Science Fair Success - Writing a Great Science Fair Report

No matter what your science fair project is about, one thing is certain: your science project report will communicate the nature of your experiment as well as the information that you learned from the experiment. Many students enjoy actually doing the science fair experiment, but struggle with the report because it requires in-depth writing and analysis.

By breaking the project report into small steps, you will be able to complete the report without a lot of hassle. A thorough report can also mean the difference between a good grade on your science project and a so-so grade. Remember: the judges will also take a look at your report, so make sure you pay attention to the details when you create it!

Here are the sections you'll need to include in your report:

Abstract. Your abstract should provide a short overview of the science project report. Briefly state what the report is about and what people will learn by reading the report. I usually try to keep abstracts to about a paragraph.


Introduction. The introduction to your report can be anywhere from one paragraph to an entire page. This is the section where you will provide background information about the topic of your report and any pertinent information that you will include in your report, such as terms and equations.

Experiments. In this section, you should describe in details how you went about conducting your experiment. Outline methods that you used to perform the experiment as well as methods you used to collect data.

Data. This is the part of the science project report where you will include completed data. You can use charts, graphs, photos and other visual aids to help communicate data. If you have a large amount of data, it may be wise to organize the data in appendices at the end of your report as well.

Discussion. No matter what kind of science fair project you do, chances are good that you will have your own opinion about how it worked and how effective it was. Discuss the results and talk about anything that you would change in the discussion section of your report.

Conclusion. This is my favorite section of the science project report because it is where you tie together information that you learned from the experiment and draw your own conclusions. Hopefully this is also where you can share your own ideas and opinions that you gathered from your experiment.

Acknowledgements. Thank anyone that helped you with your project, such as your parents, siblings, friends and teachers. This section can include a brief statement of how people helped you and allows you to send out a great big "thank you!"

References. No science project would be complete without a list of references that you used in order to complete the experiment. Cite the references according to the citation method that you teacher prefers, such as MLA format. Also, be sure to recognize the people that gave you information as well, such as a doctor or scientist you may have interviewed.

A good science project report requires that you take time to pay attention to each section. You cannot complete a science fair report the night before a fair and expect it to be thorough and an accurate representation of your talent. Therefore, start in advance, plan, and work hard to include all of the information and ideas needed to make your report complete. Have fun!

If you're ready to get going with your own science project report or project, your next step is to download a free copy of "Easy Steps to Award-Winning Science Fair Projects" from the link below right now.

Your next step is to download a free copy of Easy Steps to Award-Winning Science Fair Projects to lead you through your own project.

A great resource for science project ideas, as well as how to do them, is the science project blog. Definitely worth bookmarking.

About the Author
Aurora L. has been teaching science to kids for over 10 years. She is also a mechanical engineer, university instructor, pilot, astronomer and a real live rocket scientist (You should see the lab in her basement!) She has inspired thousands of kids with the fun and magic of science

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Secrets To Writing A Winning Science Fair Project Report

First you found a killer, then you did a great science project. Now, you've got to write it all up to compete in your science fair.

Your written report is the single most important part of any science fair project. A well-written report can make a pathetic project look pretty good, and a good project look exceptional. By the same token, a poorly written report is certain to sink even Nobel Prize-quality work. It's a simple equation. The winners know how to write up their science fair project reports in a way that shows off their know-how and impresses the judges.

So when developing your report, here's a little friendly advice from a guy who once had over a million monthly readers in Scientific American magazine.

Know this! Writing is all about communicating ideas clearly. Your goal should be for the information that you present to flow effortlessly from the page into the reader's mind without the reader's head ever snapping back. Your readers should absorb your prose effortlessly as fast as their brains can decipher the words. In fact, your readers should loose track of the fact that they are in fact reading. Their focus should be entirely on the information they are taking in, and not on the text itself. It takes a lot of practice to become a good writer, and you aren't going to master the art overnight. But here are a few tips for you to focus on that will help you find your voice and keep your audience.

