How to Write a “Power Conclusion”

Your conclusion should include the following information so that your conclusion is scientifically correct and as complete as possible. Underline 5 or more relevant vocabulary terms in your power conclusion.

Important Parts of the Conclusion / How to Write the Different Parts
1. Refers back to the prediction/hypothesis / “I thought that…” If…then statement
2. Answers the question/reflects on hypothesis after experiment. / “I found out………., therefore my prediction/hypothesis was…..”
3. Uses specific data gathered in the experiment – refer to the data you collected and point out trends, highs/lows, outliers, etc. Try to use at least 3 data examples in your discussion. / “My data showed that…”
Example: “My data showed that the corn plants grew more slowly than the bean plants. This is shown in my data table. The corn plants were at least 6.5 cm shorter than the bean plants. However, one corn plant grew very tall and was 1 cm taller than the bean plants. On average, the corn plants were 2.75 cm shorter than the bean plants.”
4. Explain, in the words of a scientist, WHY you found the results you did. You must address these questions thoroughly! / * “I got these results because…”
* “The reason ______happened was…”
* “I think ______happened because…”
**** “These results mean/prove…”
5. Error Analysis: Other areas that could have affected the results/what may have gone wrong and altered your results. Include at least two ideas. / * “Doing ______may have affected my results because…”
* “I forgot to…”
* “I could have improved on my ______skill(s) and this would have…”
6. Future Research/What you want to know more about now that you have performed this experiment. What will you do next? Include your reasoning = “because”. / * “I would like to investigate more about ____ in the future because…”
* “Knowing ____ will help me to…”
* “We should now repeat the experiment to test ____ beause…”

Adopted from Bettina Pierce – Irvine Unified School District and David Shellhaas - Darke County ESC

Power Conclusion Rubric

Use this information as a guide to help YOU evaluate your own Power Conclusion.

Criteria / 2 / 1 / 0
  1. Hypothesis statement /prediction
/ Statement is accurate to lab. / Statement is related to lab. / No statement.
  1. Discuss whether hypothesis was supported
/ Discusses what the results showed and whether the hypothesis was supported or not supported. / Discusses results but no relation to hypothesis; OR does not indicate whether or not hypothesis was supported / No relation to how the hypothesis compares to the lab.
  1. Data discussion
/ 3 or more pieces of data are described in relation to the experiment / 2 pieces of data are described in relation to the experiment. / Data is missing or not fully explained.
  1. Reasoning/explanations of data
/ 2 or more ideas are addressed and each is explained using reasoning and details (data). / 1 idea is explained using reasoning and details. / Ideas are not related to the experiment; OR reasonings are unclear or not fully explained.
  1. Error Analysis: what affected your results
/ 2 or more ideas are explained as to how errors may have affected the experiment. / 1 idea is explained as to how errors may have affected the experiment. / Explanations are not related to the experiment; OR the explanations are missing or incomplete.
  1. Future research ideas
/ 1+ future research ideas are listed with an explanation of *why* = because / 1 future research idea is listed; weak explanation of *why* / Future idea is not relevant to experiment; OR no ideas are listed.