Write a Proposal. The proposal will contain the following labeled sections:
a) Title Page:
A single page preceding your main body that provides your name, the class, the
term and the date of submission.
b) Abstract:
A concise summary of the entire proposal with labeled sub-sections: purpose,
methods, expected results/conclusion. This is typically written last to briefly
summarize your proposal.
c) Introduction:
Provide background and context to the proposed experiment clearly explain
current understanding of material as well as limitations. Contains hypothesis and
purpose. Heavily supported by references.
d) Methods:
Describe your materials and the methodology of your experiment. The best
studies have a single independent and dependent variable, as well as control
group. Explain how data will be acquired and analyzed, including any descriptive
or statistical analysis.
e) Expected Results and Discussion:
Provide a short description of the results you would reasonably expect. Describe
in detail what these results mean, their significance and how they advance the
field. Speculate on future experiments to again further the field.
f) Conclusion:
Summarize the purpose of the proposal, the expected results and potential major
advances to the field.
g) References:
A minimum of 5 references is required. Only book or journal article references
will be permissible no websites. Books are referenced as follows: author(s)
names (last name, first name), book title, publisher, year published. Journal
articles are referenced as follows: author(s) names (last name, first name; et al.
acceptable for papers with more than 3 authors), article title, journal name, year
published. In-text citations are provided numerically, according to their order.
Formatting: The final submission will be 8-10 pages (N.B., title page, abstract, and references do not count towards page limit), double-spaced with 12 point Times New Roman font, and 1-inch margins. All pages will be numbered, sequentially according to their order in the page footer. References are cited as superscript, secondary to punctuation. In general, your Abstract should be no longer than 300 words and conclusion should be no longer than 4 sentences.
Figures: You may include up to three figures, each no larger than half vertical page length. Figures may be embedded within the text and will count towards the page limit, or may be included at the end of the proposal under a Figures heading where they will not count towards page limit. Each figure that you did not entirely make should be cited appropriately; if modified from another source (e.g., cropped, manually manipulated), its appropriate to say Adapted from XXXcitation.
Requirements (50 points):
1. Document formatting (5 points)
2. References (5 points)
3. An accurate, clear, and concise proposal is provided, including: abstract, introduction,
methods, expected results, and conclusion (25 points)
4. Experiment is feasible and well-scoped (15 points)
