Written+Report+Components

The components should be placed in a binder or folder with a report cover and must be in the same order as explained below: Those components on your display board indicated by an asterisk (*) should also be in your binder. Print two copies of each; one for your board and one for your written report binder.
 * // Written Report (Binder/Folder) Components //**

__Abstract Components__: (write in paragraphs)
 * I. __Title Page__ **: Students need to have a title that reflects their science project. This is not the problem. Type only the project title; Center the project title. Do __not__ type your name or any other information on this paper. Students should include graphics, clip art, or pictures on the Title Page.
 * II. *__Abstract__ **: This can only be done when your experiment is complete. It gives a summary of the project in a brief, but thorough paragraph form. This is a one page, 250-word maximum __summary__ of the entire project that includes the components below. Judges and the public should have a fairly accurate idea of the project after reading the abstract. It should summarize the purpose, procedure, results and conclusions of the student’s investigation; therefore, it is one of the last items done. An abstract does not give details about the materials used unless it greatly influenced the procedure or had to be developed to do the investigation. An abstract should only include procedures done by the student. Work done by someone else (scientist) must not be included. Place a copy of the abstract **on the display board and in the written report binder.**
 * [|FL State Abstract Instructions]**
 * [|See #14 Abstract Form]**

1. __Purpose__: the statement that explains why the student is doing the experiment 2. __Problem__: the question telling what the student is trying to find out 3. __Hypothesis__: an explanation of what prompted the student’s research, what the student hopes to achieve, and what the student thinks the outcome might be (before doing the experiment). 4. __Procedures__: a brief summary of how the experiment was performed & the key points 5. __Results__: a brief description of the important results that lead directly to the student’s conclusion-do not give too many details or include tables or graphs of data. 6. __Conclusions__: a brief summary paragraph of why the experiment had those results and if your hypothesis was correct or incorrect. 7.__Appplications:__ a brief summary paragraph of how you think your results can be used by others and what you would do differently in future experiments on this topic.


 * III. __Table of Contents__ :** A list of where to find specific information in the student’s written report. Include page numbers (placed behind the Abstract summary).


 * IV. __Experimental Design__ :** Make this word the title page for this section which includes: your purpose, problem, research (background information) hypothesis, subjects, variables, materials and procedure, your charts and graphs, and any summary you want to put in written form. This must include the conclusion, application, recommendation and interview summaries (if applicable) Each of the following items is on a separate page with its title.

1. *__Purpose__: the reason why the student is conducting this research and doing this experiment.

2. *__Problem__: the question the research answers in question format- the scientific question to be solved. It should be an open-ended question that is answered with a statement, __not__ a yes or no. Ex: “How does the color of light affect the growth of a plant?”

3. __Research (Background Information)__: a summary in paragraph format of all the information the student has gathered from reference materials. This is a report of all information related to the subject telling what was learned about the problem, using reference materials (books, magazines articles, personal communication, internet, etc) before and during the experiment.

4. *__Hypothesis__: the ‘educated guess’ that is the answer to the problem. It is statement __with a reason__. The experiment is designed to test this hypothesis. The hypothesis does __not__ change even if the results are different. Ex: “I believe that all plants need regular white light to grow. I base this hypothesis on the information I learned in my background research that showed me how plants convert light energy into food.” The format can be: I think…; It is my opinion that…; I believe…because or based upon….(the reason) or a cause and effect statement: If(what you plan to test), then _(what you think will happen).

5. __Subject(s)__: Explain what organism, item or parameter the student is testing. Any matter, living or nonliving is the subject.

6. *__Variable(s)__: the items that have an affect on the experiment. The variable or item that the student changes purposely that will yield different results.

7. *__Control(s)__: the parameters you keep the same so that the experiment is valid. These are the items that do __not__ change during the experiment that test the hypothesis.

8. *__Materials__: a bulleted list of any supplies necessary to complete your study of the problem and testing of your hypothesis. Be sure to include the quantity of any items listed.

9. *__Procedures__: step-by-step process used to carry out the experiment. The experiment must be done at least three times to increase the validity of the results. It should be detailed so that someone would be able to repeat the experiment. Use numbers to list steps beginning with a verb (like in a recipe). Do not use pronouns in listing the steps. **It is highly recommended to use the metric system.**

1. Measure 500mL of de-ionized water into three plastic cups 2. Time the reaction with a stopwatch with 0.1 second accuracy 3. Place each type of AA alkaline batteries into each plastic cup 4. Record results 5. Repeat steps two more times
 * Example:**

10. *__Tables, charts, pictures, graphs, diagrams__: the data represented in easy- to- see format and in the metric system. Students must include a minimum of one.

11. *__Results__: a breakdown, in summary form, of what happened in your experiment. Just give the facts not the interpretation (those are in your conclusion section). Example: Plant A grew 5 cm higher than Plant B after 2 weeks. INCLUDE STATISTICS (metrics is preferred when possible. [|More on Results]

12. *__Conclusion__: specifically summarizes what the student has discovered, how the results compare to the hypothesis and why the hypothesis was correct or incorrect. Review how the data related to any information the student has learned while doing his/her background research.

13. *__Application__: a summary about how the project relates to real world problems or situations.

14. __Recommendations__: indicate any changes or improvements to the experimental design or give possible extensions to the research.

15. __Interview Summaries__: interviews, personnel, phone, email, and communications from any professional that have helped the student in any way.