1. Writing Your Final Paper
How to Make an A!

2. Using the Correct Form
Find the “Your Final Paper” handout in your purple folder.
It outlines each section that should appear in your final paper.

3. Title Page
Center the project title; pt; sentence case; double spaced
Put your name, your full address, Lakeside High School, and your grade at the bottom right.
All is double spaced.
Separate page
Worth 5 points

4. The pH of Lycopersicon esculentum and How it is Affected by Canning
Nancy Brim
3451 Alison Drive
Atlanta, GA
Lakeside High School
Tenth Grade

5. Table of Contents Separate page
Put a centered header on this page – Table of Contents
Put a page number for the start of each section
That means that the pages of your paper need to be numbered – top right corner!
Worth 5 points

6. Table of Contents
Introduction/Background Information 1
Hypothesis 5
Methods and Materials 5
Data 7
Discussion 8
Conclusion 9
Acknowledgements 10
Works Cited 11
Appendix 13

7. Introduction/Background
Starts on a new page
Includes introductory paragraph with thesis statement and purpose
Includes background information/research
Ends with summary paragraph that includes the hypothesis.
Cite your sources correctly.
Worth 15 points

8. Materials and Methods
Leaving no gap after the background, describe in detail the procedure used to derive your data and observations
In paragraph form.
Includes brand names, metric measurements, and methods of data collection.
Make sure anyone can replicate it exactly.
Passive voice and past tense
Put extended and detailed explanation of any construction in Appendix.
Worth 25 points

9. Results
Immediately after methods, present the data collected in the experiment in tables and/or graphs;
AND summarize the data in paragraph form.
Include statistical analysis of the data - this is the analysis (averaging, standard deviation, etc.) of the data.
Raw data is placed in the appendix in table form.
Worth 10 points

10. The raw data for the red ripe plum tomatoes showed pH values ranging from 4.12 to The raw data for the canned red tomatoes showed pH values ranging from 4.27 to The raw data for the canned red roma tomatoes showed pH values ranging from 4.17 to For a complete table of the raw data, see Appendix B.
The mean pH for the red ripe plum tomato was 4.33+/ The mean pH for the canned red plum tomatoes was 4.36+/-0.09 and the mean pH for the canned roma tomatoes was 4.20+/ The canned plum tomatoes had the highest average pH and the canned roma tomatoes had the lowest average pH. The fresh red plum tomatoes’ pH was lower than the canned version.

11. Table One: Average pH of Tomato Samples
Fresh Red Canned Red Canned Red
Plum Tomatoes Plum Tomatoes Roma Tomatoes
Sample size , N 10
Average pH
4.33
4.36
4.20
Standard deviation
0.10
0.09
0.03
Figure One illustrates that there is an overlap between confidence intervals of fresh red plum tomatoes, the canned red plum tomatoes, and the canned red roma tomatoes. This is interpreted to mean that the fresh red plum tomatoes pH values are not significantly different from the canned red plum tomatoes’ values and the canned red plum tomatoes’ pH values are not significantly different from the canned red roma tomatoes’ values.

12. Discussion/Conclusion
Immediately after the results section is the finale of your paper.
Your discussion should flow smoothly and logically from your results. BE THOROUGH!
A complete discussion should include the questions on the next slide.
Lastly, in a final paragraph, briefly summarize your entire experiment – the conclusion.
Make sure not to introduce anything in this section that has not already been discussed in your background information. Be specific, do not generalize.
Worth 15 points.

13. Answer these questions:
Was your hypothesis correct? What supports or refutes this?
Compare your results with theoretical values, published data, and commonly held beliefs and/or expected results if possible.
Discuss your results. How did the data vary between repeated observations of similar events?
Have a discussion of error. How were your results affected by uncontrolled events? Were there other errors?
What would you do differently if you repeated this project?
What other experiments should be based on the results you got? In other words, in which direction does your research point?

