Science Fair Research Paper 2010

General Paper Guidelines MUST be Typed 12 pt. Font Black Ink 1.5 or double spaced At least 4 pages (not including bibliography or cover page)

Parts of the Paper Cover Page – In the center of your title page Official Title of your project Your name – In the bottom right hand corner of the page Teacher’s Name Date Due Division

Parts of the Paper Abstract – An abstract is a paragraph summarizing your entire research project. Begin with one sentence of why you did this project. Then explain the dependent and independent variables and control group. Tell your reader a little about how you did your experiment. Finish with what you found in your data and explain what it means. – Don’t forget this will be 1-2 paragraphs long – A paragraph is at least 5 sentences

Parts of the Paper When you begin writing your research paper for you science fair project refer to the Lab Report Format I handed out at the beginning of the year. Your research paper will be set up just like you have been setting up your lab reports for the labs this year. We will not be eliminating any parts of the lab report format for our Science Fair Research Paper. The sections are as follows

Parts of the Paper Introduction: Start off by observing the world around you and how it applies to the project you are doing. Explain why you are interested in this topic, then briefly explain why this is important scientific research. This is your reader’s first introduction to your problem so make sure you explain in depth your reasoning for doing this project. In this section you will put the question you are asking through this experiment. DO NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION IN THIS SECTION! You will answer this question with your results and in your conclusion section of this paper. 1-3 Paragraphs long. 5 sentences per paragraph.

Parts of the Paper Gather Information: Research the topic you are testing. Search online, in books, journals, or magazines for any background information that will help you understand that materials and situations you will be dealing with in this experiment. This is where the background information you gathered is explained. You need to explain to your reader the information that they will need to understand what you are doing in this project. This will be the longest part of your paper – At Least 2 paragraphs. 5-6 Sentences per paragraph. DO NOT INCLUDE INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESULTS OF YOUR EXPERIMENT IN THIS SECTION.

Parts of the Paper Hypothesis: Come up with a guess that will answer the question you asked in State the Problem before you begin this experiment. You are predicting the outcome of the experiment before it begins. Then explain why you have come to this conclusion. Why did you think this would happen? What research supports this? If – Then – Because – (Supported with background info) Refer to the papers you have completed in the early stages of this project. The hypothesis should be written down already. 1 Paragraph long. 5-6 Sentences. DO NOT ANSWER YOUR HYPOTHESIS IN THIS SECTION. DO NOT GIVE RESULTS.

Parts of the Paper Experimentation: A detailed step by step explanation of exactly what you did while carrying out the experiment. Include measurements, and names of products used. (If someone were to recreate your experiment they should be able to look to this section and carry out the exact same procedure) Materials used during the experiment should be listed here. Your independent, dependent variable and control group are explained in this section as well. DO NOT INCLUDE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESULTS OF YOUR EXPERIMENT. Only explain what you were doing. Can be in paragraph form if you want. Also can be in numbered sentences. Either way all parts should be explained in COMPLETE sentences.

Parts of the Paper Recorded Data: Charts, Graphs, Tables. A short paragraph for each chart/graph/table explaining the numbers and data you gathered from this experiment.

Parts of the Paper Parts of the Paper Recorded Data Continued Please Make sure you title your charts and tables, and include title for the X and Y axis. Explain these charts and tables in a paragraph in your Recorded Data.

Parts of the Paper Conclusion: Start by answering you question asked in State the Problem. Then tell whether you proved your Hypothesis right or wrong. This section is to explain your Recorded Data to your readers. Tell them what the numbers in the charts and graphs mean. This is also where you can explain any problems you ran into while doing your experiment, and how to avoid them the next time. Explain what you would do differently if you had the opportunity to do this experiment again. Or if you were to do a follow-up experiment what would you test? Summarize your overall results and show the relationship between the variables being tested 2 Paragraphs. 5 Sentences each. PLEASE DISCUSS YOUR RESULTS IN THIS SECTION

Parts of the Paper Bibliography – Refer to the paper your teacher gave you in English to see how to do the Bibliography. – Also the internet is a good reference. Type in “how to do a bibliography”

Poster Board To achieve an A: – Type all sections out – Mount them behind colored paper to make them stand out – If you have bad handwriting please do not write on the board – Go over any writing with marker – Make it colorful and organized – Include pictures, graphs, charts, tables – Make sure you spell everything correctly – It needs to have all of the parts of the lab report format – The backboard must be done on a tri-fold poster board Tri-fold poster boards can be bought at the school store for $5

Science Fair Journal Including entries from each time you worked on your science fair project. Whether it was gathering background information or collecting data form your experiment.