Final paper for Group Independent Projects (see below for information on the presentation)

Please write this paper in standard scientific format (i.e. split into sections of Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion (interpretation) with Tables and Figures). If you haven’t written in scientific format before, it can be a little dry, but the point is to present your research succinctly and in a manner in which a person skimming the article can quickly grasp your meaning. Be concise, present a logical argument, and chose your words carefully. I’d expect a paper from about 5 – 7 pages in length, including figures and tables. You should have at least 10 references. Note: The style of your references and in-text citations should be modeled off the journal Ecology (available online).

Please include with your final paper the draft copies with my comments on them. I will not grade the final paper without the draft copies. Due 5 pm, Thursday, Nov 21st. (100 pts total)

A checklist for the Independent Group Project paper:

(borrowed in part from “Writing papers in the Biological Sciences” by Victoria E. McMillan (3rd Ed))

Title

Is the title specific and informative?

Introduction

Are background ideas presented in logical progression?

Is the hypothesis or question clearly stated?

Is the question or hypothesis a logical extension of ideas presented earlier in the introduction?

Are expectations clearly stated?

Are the expectations logical extensions of the ideas presented earlier in the introduction?

Methods

Have you included enough information in the Methods for someone to completely replicate your study?

Have you explained in the Methods the procedures for all the data presented in your Results?

Are the methods well organized?

Are treatments (or comparisons) clearly presented?

Are published methods cited correctly? (i.e. for phosphorus or chlorophyll analyses cite the original method, not the lab handout)

Results

Are your results presented in the same order as the experiments or tests were addressed in the Methods section (i.e., are the two sections parallel?)?

Are your tables numbered consecutively and do the numbers correspond to the order the tables appear in the text?

Are your figures numbered consecutively and do the numbers correspond to the order the figures appear in the text?

Can you understand a table or figure simply by reading the table or figure caption?

Discussion

Does the discussion consider the major implications of your findings?

In the Discussion, have your addressed problems, possible solutions, inconsistencies and counter-evidence?

Reference list

Have you cited, in the correct format, all necessary sources? Does your reference list correspond to the references cited in the text?

Have you used the journal Ecology as the style for references and citations? Endnote should have a reference style for Ecology.

Writing style:

Have you edited the paper as a whole so sections written by different authors flow together? (strong suggestion: all authors should read and edit the whole paper, including my comments on the first few sections)

Is your writing concise?

Does each paragraph convey one subject?

Are there excessive spelling errors or typos?

Oral Presentations (Nov 18th, in lecture)

You will have 5 minutes to present your project using PowerPoint. A good rule of thumb is one slide per minute. Consider one slide each for: introduction, your question and expected results, methods (including experimental design), results (if you can!) and conclusions. If you have lots of ancillary data, you may want to present only the most relevant results. A picture (or drawing) is worth… a lot. Keep in mind: if your project didn’t work out as you anticipated, don’t complain about it! Tell us what you learned, tell us what you might do next time, and make no excuses. Assuming you were reasonably rigorous in your methods, a zero answer can be very interesting!

Please email me your presentation before class, or bring it to class early on a disk (emailing will work best). If you email to me, be sure to a) check to make sure I got it (I will respond when I get it) and b)bring a back-up disk to class with you. 20 pts