14. Acknowledgements Separate page
Put a centered header on this page – Acknowledgements
This is your Oscar speech. “I’d like to thank…”
Credit assistance received from mentors, sponsors, parents, teachers, and other sources.
Can be in first person - this section only.
Worth 0 points - optional

15. Works Cited Separate page Put a centered header on this page
Your list should include any material that is cited in your paper.
Follow the MLA style.
It should have no numbering, a handing indent, and all should be double spaced.
You must have a minimum of five sources, have a variety of sources (not website heavy), and have only .gov and .edu unless your teacher has given permission for other sites.
Worth 25 points

16. Appendix Separate page Put a centered header on this page.
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 of you will have this section – depends on equipment used in experiment and data collected – See your teacher for more information.
Worth 0 points – optional but points may be deducted from the results or methods section if an appendix was needed.

17. Appendix
If you have more than one appendix, label them Appendix A, Appendix B, etc. and place them on separate pages.
For your table of Contents, they can be listed separately by letter or all together

18. What it will look like Title Page – separate page
Table of Contents – separate page
Body of paper: background, materials and methods, results, discussion and conclusion
Acknowledgements – separate page
Works Cited – separate page
Appendices/Appendix – separate pages

19. Presentation Do not put it in a binder, clear plastic sleeves, etc.
You paper will be turned in on the due date with all the teacher edited drafts in your empty purple folder.

20. How it will be graded Scientific Method 45% Scientific Thought 20%
Paper Format 25%
Due Dates 10%

21. SCIENTIFIC METHOD 45% Title Page (5) Table of Contents (5)
Introductory paragraph with thesis statement (5)
Stated hypothesis at end of background in summary paragraph (5)
Independent and Dependent Variables identifiable (5)
Materials: all brand names listed (2)
Materials: written in paragraph form (2)
Methods: control evident and necessary (3)
Methods: limited independent variable (3)

22. SCIENTIFIC METHOD 45%
Methods: experiment can be replicated exactly (3)
Methods: limited independent variable (3)
Methods: all metric measurements (3)
Methods: adequate sample size (3)
Methods: written in layman’s terms (3)
Methods: sound experimental design (3)
Data table and paragraph summary of data (5)
Statistical analysis used (5)

23. SCIENTIFIC METHOD 45% Hypothesis proved/disproved (5)
Results discussed (5)
Discussion of possible error in experiment (5)
Correct MLA citation form used for all (10)
Alphabetical, no numbers, hanging indent; double spaced (3)
Variety of sources, not website heavy (4)
Minimum of five sources (4)
Only .gov, .edu, or teacher approved sites (4)

24. SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT 20% Project applicability in the real world (10)
Sound scientific thought – background research -clear support of hypothesis (25)
Innovative hypothesis (10)
Sound data collection method and presentation (15)
Valid conclusion drawn (15)
Future applicability proposed/What next? (15)
Responsiveness to changes made in past drafts (10)

25. PAPER FORMAT 25% 12 pt Times New Roman, double spaced, 1” margins (6)
Logical writing with transitions (15)
Parenthetical citations used (correctly)(15)
Noun-verb agreement (4)
Pronoun (indefinite, reference, ambiguous) (4)
Sentences clear, clear diction (4)
No fragments or run-on sentences (4)
Present tense – research/background (4)
Past tense – rest of paper (4)
Active voice – research/background (4)

26. PAPER FORMAT 25% Passive voice – experiment (4)
Written in third person (4)
Correct spelling (5)
Correct punctuation (5)
Correct Capitalization (5)
No sentences beginning with ‘and’, ‘but’, #s, etc. (4)
First/last sentence in a paragraph own words (4)
No contractions (4)
Spell out numbers 1-10 (4)

27. DUE DATES 10% Project Ideas 10 pts Project Plan 10 pts
Fair Paperwork 15 pts
1st draft/logbook 10 pts
Revised Project Plan 10 pts
2nd draft pts
Third draft pts
Final paper 15 pts

28. Your Final Project Grade
Each teacher that grades your paper will fill out a rubric gradesheet.
The scores will be averaged for your final project grade in all classes.
In science this counts as 10% of your chemistry grade.