Research Report Checklist

We will be studying the PROCESS for writing research reports in this class. We will do a research report TOGETHER each nine weeks. We will all read the encyclopedia/book entries together, and I will write the notes on transparencies as you copy them. The transparencies will be kept in a folder on the overhead cart for the rest of the term so if you are absent or can't keep up with copying, you can refer to them later. Some students even take the transparencies to the media center and use their dimes to make copies so they can copy them at home. We will do much of the rough draft together in class, That too will be on transparencies. Each nine weeks I will do a little less of the work and you students will do a little more. Before you turn in your final copy of your research report, check that the following have been done correctly. Each of the areas below counts ten points on your graded report. Ten areas, each worth 10 points, for a total grade of 100.

There are also good examples of reports done by students in previous years posted in class which you can look at to see how a finished report looks. If you have any questions, ASK! Writing research reports is a skill that you will be using all the way through college. Practicing it now will just make your future years easier.

• T--Title Page: It follows the format given. Title is about one-third of the way down the page and centered. Name, class, and due date are centered below it leaving about a one inch margin on the bottom. It does not include artwork. That would be on a cover, which is not required.

• P--Page Numbering: The first page begins with the title centered at the top and is NOT numbered. All other pages are numbered in the top right corner beginning with page 2, using regular numerals followed by a period.

• R--The Report: It is written in complete sentences, with proper paragraphing, correct spelling, grammar, mechanics, etc. It is written in a logical order and covers the subject completely. For that reason it is important that the report be titled correctly. If the report is about growing oranges in Florida, it is titled "Growing Oranges in Florida." It is not titled "Florida."

• B--Bibliography: It is written in the format given, including punctuation, underlining, and indenting. The bibliography for the final report does not include the A, B, etc. labels used in the working bibliography.

• A2--Alphabetical Order and Two Sources: The bibliography is written in alphabetical order based on the first letter of each bibliographical entry. The bibliography includes at least two DIFFERENT sources. Different years of the same encyclopedia are not different sources.

• N--Notes: The notes are attached to the end of the report and are written in note form. They look like an outline, though they don't have to numbered and lettered, with information that comes under a main topic indented underneath. They do NOT look like complete sentences with each line of the page filled up. Complete sentences are seldom used. There are phrases. Small, unimportant words like " the," " a," " an," etc. are left out. Abbreviations are used whenever possible.

• S--Sources: In the left margin it is indicated from where the notes were taken using a capital letter to indicate the source and numerals to indicate the pages. Each time the page changes, it is shown in the margin.

• O--Ordering of Notes: Notes are circle and numbered to indicate the order in which they will be written into the report. Notes that won't be used in the report are crossed out.

• M--Matching of Notes to Report: The notes and the order indicated match the report. The report does not include information which is not in the notes, and there are no notes (unless crossed out) that are not included in the report. It is very clear that the report was written from the notes.

• WB--Working Bibliography: At the end of the notes is the bibliography made while taking notes. Sources are labeled A, B, etc. based on the order they were used for notetaking.

• EC--Extra Credit: The report indicates the work of a motivated student and includes artwork, creative cover, etc. that add to the report but were not required.