(adapted with permission from Barry McPhail)

Title Page and Abstract (Not part of the page count): A title, followed by a one-paragraph summary of the information in the report. A person reading the abstract should be able to understand the major points made in the paper.

Body of Report : Major headings centered. Paragraphs indented. Text double-spaced, headings and paragraphs triple-spaced. Source citations included in the text. Follow the format of the journal Ecology.

1. Introduction-a brief description of the site.
2. Methods-materials and methods used in the investigation. You should cite a source if it is a standard method.
3. Results-a description of the results of the investigation.
4. Discussion and Conclusions-any needed discussion of the results or conclusions you reached based on the results. The results and conclusions should be supported by references and figures. These references and figures should be cited in the text body.

Figures (Not part of the page count): A figure can be a chart, graph, photograph, or other graphic illustration of your results. Place each figure on a separate page. Each figure must have a single-spaced caption at the bottom of the page which explains and relates the figure to the text. Figures must be neat and easy to read. You may draw them, or trace them from a published illustration, but if traced, you must cite the source of the original drawing in the caption, and include a full reference in the Literature section. Example:

Fig. 1. Drawing of a widget. The caption of a figure should be underneath the figure. It should make plain to the reader the significance of the figure to the subject of the report. A). Items of interest can be lettered or numbered. B). Any such items should be keyed or listed in the caption. C). Such items should relate directly and clearly to the concerns of the text. If the figure is not original to you (i.e., traced or re-drawn from an original source), that source should be cited here in the caption, and included in the literature cited section of the paper. (Drawing from Jones 1960).

Literature Cited (Not part of the page count): A separate page or pages. Published works you consulted and/or quoted in the writing of the paper.

A Literature Cited section is a comprehensive list of citations for books and journal articles on a given topic. The topic will be assigned to you. The form of an acceptable bibliographic entry varies depending on the type of publication, but is the same as for the Literature Cited in the term paper.

The Literature Cited section must run at least two pages or twenty entries, whichever is shorter. It must include both books and journal articles. It will be typed in 12 point Courier or an equivalent font. The entries will be single spaced and in alphabetical order by first author's surname. The first line of each entry will not be indented, but all subsequent lines in the entry will be indented 5 spaces. There will be a double space between the entries.

Author's surname, Author's initials. Year. The Title of the
     Book. Publisher's name. Publisher's address.

Gould, S. J. 1995. Dinosaur in a Haystack - Reflections
     in Natural History. Harmony Books. New York, New York.

First author's surname, First author's initials. Second
     author's initials Second author's surname. Year. The
     Title of the Book. Publisher's name. Publisher's address.

Curtis, H. and N. S. Barnes. 1989. Biology, Fifth ed. Worth
     Publishers, Inc. New York, New York.

Author's surname, Author's initials. Year. The Title of the
     Article. The Title of the Journal. Volume number (issue
     number): beginning page number-end page number.

Schwaegerle, K.E. and B. A. Schaal. 1979. Genetic
     Variability and Founder Effect in the Pitcher Plant
     Sarracenia purpurea L. Evolution 33(4):1210-1218.

(Please notice that scientific names are also italicized, which is why the plant name is italicized even though it is in the article title).

Author's surname, Author's initials. Year. The Title of the
     Article. IN: Editor's surname, Editor's initials, (ed.),
     The Title of the Collection , Publisher's name, Publisher's
     address.

Slobodkin, L.B. 1975. Ecological Energy Relationships at
     the Population Level. In: Readings in Population and
     Community Ecology, Hazen, W.E.,(ed.), W. B. Saunders
     Co., Philadelphia, PA.

Plagiarism is unacceptable. Direct quotes from your sources must be indicated by quotation marks or by a special format, and must include a citation of the source. Paraphrase (putting an idea in your own words) is acceptable, but you must still cite a source for the idea unless it is original to you. Directly or indirectly quoting a source without attribution is called plagiarism. It is considered dishonest and a form of academic malpractice. Plagiarism will result in a zero grade for the paper involved. Repeated cases of plagiarism will result in further consequences up to and possibly including a failing final grade for the course.

At the end of the semester, you will be expected to present a seminar on your group research project. The seminar should:

1. Summarize the hypothesis tested by the research, relating it to ecological principles and existing papers on the topic.
2. Explain the procedure and how and why it will give results which test the hypothesis. Explain the significance of both a positive and a negative result.
3. Present the results of the sampling method to the class. Summarize what you think the results say about the hypothesis and about the ecological principles involved.

Use any method of presentation which seems effective to give the class a clear picture of what was learned by this experiment. Maps, drawings, slides, or biological specimens make good props.

 In addition to the oral presentation, the team should provide their audience with materials to aid their understanding of the seminar. These should include  

1. an abstract
2. an outline of the seminar presentation
3. a graphic
4. five review questions

  Return to Bio 280 teaching page.