Student Assignment Booklet 2013-14

Student Assignments

EnvironMentors Grading Rubric Assignment 1: Student and Mentor Meeting Commitment Form = 5 points (2.5 pt. each)  Complete form and turn in by designated due date.  Completed form includes both student and mentor signatures.

Assignment 2: Project Topic Form = 5 points (1pt. each)  Develop a project topic of his or her personal interest, identifying the environmental issue, including root(s) of the problem that the project will address.  Describe the compelling need for the project in terms of importance to the community and the environment in approximately 100 words.  Clearly articulate in approximately 100 words the overall purpose and goals of the project that will be conducted using the Scientific Method to aid in investigation.  Pose an innovative and unique research question which to the best of his or her knowledge has never been addressed before.  Write an Introduction for the Final Research Paper combining all the previous points using proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling to communicate in a clear and concise manner.

Assignment 3: Annotated Bibliography = 5 points (1 pt. each)  Identify at least 3 credible books, professional journals (can be online), or newspaper (can be online), or magazine articles related to project topic.  Identify at least 3 credible primary internet sources related to project topic.  Properly cite each source.  Prepare a summary in paragraph form of 100-200 words for each source.  Use proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling to communicate in a clear and concise manner.

Assignment 4: Expert Interview = 10 points (2 pt. each)  Research field experts and identify most realistic top choices.  Contact 2-3 experts and set up an interview with at least 1.  Develop a thoughtful list of questions for the interview and send questions to interviewee in advance.  Before conducting the in-person interview, materials are prepared, and interviewer is dressed appropriately and on time.  Write and send a thank you note to the interviewee.

Assignment 5: Background Research Paper = 10 points (2 pt. each)  Paper is between 5-10 pages in length.  Paper includes reference to the student’s Expert Interview, three primary internet sources, as well as three non-internet sources accompanied by proper citations.  Summary of ideas for investigating student’s main topic are included.  Presented research gives reader an idea of the direction of the research project, as well as initial hypothesis.  Entire body of work has a clear flow in paragraph form, without outstanding grammatical errors.

Assignment 6: Hypothesis Form = 5 points (2.5 pt. each)  Complete form and turn in by designated due date.  Completed form includes both Mentor and Chapter Coordinator’s initials.

Assignment 7: Experimental Methods and Materials List = 10 points (2 pts each)  Identify independent, dependent, and controlled variables including what quantity the student will measure, and how the measurements will be made.  Identify at least 3 experimental data sets and 1 control data set.  Identify a study site or sites that are suitable to conduct his/her research. To what extent does the student demonstrate an understanding of the need to return to the same study site(s) to conduct multiple experimental trials?  Write a detailed materials list including quantities, while also specifying items that might be difficult for the student to obtain.  Describe his/her sampling techniques and methods. To what extent does he/she clearly outline experimental procedures that follow a logical and systematic sequence of events needed to collect necessary observations and data?

Assignment 8: Raw Experimental Data = 5 points (2.5 pt. each)  Tables should be designed in an organized way that is easy to write in while actually collecting data in the field.  Record data in an organized way for all variables in the procedure, and any changes made to the procedure are noted. Meteorological conditions should be recorded for every specific day that data is collected.

Assignment 9: Data Analysis = 5 points (2.5 pt. each)  Organize the data in a useful manner, creating graphs that show important trends in the data.  Properly calculate mean, median, and mode and any other important statistics for the data in a way that helps illuminate the significance of the experimental results.

Assignment 10: Discussion and Conclusion = 5 pts (2.5 pt. each)  Write a clear discussion about the experimental results that is 2-3 pages in length.  Discussion includes information from all seven sections of the data interpretation worksheet.

Assignment 11: Research Abstract = 5 points (5 pt. each)  Write a clear abstract summarizing the research project, about 250-300 words in length Assignment 12: Final Research Paper = 15 points (1.5 pt. each) Each of the following sections is written in paragraph form, without severe grammatical errors, helping to give the entire body of work clear flow and an adequate length of approximately 10-12 pages:          

Title Page Abstract Introduction Background Research Experimental Method Results and Analysis Discussion and Conclusion References Acknowledgements Appendices

Assignment 13: Project Display Board = 15 points (3 pt. each)  All required elements are displayed including: project title, abstract, problem statement, research question, hypothesis, experimental procedure, materials list, map(s) of study site(s) location, results (tables of data and observations as well as graphs and charts), discussion, conclusion, and acknowledgements.  Required elements are displayed on board or poster in a clear and organized way.  Display is visually appealing and creativity is demonstrated throughout.  Individual conducts himself/herself professionally at the fair, including dressing appropriately for the event and discussing research topic with the judges.  Extra items are displayed on table including: extra copies of Abstract for judges, final copy of Research Paper in a 3-ring binder, and student’s EnvironMentors manual with all raw data and project planning information.