First, and I can't stress this enough, always always always write in clear declarative sentences. Take another look at the preceding paragraph. Can you see how short and clear the sentences are? The topic sentence isn't even a real sentence. It's a fragment, a two-word command. But it grabs your attention and pulls you in, just as any good topic sentence should. Each idea thereafter flows naturally into the next. This is how you should strive to write every paragraph of your science fair project report.

Whatever you do, don't overwork your sentences! Each sentence should contain just one complete idea. Too many run-on sentences read like the writer let him/herself be swept away in their own stream of consciousness. Was the writer was too lazy to think about what he or she was trying to say, or too ignorant to know how to communicate it clearly? Either way, run-on sentences will definitely impress the judges... in all the ways you don't want to.

Next, and I know plenty of bad writers disagree with me, but for goodness sake, avoid passive voice like the plague it is! Yes, I know that virtually every science paper ever written is clogged thick with passive sentences, but that's not style. It's proof that most professional scientists couldn't find a good sentence with two hands and a flashlight. Sad to say, most scientists are absolutely terrible writers who, comparing their work only to other terrible writers, have convinced themselves that they are actually pretty good. They feel fully competent to ignore the advice of Pulitzer Prize winners who say the same think that I am telling you now. Don't fall into that trap! Everyone who knows how to write hates passive voice, decries passive voice and struggles against passive voice at every opportunity. Why? Because passive voice is mind-numbingly boring! Readers of research papers must hack their way through these tangled morasses like intrepid explorers bulling their way through a nearly impenetrable jungle. Who wants to work that hard? Trust me. If you rely too much on passive voice, few science fair judges will have the stamina to find whatever gold you may have hidden deep inside your science fair project report.

So, instead of "This project was undertaken to ..." consider "I undertook this project to..." Instead of "The data were taken..." try "I (or we) took the data..." on for size.

Reducing passive voice in your science fair project report and writing in clear declarative sentences is a wonderful way to separate yourself from the herd. To stand above the crowd. To get noticed.

A couple of ways to other impress the judges...

Here's something you probably didn't know. The word "data" is plural! If you need the singular form then the word you are looking for is "datum". A datum is the product of a single measurement. Data is a collection of two or more datum. Data isn't an "it." Data is a "they." "The data shows" is incorrect. A datum shows (singular verb) something, but the data show (plural verb) it. The correct usage of data and datum is a huge pet peeve for some science fair judges. Getting this right consistently throughout your science fair project report will bring approving smiles to the faces of many judges, especially the curmudgeons. And believe me, a happy curmudgeon can be a good friend to have in a close competition!

And please please please reserve jargon only for those instances when jargon is actually appropriate. I've read hundreds of science fair project reports (and at least as many professional research papers) in which the writers believed they could hide their ignorance or poor technique behind a smoke screen of obtuse language. Being difficult to understand doesn't make your writing sound deep any more than smoking makes you look like an adult. Believe me, science fair judges know all the tricks, and we can spot smoke signals miles away. Verbal puffery is a sure sign of a report that doesn't got da goods! So use only clean, clear and direct language.

Finally, don't be cute! Science writing doesn't have much "personality" because scientists like it that way. Jokes and witticisms or clever word plays almost always make it harder to see the science in your paper. (The science fair student who explained that his experiment had proved a certain commonly help opinion to be "Taurus feces" didn't get high marks in my book, or anyone else's. He would have done much better if he had simply said that his results were consistent with the null hypothesis and therefore inconsistent with the commonly held opinion he was testing.)

Oh, one more thing. Your science fair project report needs to have the following parts:

* Title Page: Must include your science fair project's title, your name and contact information (address and school), your grade and the name of your science teacher.

* Table of Contents: Include the page numbers for the beginning of each section.

