (quotations) make sure you cite them in the paper. Only use MAX one sentence of a citation per paragraph! You do not have to use any, but do not over use quoted information.

ex) A brilliant scientist said, “Mrs. Phillips is the best science teacher in the world.” (

Paragraph 5: Conclusion

  • This is the end of your paper.
  • Should be about 5-10 sentences long
  • Restate the Main topic of your experiment.
  • Restate the main ideas from the paragraphs above.
  • Close your paper out with what you hope to learn from the experiment and how it can be used in real life scenarios (application).

Bibliography- this should be on the LAST page of your paper, all by itself

  • Sources MUST be entered with correct format- DO NOT just put the web address, it will not count towards your grade UNLESS it is in correct format!!!
  • Use easybib.com or bibme.org for help, if you have problems transferring it into a word document, highlight the text and COPY/PASTE it
  • Once you have correctly cited all your sources, they should be put into alphabetical order A Z

Helpful Hints:

To double space- Go to Format, Paragraph, Line Spacing- Click drop down arrow, select DOUBLE

To change the font- highlight your text, and select Format- Font- Times New Roman

To change Margins- DON’T change!, leave them how they were set from when the Word Document was created. That is the correct margin space.