| No matter what your science fair project is about, one | | | | 5. Discussion. No matter what kind of science fair |
| thing is certain: your science project report will | | | | project you do, chances are good that you will have |
| communicate the nature of your experiment as well | | | | your own opinion about how it worked and how |
| as the information that you learned from the | | | | effective it was. Discuss the results and talk about |
| experiment. Many students enjoy actually doing the | | | | anything that you would change in the discussion |
| science fair experiment, but struggle with the report | | | | section of your report. |
| because it requires in-depth writing and analysis. | | | | 6. Conclusion. This is my favorite section of the |
| By breaking the project report into small steps, you will | | | | science project report because it is where you tie |
| be able to complete the report without a lot of hassle. | | | | together information that you learned from the |
| A thorough report can also mean the difference | | | | experiment and draw your own conclusions. Hopefully |
| between a good grade on your science project and a | | | | this is also where you can share your own ideas and |
| so-so grade. Remember: the judges will also take a | | | | opinions that you gathered from your experiment. |
| look at your report, so make sure you pay attention to | | | | 7. Acknowledgements. Thank anyone that helped you |
| the details when you create it! | | | | with your project, such as your parents, siblings, friends |
| Here are the sections you'll need to include in your | | | | and teachers. This section can include a brief |
| report: | | | | statement of how people helped you and allows you |
| | | | to send out a great big "thank you!" |
| 1. Abstract. Your abstract should provide a short | | | | 8. References. No science project would be complete |
| overview of the science project report. Briefly state | | | | without a list of references that you used in order to |
| what the report is about and what people will learn by | | | | complete the experiment. Cite the references |
| reading the report. I usually try to keep abstracts to | | | | according to the citation method that you teacher |
| about a paragraph. | | | | prefers, such as MLA format. Also, be sure to |
| 2. Introduction. The introduction to your report can be | | | | recognize the people that gave you information as |
| anywhere from one paragraph to an entire page. This | | | | well, such as a doctor or scientist you may have |
| is the section where you will provide background | | | | interviewed. |
| information about the topic of your report and any | | | | A good science project report requires that you take |
| pertinent information that you will include in your report, | | | | time to pay attention to each section. You cannot |
| such as terms and equations. | | | | complete a science fair report the night before a fair |
| 3. Experiments. In this section, you should describe in | | | | and expect it to be thorough and an accurate |
| details how you went about conducting your | | | | representation of your talent. Therefore, start in |
| experiment. Outline methods that you used to perform | | | | advance, plan, and work hard to include all of the |
| the experiment as well as methods you used to collect | | | | information and ideas needed to make your report |
| data. | | | | complete. Have fun! |
| 4. Data. This is the part of the science project report | | | | If you're ready to get going with your own science |
| where you will include completed data. You can use | | | | project report or project, your next step is to |
| charts, graphs, photos and other visual aids to help | | | | download a free copy of "Easy Steps to |
| communicate data. If you have a large amount of data, | | | | Award-Winning Science Fair Projects" from the link |
| it may be wise to organize the data in appendices at | | | | below right now. |
| the end of your report as well. | | | | |