Rainforest Research Paper guidelines 2008

You will be writing a scientific research paper on the rain forest. The topic chosen will be up to you. Plants, animals and people living in the rain forest are all good areas to investigate. This project is designed to give you a chance to learn many new things: using the library for research, writing a research paper, and becoming a bit of an expert on the topic you are writing about. It also gives you a chance to be creative. Your research paper will be an individual effort.

Topic Proposal Due: ______

Your topic must relate to the rainforest. Try to think of a unique and interesting topic. Find a topic that you are interested in knowing more about, as you will be spending a lot of time reading and writing about it.The proposal should be one paragraph describing your topic, some proposed sources, and why you selected this topic. You may submit this before the due date but do not start writing the paper until your topic has been approved.

Research Paper Due: ______

The class will be visiting the library twice to help you get started finding a topic and getting information on the topic.

Our library visits will be on ______

and ______.

Your topic should be designed so that the paper answers a question or proposes a solution to a problem. It should show the relationship between an animal and its environment, or take a look at the effect that human activity has on the rainforest.

Example: “The Sloth” is not an appropriate topic but, “How does the Sloth survive in the rain forest?” is.

Guidelines – The research paper should consist of the following:

  1. A title page- should include:your name, date, topic, teacher’s name, class period.
  2. A one-page introduction containing general information about rainforests. What are they? Where are they found? etc.
  3. Two to three pages dealing with your individual topic in your own words. (Summarize, analyze and evaluate what you have read and put it all together.) Plagiarism is when you take someone else’s words and use them as your own. This is a very serious offense. You are allowed to use another person’s research or ideas, if you put it into your own words. If you are using statistics, where you must quote exact information, then you must cite the author after the sentence.

** Here are some examples of when to cite in the text **

-MUST SITE - Experts are saying that we are losing 137 plants and animal species everyday. (Brown, 2008)

-NO NEED TO SITE – One hundred and thirty seven is a very high number and we should do something about the loss of species

  1. There should be at least one item cited in your paper.
  2. A bibliography based on the information you will get from teachers in the library.
  3. You may use pictures on the title page only.
  4. The paper must be done on a computer.
  5. You must have at least FOUR SOURCES. You can find information in books, newspapers, databases or on the internet. Only two sources can be from the Internet. You must have at least ONE BOOK source. You may not use general encyclopedias, only the scientific ones available in the library.
  6. Print or copy each article or site you use. Should be placed in a separate folder and submitted with your paper.
  7. Thepaper will count as a double lab for the third trimester.
  8. You have a lot of time to work on this (two weeks), try to pace yourself, you cannot leave it all till the end.
  9. Each student must have a different topic. The rain forest is a big place; there are many topics to be found.

13. Use an appropriate size font and reasonable margins.