Total Possible Points: 100 Total Points Earned:

_______

Student & Mentor Meeting Commitment Form Please fill out this form with your mentor, sign it, and return it to your chapter coordinator.

First Meeting I, _______________________________________, agree to meet my mentor for our first meeting at the time and location specified below: Date: _________________________________________ Time: _________________________________________ Location: ______________________________________ I will get to the first meeting location by (circle all that apply): Public Transportation Walk

Get a ride from __________________________ Other _____________________________________

Future Meetings I, _______________________________________, will continue to meet with my mentor as follows: Day of week: ___________________________________ Time: ___________________________________________ Location: _______________________________________ Transportation: ________________________________ Contact With My Mentor I, _______________________________________, agree to notify my mentor if I am unable to make a meeting or if I will be late to a meeting. I will do so by calling all numbers and writing to all emails my mentor provides me. If I do not reach my mentor, I promise to leave a message and continue to call my mentor until I speak to him/her directly.

I, _______________________________________, understand that if I fail to meet these basic commitments on an ongoing basis, I may be asked to leave the program.

Student signature: ________________________________________________

Date: __________________________

Mentor signature: ________________________________________________

Date: __________________________

Project Topic Form With the guidance of your mentor, chapter coordinator, and/or teacher, use this worksheet to fully develop your project topic.

GENERAL TOPIC AREA ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PROBLEM STATEMENT Write a one or two sentence description stating the environmental issue you will address with your project. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

NEED FOR THE PROJECT Develop a one paragraph (approx. 100 words) summary stating the need for your project. Think in terms of importance to your community and the environment. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

PROJECT PURPOSE Develop a one paragraph (approx. 100 words) statement of the purpose of your project.

Thoroughly describe what you hope to learn by investigating your topic using the Scientific Method. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RESEARCH QUESTION State your research problem in terms of a question you can answer through experimentation. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mentor’s Initials:

__________

Chapter Coordinator’s Initials: __________

Annotated Bibliography To complete your Annotated Bibliography, you should: •

Identify at least three books, professional journals, or newspaper or magazine articles related to your project topic.

•

Identify at least three primary internet sources related to your project topic.

•

Properly cite each source. (consult http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/ for more examples)

•

Prepare a summary of 100-200 words for each source.

CITATION INFORMATION AND NOTES Books and Articles 1. Citation: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Summary Notes: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Citation: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Summary Notes: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Citation: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Summary Notes: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Internet Sources

1. Citation: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Summary Notes: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Citation: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Summary Notes: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. Citation: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Summary Notes: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mentor’s Initials:

__________

Chapter Coordinator’s Initials: __________

Expert Interview Experts Name: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Title: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Affiliation: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Phone #: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________ E-mail Address: _______________________________________________________________________________________________

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS & NOTES

My Question: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Expert’s Answer: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My Question: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Expert’s Answer: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My Question: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Expert’s Answer: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My Question: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Expert’s Answer: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My Question: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Expert’s Answer: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My Question: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Expert’s Answer: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My Question: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Expert’s Answer: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Additional Notes: ______________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mentor’s Initials:

__________

Chapter Coordinator’s Initials: __________

Background Research Paper Your background research will summarize what you learned from both your Literature Review and your Expert Interview.

Discuss both the similarities and differences of the information you studied; Include a summary of previous experiments in your project topic area; Include your hypothesis in this section. Make sure to present a logical argument for why your background information supports your educated guess; Remember to properly cite all your information sources, and list them in your Bibliography; Include your interview questions as an appendix.

Mentor’s Initials:

__________

Chapter Coordinator’s Initials: __________

Hypothesis Form With the guidance of your mentor, chapter coordinator, and/or teacher, use this form to record your hypothesis. Remember that a good hypothesis will: • • •

be based on information you learned during your background research, include your independent and dependent variables, be worded in a way that can be tested by experiment.

RESEARCH QUESTION Re-state your original research question ___________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

HYPOTHESIS Record your educated guess about the answer to your research question. ____________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

VARIABLES Independent (the variable you will control): _______________________________________________________________ Dependent (the variable that will change in response to changes in the independent variable): __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fixed (the variables you will hold constant): _______________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mentor’s Initials:

__________

Chapter Coordinator’s Initials: __________

Experimental Methods & Materials List With the guidance of your mentor, chapter coordinator, or teacher, use this worksheet to fully develop your experimental procedure and materials list.

Identify your variables and the specific quantity (weight, time, etc.) you will measure, and describe how you will make your measurements.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DEPENDENT VARIABLE(S) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CONTROLLED VARIABLES ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL DATA SETS You must have at least 3 experimental data sets and 1 control data set. If a control data set is not possible for your project, consult your chapter coordinator. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

STUDY SITE(S) Your study site(s) should be an area you can visit regularly and consistently. __________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

MATERIALS LIST Include everything you will need to carry out your procedure, and be sure to list amounts. Put a star next to items you think might be difficult to obtain so you and your mentor can get assistance from your chapter coordinator. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Write step-by-step instructions for how you will perform your experiment. Be a specific as possible. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mentor’s Initials:

__________

Chapter Coordinator’s Initials: __________

Raw Experimental Data Use this sheet or another document to record your experimental data. It is useful to think about the data you will be collecting and create tables ahead of time. Be sure to record data for all your variables and any changes you need to make to your procedure. Use as many pages as you need.

