Grading Guide for the Science/Engineering Project Abstract
An abstract is an abbreviated form of your paper. It includes key words from your paper and summarizes what was learned/achieved. The abstract should let the reader know if the full paper contains the information that the reader is seeking (or to see if it’s worth reading). An abstract can also be written to summarize the main points of a project, even if there was no written paper.
_____Title is 100 characters or less. Bold this Text and Capitalize the Major Words - like I did in the preceding text. Don’t make anything else besides the title bold. [Don’t use “Abstract” as your title! Give your paper a descriptive and interesting title. Subtitles are ok, and can be also bolded!] (5 points)
_____Skip one line after title, then put your name. Then skip one line and then write your school, city, and state. Skip another line and begin your abstract – single space the text, use 1 inch margins. (5 points)
_____The entire abstract (not counting title and your personal info) is 250 words or less. List the word count in pencil on the back (most word processing programs have a tool that will count the words automatically). (15 points – one point deduction for every word beyond 250.)
_____Complete sentences are used, with correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Use an easy to read font. Make sure print quality is high. Do everything (including title) in size 12 font. (10 points)
_____State the objective, hypothesis (try to use “because” in your hypothesis – give a logical reason for your choice) or engineering goal. Briefly state the procedure. State your results and conclusions clearly but concisely. Cite meaningful data such as averages or percentages that help justify your conclusion when possible. (50 points)
_____Use the third person voice and past tense in describing what was done. (Example: "The number of bacterial colonies per square centimeter were counted..." is correct, but not "I counted the bacterial colonies in a square centimeter..."). Use present tense to state facts, findings, or conclusions. (Example: "These results show that ..." is preferred over “My results showed”) [Avoid using “I”, “me”, “my”, and “you” in the abstract! Don’t refer to yourself by your own name in the text!] (10 points)
_____ Staple this grading sheet underneath your abstract when you turn it in. (5 points)
Tip: Do not describe experimental procedures in detail. If necessary, specify the general name for the experimental method (examples: paper chromatography, survey, temperature measurements, Lego robotics, Scratch computer software, spectroscopy, etc.)
Do not describe library research, or your previous years’ experiments - only this year’s project (the stuff you did for me this school year). See sample abstract on back.
_____Total points (100 max) [Total points x 2 will appear on StudentVue]
______Your Name
What to include?
Purpose of the Experiment/project
An introductory statement of the reason for investigating the topic of the project.
A statement of the problem, engineering goal, or hypothesis being studied.
Procedures Used
A summarization of the key points and an overview of how the investigation was conducted.
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 a mentor or work done prior to student involvement must not be included.
Observation/Data/Results
This section should provide key results/statistics that lead directly to conclusions you have drawn.
It should not give too many details about the results. DO NOT include tables or graphs.
Conclusions
Briefly describe conclusions from the investigation. Cite significant data/stats when possible.
The summary should reflect on the overall project and possibly, briefly, state some applications and/or extensions of your work.
An abstract does NOT include a bibliography.
(sample abstract below)
Do Vitamin A Tablets Benefit Tomato Plants?
Chris Ketchup
Jefferson Middle School, Albuquerque, NM
This investigation sought to determine if vitamin A tablets have effects on tomato plants. It was initially thought that vitamin A supplementation would increase tomato plant growth since ripe un-supplemented tomatoes contain vitamin A. Twenty Brandywine tomato plants, each 6-8 cm tall, were planted in identical individual plastic pots using 500 ml of potting soil. Each plant received identical water and sunlight during the ten-week experiment. The plants were divided into four groups of five plants each. One 1000 IU vitamin A tablet was added to each of the plants in the first group by burying the tablet one inch from the stem and one inch deep. Two vitamin A tablets were added to the second group plants in a similar manner. The third group received three tablets. The fourth group of plants received no vitamin A and served as a control group. The height of each plant was measured and recorded at the start of the experiment and every 2 days thereafter. At the end of the experiment all the plants were cut at 5 cm above the soil surface. The plants’ roots were rinsed, dried and weighed. Leaf counts of each plant were taken along with the mass of the green plant tissue. All the experimental groups averages for mass, growth, and leaf amount were within 5% of the control’s, leading to a conclusion that vitamin A supplementation does not improve growth of tomato plants. This study indicates skepticism is warranted in supplementing plants with vitamins.