biology lab report

Biology 123L-124L Spring 2014 Scientific Paper- Grading Rubric

Student Name: - --------------------- TITLE: (3pts.) ______ Descriptive of the topic studied

_organism (genus and species), factor manipulated, parameter measured _type of study e.g. Human Heart Rate Variability _nature of results obtained e.g. "The effect of exercise on the heart rate of ...... "

ABSTRACT: (4pts.) Summary of the Paper (Past Tense -approx. 250 Words) Very Specific _purpose or objective of the study _brief description of methods _ results with statistics or math if applicable or any appropriate data analysis

conclusion INTRODUCTION: (20pts.) ____ Introduces the topic of the paper (Present Tense)

_general to specific background information with references (Relevant Journal Articles) _brief description of what you will study and why it's important to study this _ Purpose of the study _ Hypothesis/Hypotheses ("It is expected that ...... ")

MATERIAL AND METHODS: (16pts.) __ Experimental Protocol (Passive Voice) _introduction to methods e.g. "In order to determine the effect of exercise on the heart rate

of college students the following method was used." _organisms (genus and species), reagents (molarity, ratio) or equipment used (name, model) _experimental procedure/procedures described; name of procedure/procedures _concise description of statistics, math or appropriate data analysis used

RESULTS: (24 pts.) __ lllustrates and Supports the Data _starts with an overview of paper e.g. "These results determine the effects of ....... "

NO INTERPRETATION- NO ANALYSIS OF THE RESULTS __presented in an organized manner (No Raw Data) _text (paragraph) describing the figures/tables above each figure/ table _clearly labeled figures (X and Y axes and Legend) with numbered descriptive caption

BELOW figure _clearly labeled tables with numbered descriptive caption ABOVE table

DISCUSSION: (20pts.) __ Supports your conclusions with your results/your interpretation _State your conclusion/conclusions FIRST by addressing the questions posed in your

introduction; then, explain why you came to this conclusion by discussing your results _comparison of results with published work (use the Journal Articles you have read and

cited in the Literature Cited section at the end of paper) _what other experiments might be done and were there procedural errors _implications of results and what do they imply for the future

Do I think that you UNDERSTAND THE OVERALL CONCEPTS OF THE EXPERIMENT AND ANALYSIS OF THE DATA?: (16pts.) __ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND LITERATURE CITED: (8pts.) __

_ must have first and last name of persons being acknowledged (goes before Lit Cited) _used proper method of citing references within the text ofthe paper _acceptable format of referenced materials in Literature Cited section _number and quality of references used

WRITING/GRAMMAR/SPELLING: (9pts.) __ _ sentence clarity i.e., no run on sentences, complete sentences with noun, verb, punctuation _maintained correct tense in each section of paper, used Passive Voice _Expression of thought is not obscured by mechanics. Word usage gives consistently clear

and precise meaning. Used correct spelling. Concise, but, thorough communication.