Back to CH 301-Chemistry and Society OR CH101-Chemistry in the World OR CH 107- General Chemistry I OR Forensic Science I OR Medicinal Chemistry On this page: Writing Reports | References | General Formatting Guideline A term paper/report gives the student an opportunity to the student to demonstrate his ability to research and without a text or continuous direction of his/her supervisor, and to communicate his conclusions in an appropriate and traditional manner of science. This gives a chance to the student to work independently on a topic of his interest.
The topic: You will be provided the topic in class or given an option to choose between a few. The topic should be something that you wish to know more about or hold an opinion about and would like to express your views about in a constructive manner. The resources: all research in science has to have a resource - a reference. Since you are writing a report - like a review - you have to be able to prove your point by citing valid references. Hence a literature search is generally a good idea. You might have a brilliant idea but you may not have any literature or data to back it up. This is very important in research. Hence after choosing a topic find enough articles/references for data to support your idea. The references: Books and encyclopedias are secondary reference sources - they have established facts which do not need further experimentation and validation. Most of these sources are updated in years hence not current, although they may provide references to primary reference materials. Articles in journals/magazines are primary reference sources; they are current giving an account of any new observations and experiments. Hence you, as a scientist, should concentrate on the current literature - magazines, journals and newspapers. (The places where you might go for resources are - Park College library, UMKC library, Linda Hall, any Public Library). Once you feel you have sufficient material to support your paper, proceed to write the paper. Formatting: Writing the paper: Most scientific papers are written in Times New Roman or Geneva font size 12, double line spacing with one inch margin all around. Reference citation is very important hence make sure you number each reference you come across. As you write the paper give every data a reference. Any data is doubtful and often worthless without a legitimate reference.* It is up to you to either cite the reference at the bottom of each page as you go along or collectively at the end of the article. Reminder: If at any point you have any doubt of any of the above or anything else make sure to see me. * National Enquirer is not a scientific reference material. 1) The ACS style guide - the best for writing science reports: My personal preference is ACS style, but you can follow any of the others. For more information go to the http://parkonline.org website. You will find CDL200 - the online writing lab on the first page at the top. Click on it and follow it to "Writing Info" then "Citing Sources" for more information.
|