Title (2 marks) You should have a descriiptive title for your paper. Your reade

Title (2 marks)
You should have a descriiptive title for your paper. Your reader should have a general idea what your paper is about from your title.
Abstract (1 paragraph; 2 marks)
The abstract is a quick summary of your study. It should include your primary objective (1 sentence), how you addressed the objective (1-2 sentences), your main findings (1-2 sentences) and your broad conclusion (e.g., “I conclude that the results were consistent with the hypothesis that air quality affects lichen abundance”). Essentially, it has one or two main points from each section in your paper. The abstract is usually written once the rest of the paper is written.
Introduction (up to 1 page; 6 marks)
Provide some background information on the broad topic of your study (e.g., general lichen biology, some factors that might affect lichen abundance, how different factors might affect lichen abundance). Introduce the key aspects of your specific study (e.g., specific factors you looked at as possible affecting lichen abundance) and why it is important to study this. State the two hypotheses examined and the predictions you made for each. Then finish with a brief (1-2 sentences) statement about how you tested your predictions. Note that you should have citations in your introduction.
Methods (up to 1 page; 4 marks)
Describe how the study was done in enough detail that someone could replicate it. Describe data collection methods for determining lichen abundance and those relevant to your factors (and only those relevant to your specific factors!). Be sure to include the (approximate) location of the study and the time of year it was completed. Include units that you measured variables in. Don’t forget to state what statistical tests you did for your factors and what computer program you used for data analysis.
Results (1-2 pages; 8 marks)
Include the two figures you made in Lab 2 with proper captions. State the main finding from each figure in the text of your Results section. Elaborate or expand on each main finding to give your reader more information (e.g., what was the average value? By how much did the means differ? Were there any apparent outliers?). Don’t forget to refer to each of your figures in the text of your Results. Remember, if you didn’t find a significant difference between two means you can’t say they were different in your Results section.
Discussion (2-3 pages; 8 marks)
This is the critical thinking part of your scientific paper. Start with a statement about whether you supported your hypotheses. Interpret what your results show about what affects (or does not affect) lichen abundance on trees. If your factors didn’t seem to affect lichen abundance, think of some other factors that you didn’t measure that might affect it. (you can draw on what other groups in your lab found here!). Cite literature to back up your explanations/suggestions. You should also compare your findings to those of others. Are your findings similar or different to similar work done in, say, a different location, or in response similar factors?
Think about future work. Are there any biases in your data? Did you assume something that you didn’t think would affect your data that maybe did impact your results? What about the time of year data were collected? What else could you look at with a future study that would build on this one?
Finish with a few broad statements summarizing your findings and how they fits in the larger context of the topic.
References (minimum 3 references to the primary literature; i.e., journal articles; 5 marks)
You will find your textbook and other sources helpful for background information when writing your paper, but you should also try to find new references that support your ideas/conclusions or with which you compare and contrast your results. Try to find studies that have used a similar approach or that have used the same (or related) species to investigate a similar topic. References are graded on selection of sources AND on formatting of in-text citations and listed references.