2011-2012+Science+Fair+Research+Paper+Rubric

Research I: Grading Guidelines for Formal Research Paper:

Student Name ___ Date__ __

Format
Double spaced, numbered pages (lower right), paragraphs indented, headings centered, 12 pt font, Times New Roman, 1” margins 5

//Title Page// Title placement in center of page (not numbered), maximum of 65 characters, capitalize all important words, italics for species name 5 In lower right hand corner, single spaced : Your name, school name (Conyers Middle School), school address (400 Sigman Road, Conyers, Georgia 30012) and date 5 //Table of Contents// Not numbered, provide heading, list all major sections of the paper (abstract to appendix) on left margin and include a page number for each section on the right margin, make sure page numbers are correct, not necessary to use p., pg. or page, use the first number only for each section. 5


 * FROM THIS POINT ON USE 3RD PERSON, PAST TENSE, FOR ALL SECTIONS OF THE PAPER** 5

//Abstract// (no heading is necessary) Limited to 250 or fewer words, Title in ALL CAPS, include student name and address on next line, school name and address on next line 5 Includes a statement of the purpose, research hypothesis, a summary of the procedure, data obtained, brief statement about analysis methods, report results, body of abstract is double spaced, on its own page. 5

//Introduction// State purpose of research, rationale (reason for wanting to complete this project, hypotheses--you must give an overall hypothesis and indicate individual ones for multiple variables) – include research & null 10 Review prior research (background information), cite references with (author’s last name, date) or (domain, date retrieved) for internet _5 Information on all IV and DV components _ 5 //Materials and Methods// Narrative form (no lists or steps), include all important materials, give concise description of experimental method (very detailed procedure can be placed in appendix), diagrams or pictures can be included here _10

//Results// Text in used to introduce and describe what is in tables and graphs _5 Tables and graphs are correctly labeled, numbered (use 1.1, 1.2 if related) with headings and captions to describe contents _5 Statistical Analysis discussed and summarized in tables, include df, a, CV If statistical analysis is not possible due to lack of variance, a table showing descriptive statistics (mean, mode and median) is required _5 Raw data placed in tables in the Appendix with labels, headings, captions_5

//Discussion and Conclusion// Narrative interpretation of results, refers to the original purpose _5 Correctly states the relationship between the variables _5 Sources of error, uncertainty, bias identified _5 Comparison to other research and suggestions for future research _5 Hypotheses supported or rejected, refer to statistical results _5

//Acknowledgements// New page, recognize special help received from individuals or groups by way of information, assistance, use of equipment. Write a separate sentence for each person acknowledged _5 //Literature Cited// New Page, APA format _5 All references are cited in the body of the text _5 Quality of sources (variety of categories: journals, books, encyclopedias, internet sources) _5

//Other Important Features// Appendices are lettered or numbered _5 Experimentation - correct experimental design, include in appendix _5 Writing – good grammar and spelling _5 Good sentence and paragraph structure _5

TOTAL (150) _