Main -->Projects-->Research Paper

Know-It-All

You are going to become a "know-it-all" about something in science this year. You have all year to do it, but there are some deadlines. Choose any science topic. It should be something you want to know more about. Learn something new. Put together a report on your topic. I will help you, Mr. Brown will help you, Mrs. Thomas will help you. The report is due by the middle of April.

The report can be in any form you like. It can be a paper, a web site, a Hyperstudio stack, a PowerPoint presentation, a performance, a movie, or anything which puts together what you have learned and makes it interesting to other people. It must have a bibliography. It must be in your own words. Finally, it should show that you learned something new, put it together well, and made it interesting.

Due Dates:

Topic February 7

Research Contract February 19

Notes February 28

Outline/Design/Plan March 7

First Draft BEFORE March 21 - This gives me a chance to look at it over spring break

Hand in: April 14 (along with a bibliography in proper form listing all of the sources you used)

Presentation the month of May.

You can work ahead if you like. Make a folder in your network directory for your project.

Check Web sites carefully to make sure they're good. Here's how.

When you take notes about your research, avoid writing exactly what your book, magazine, encyclopedia, or web site says. Write down a few words or phrases, not whole sentences. You should have a lot more information than what ends up in your project.

Don't be boring. Write strong topic sentences, good conclusions, and paragraphs that flow and are readable. Use good words. Avoid "elephant" words. We'll talk about ways to do all this.

Avoid plagiarism. This is what plagiarism is.

Have fun and write clearly. Make it interesting. Here's some tips for writing well.

This page was last modified February 12, 2003