Mentor’s Initials:

__________

Chapter Coordinator’s Initials: __________

Data Analysis Using Excel or another computer graphing program, create graphs or charts that display your data in a manner that is easy to interpret. Copy and paste your graphs and charts in the space below, or into another document.

Mentor’s Initials:

__________

Chapter Coordinator’s Initials: __________

Discussion & Conclusion Worksheet With the guidance of your mentor, chapter coordinator, or teacher, use this worksheet to guide you through developing your Discussion section and drawing your Conclusion.

DISCUSSION How did you conduct your experiment? What observations and data did you need to collect to answer your research question and evaluate your hypothesis? Refer to your experimental procedure, but focus on explaining why you designed your experiment the way you did. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What did you find out? What did your data tell you? Refer to your graphs and charts from your Data Analysis, but remember to pretend you are trying to describe your data to someone who isn’t looking at your graphs. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Can you identify any sources of experimental error in your original procedure or in the actual data collection that may have affected your results? How would such error have affected your data?

How can such sources of experimental error be avoided in the future? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CONCLUSION Do your data support or disprove your hypothesis? Explain. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How well do your results address your original research question? Has your research question been fully answered? Explain why or why not. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Based on what you learned, what additional research do you think should be conducted in order to advance the understanding of your project topic? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finally, discuss some ideas for how your community can use what you’ve learned to help make a cleaner environment or conserve natural resources. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mentor’s Initials:

__________

Chapter Coordinator’s Initials: __________

Project Abstract An abstract is a complete but concise description of your entire research paper meant to give a general overview of the subject while enticing potential readers to read the full paper. You will write it once you have completed the entire paper, but it will eventually be the first piece that readers see. Your abstract should generally be no longer than 250-300 words in length. Do not include your charts and graphs.

Mentor’s Initials:

__________

Chapter Coordinator’s Initials: __________

Research Paper OUTLINE Title Page • A title that clearly describes your project • A picture or image that relates to your project • Your name, your EnvironMentors chapter, and your mentor’s name Abstract • A complete summary of your project (see below) Introduction Description of your general topic area • Problem statement regarding your specific environmental issue • Explanation of the need for your project • Description of your project purpose • Your research question Background Research Summary of what you learned from both your Literature Review and your Expert Interview • Discuss both the similarities and differences of the information you studied • Summary of previous experiments in your project topic area • Include your hypothesis in this section. Make sure to present a logical argument for why your • background information supports your educated guess.

• Remember to properly cite all your information sources, and list them in your Bibliography.

Include your interview questions as an appendix.

Experimental Method Description of your variables (independent, dependent and controlled) and how you measured them.

• Description of your experimental and control data sets.

• Detailed information about the location of your study site(s), including maps.

• Materials written in paragraph form rather than as a list.

• Experimental procedure. This should be written in paragraph form as a description of what you did, rather than as a list of instructions.

Results & Analysis • The data you collected in organized tables. This should be your final calculations (means etc.)

• Graphs that display your data in a way that is easy to understand.

• Brief description of each graph.

• Include your raw data and calculations in an appendix.

Discussion & Conclusion • Description of how you conducted your experiment and why you designed it the way you did.

• Brief description of what each graph in your Results section mean.

• Summary of what you learned • Discussion of sources of experimental error • Explanation of whether your data support or disprove your hypothesis.

• Summary of how your results address your original research question.

• Suggestions for further investigation of your project topic.

• How your results can be applied in your community.

References • Include the bibliography of sources you used in your background research.

Acknowledgements • Thank the people who have helped you accomplish your work on this research project Appendices • Expert interview questions • Raw data and calculations • Any other information you feel is important

Mentor’s Initials:

__________

Chapter Coordinator’s Initials: __________

Project Poster Elements of your display board can, and should, be pulled from your research paper.

Required Elements • Project Title • Abstract • Problem Statement • Research Question • Hypothesis • Experimental Procedure • Materials List • Map(s) of your study site(s) location • Results (Tables of data and observations as well as graphs and charts) • Discussion • Conclusion • Acknowledgements Items to Display on the Table • Extra copies of your abstract for the judges • Final research paper, if required by chapter, in a 3-ring binder • Your EnvironMentors manual with all your raw data and project planning information Optional Elements • Photographs • Drawings and Diagrams • Newspaper articles related to your environmental issue • Water or soil samples (if applicable) • Model demonstrating an element of your project

Mentor’s Initials:

__________

Chapter Coordinator’s Initials: __________