Microbiology

Rubrics for Carbon Utilization Research Paper Presentation

___ General Presentation Skills and Setup

1. Are the sections covered thoroughly? Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion.

_________Title (1 pts):

· Must be descriptive. Cleaning the Toilet Bowl is NOT a descriptive title.

· Effectiveness of Toilet Bowl Cleaners at Inhibiting Bacteria would be a better, more descriptive title.

· Really should not be cute or funny.

_________Introduction (needs references) ​

· Does it have a background on the overall problem/question?

· What are we trying to do with the experiment?

· Background on specific fungi (where are they found).

· Background on this type of test (sugar utilization/fermentation).

· Why is this important in the real world?

· What are these sorts of tests useful for?

· Central question

· Hypothesis – with reason

· Prediction (If the hypothesis is supported, then ​ …)

○ These parts should be easy for me to find. If it is not obvious, I may dock points. Best way to make it obvious is to put it at the end of the introduction.

_________Materials and Methods

· Tell a story of how the procedure was done beginning to end.

· Make sure to talk about replication

· Reference to a figure which is a flow diagram showing the experimental layout

· Figure should show something about how the experiment was set up

__________Titles of figures and tables​

· These titles should be so complete and clear that I could read only the abstract and the figs/tables and I would know what the study was about.

· Titles and descriptions of figure ​go at the bottom ​of the figure

· Titles and descriptions of tables ​go at the top ​of the table

________Results

· Include text that describes results.

· Use average class data not individual data.

· Numbers must be present.

· Refer to figures and tables

· One figure present in the results section.​ Figure has a number and descriptive title ​at the bottom​ of the figure.

_________Discussion/Conclusions​ (needs references)

· Repeat central question, hypothesis w/ reason, & Prediction.

· Was the hypothesis supported? Why? Was it rejected? Or neither because of experimental failure

· Include what the data mean in light of the purpose of the study.

· Use references you may have already cited and some new ones ​to support your results.

· How does data fit previous studies? How does it connect to the real world?

· Talk about ​anomalies​ in the data, if any.

· This is also the right place to talk about unexpected things that came up, if any.

· What would you do ​next​?

· What questions has this research brought up for you?

· What experiment should be done next ​and why,​ what could we gain from the new experiment?

_________ Literature Cited

· You need ​at least​ 7, the 3 I provided and 4 more you find

· The reference format needs to be correct, ​APA format.​ ● Look in D2L for APA citation format crib sheet.

· In-text references used in the ​introduction and discussion​. ​Name-date method​, not number method

1 Example: ……. (Melendrez et al., 2001).

· NO WEBSITES! Primary literature only. ​Learn to get cozy with PubMed and Google Scholar.

___ General Presentation Skills and Setup continued….

2. Are the sections presented in an appropriate amount of time? Not hurried or drawn out. (1 pt)

3. Are the slides not just read? Slides should only be a guide…elaborate on them. (1 pt)

___ Presentation Format

· Are the slides easy to read and understand?

· If used, are images described and discussed?

· Are references used when appropriate?

· Is text on slide kept to a minimum? Too much text and it becomes a difficult presentation to follow.

___ Presentation Content

· Did the presenter keep to their sections? Results people should stick to results, they should not discuss results.

· Is content appropriately broken down between slides?

· Does the data make sense? Do the conclusions make sense? Does the introduction offer good reasoning for the experiment? Always ask why.