Project paper

Assignment 1:Project References = 10 points

Each group member will individuallyturn in a typed list of the references they have found, with at least 4 being referred, the title of the paper, and the names of each group member on the page.The list should be in the proper format outlined in Appendix C.

Using the Holman Library (See Appendix F)

The GRCC Library offers excellent electronic methods for finding reference materials for your projects. Most can be accessed directly via the World Wide Web. The GRCC Library Catalog contains all of the books at the college, but books are probably not the best source for this project. Most of your references should be periodicals as they are usually more specific and up-to-date. There are several searchable electronic databases available for your use. A GRCC librarian will be happy to assist you in determining the databases most appropriate for your project. You may find that some of the periodicals that would be of greatest help for your project are not available through the GRCC Library. If this is the case, please talk to a librarian about how to get copies of articles that you need from other libraries in the region.Often you can get what you need in a couple of days.

The references you pick are not all created equally! The best source is information from the scientists who conducted the study. Try to find information of this type—much of it may be too technical but you should be able to glean some information from it. The second best source is popular science journals such as Scientific American, Science News, American Scientist, or Discover. Most of your references will probably be of this type. Since these periodicals are devoted to science, they tend to be better sources of information than general magazines such as Time or Newsweek.General popular references such as newspapers and general magazines may sometimes be helpful but don’t limit yourself to these. Each person should try to find at least 4 references of high quality. Remember that part of your grade for your paper is based on the quality of your references.

The World Wide Web also provides an excellent source of materials. Web pages vary in quality enormously, so you should take care to use sources that provide accurate information. Look carefully for the biases of the authors. Many news magazines, newspapers and journals now publish on the web. These will tend to be more reliable than individually published web pages. The latter may be very useful, though, particularly if they cite references. Do not limit yourself to material that is strictly web based.

Every scientific publication provides an “Instructions to Authors” that describes the format for the references section and all other requirements for papers they will accept. The format for citing references varies slightly from one scientific publication to another.By following the guidelines as outlined in Appendix C you will insure your citations are cited correctly.

Assignments 2 & 3: Draft and Final Paper Project = 30 and 60 points

Every member will turn in a paper on one aspect of your group’s topic using the references you have found. This report should be about 4 pages typed and double-spaced. Your title page, figures, and references should be on additional pages. High quality papers are expected. Use a word processor and save your electronic version of the paper until after you receive your grade. Computer crashes are not an excuse for late papers. Make back-up copies of your paper as storage disks are unreliable. It’s a good idea to keep a hard-copy too.

The initial draft of your paper is due at the beginning of lab during the 7th week. You should bring 2 copies of your paper to lab. One copy will be turned in and the second copy will be given to another member of the class. You will read another class member’s paper, make comments on the paper, which I will review, and return it to the writer. The final version of your paper is due at the start of lab during the ninth week of class.You will receive two grades for your paper: a rough grade and a final grade. The rough paper grade will be based on the quality of the rough draft of your paper, as well as the quality of the comments you receive when evaluated by your peers in class.The final draft of your paper will be graded more carefully.You should turn in your rough paper, which I graded, with its rubric, and the peer reviewed paper (with comments) with your final paper so that I can review what other authors thought of your rough draft.