* Introduction: The Introduction includes your clearly formulated and testable hypothesis, as well as explanation of your idea, how you got it and why you think the work is interesting. (If don't think your experiment is interesting, give up now. You have no hope of doing a good project! So look around until you find something that interests you!) Also include what you hoped to achieve when you started the project.

* Experiment: Describe in detail the method you used to collect your data and organize your observations. Your report should be detailed enough for anyone to be able to repeat your experiment by just reading the paper, so keep this fact in mind when you write it. It's always a good idea to include detailed photographs or clearly-labeled drawings of any device you made to carry out your research.

* Discussion: This is where you explain the exact process by which you reached your conclusions. This section should flow logically so that the reader can easily follow your train of thought. Compare your data with the null hypothesis (that is, what would you have expected if the observations you made were completely unrelated to he effect you were expecting), or to your predicted results. What you would do differently if you were to do this project again?

* Conclusion: Summarize your results. Make sure not to introduce anything that wasn't already mentioned in the previous parts of your paper.

* Acknowledgments: In this section you should give credit to everyone who assisted you. This may include individuals, businesses and educational or research institutions. Identify any financial support or material donations you may have received.

* References: This list should include any documentation that is not your own, such as books or articles, that you used. For the accepted format, see the rules for your particular science fair competition. If the rules don't specify a preference, then find a research journal that publishes articles in the area of your experiment, and copy the format that it uses.

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Science Fair Secrets - Writing a Great Science Fair Report

When it comes time to write your science fair report, keep in mind that your report might be read not only by your science teacher, but also by the judges, depending on how your school's fair is set up. Therefore, you will want to be sure that your science report has complete and accurate information that will answer any questions that the judges have.

There are about 8 sections that you should include in your science fair report in order to make the report complete and easy to understand. Here's an overview of those sections and of what information you should include in those sections

Abstract - The abstract section of the science report is a one or two paragraph section in which you will explain what the science project is about. Be brief - this is just an introduction to your report.

Introduction - The introduction to the science report is the actual beginning of the report. While the abstract summarizes the entire report, the introduction states why you performed the science project (what your goals were) and what people can expect to learn from the science project.

Experiments - The experiments section is a step-by-step explanation of the specific experiments that you performed for your science project. This is the section in which you provide details into what you did during your experiment. You can also include graphics, such as charts and photos, that help to show how you performed the experiment and measured results.

Data - In the data section of your report, you will include information that you learned during the experiment. While you may include charts and graphs in the experiments section of the report, those charts and graphs should actually be completed in the data section of the report. If you have so much data that it is difficult to include all of it in just a few pages, then it is okay to add an appendix to your science project report in which you include more data than in the data section.

Discussion - Every science fair project can be improved. In the Discussion section of your report, include information about what you would have done differently and how the experiment can be improved. You can also provide tips for other students that may wish to perform similar science projects.

Conclusion - The conclusion of your science report is the section in which you provide a summary an analysis of your results. This section should tie together the introduction with the experiment and the data in order to provide a clear picture of your entire experiment.

Acknowledgments - Don't forget to thank those individuals that helped you during your science experiment, such as your teachers and your parents!

References - The reference section is where you can include any resources that you used during your research and experiment. These resources may be books or news articles, or they could be teachers or doctors. Be sure to include information about how to reach those individuals that helped you with your research or your experiment.

Writing a science report does take some time, so be sure that you don't save it for the last minute. Take time to really think about your experiment and your results in order to write a thoughtful discussion and conclusion as well. Most of all - have fun writing the science report!

If you're ready to get going with your science report, your next step is to download a free copy of "Easy Steps to Award-Winning Science Fair Projects" from the link below.

If you're ready to get going with your own science project, your next step is to download a free copy of Easy Steps to Award-Winning Science Fair Projects.

Good luck!

About the Author

Aurora Lipper has been teaching science to kids for over 10 years. She is also a mechanical engineer, university instructor, pilot, astronomer and a real live rocket scientist (You should see the lab in her basement!) She has inspired thousands of kids with the fun and magic of science.

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.