Project Outline

 Assignment 2: The Outline  Objective:  Organize your thoughts and the main points of your research for your final presentation  Assignment Instructions:  To help you complete Assignment 3: The Presentation,  you will first submit an outline to organize your thoughts and main  points. Your outline should be formatted a specific way and must contain  the following elements as described below.  To prepare for this assignment, I recommend that you do the following: 

• Read these directions carefully. 


• Review the sample outline. This  sample is merely to show formatting; please see the criteria for the  outline below to ensure you have included all five required sections. 


• Read the grading criteria.   The grading criteria is a detailed evaluation that I will use to assess  your performance.  It also will help you understand what is expected of  you as you prepare your assignment. 


• Message me with any questions! 

Be sure to add your name and course number to your outline. The outline format:  Your outline must be  formatted as described and exemplified in the example attached.  Please  note that this format will be assessed in your grade: 

• Use an alphanumeric sequence 


• Sections should be indented and aligned 


• Follow the suggested order of the required elements 


• Use brief but detailed and descriptive phrases.  

The required elements: Depending on the  type of organism you have chosen you will address different sets of  questions.  Please see the category that responds to your selection.  Your outline should contain the following elements in this order, and  please note that some of these should be your personal observations.  Also remember that your presentation (Assignment #3) should only be  10-15 slides, so you need to be concise and clear with your information. MICROORGANISMS: I. The Introduction Section A. Organism Introduction 1. The common and scientific name of your organism. Please see this link to help with scientific names if needed: How To Write Scientific Names 2. Where you observed your organism (country, state, park, zoo, etc.) 3. A brief discussion on why you chose your organism 4. If possible, a picture and/or video  of you safely observing your species in the field. If not possible,  search the Internet for an image (and remember to cite your source for  the image) in a typical habitat. II. The Body A. Physical Description 1. You must include a brief physical  description. You can use your personal observations. If you cannot  safely observe your organism, you must research. a. Size, coloring, etc. B.  Life Cycle and Reproduction 1. Life Cycle: describe the life cycle  of your organism.  The life cycle refers to the series of changes that  happens from the beginning of life as your organism develops and grows  into a mature organism.  Please see here for some hints on the Life Cycle. If you have any questions on this please ask! 2. Reproduction: You must discuss the  reproductive strategies of your organism. For example, discuss how your  microbe undergoes asexual reproduction. C. Structure and Function 1. Please select one organ system of your organism that you find to be particularly interesting and describe both the anatomy and physiology of that system. 2. If you have selected a bacterium or a  fungus, the concept can be more complex.  Please contact me directly  for more help is needed. D. Energy Ecology 1. If you can observe these, that is best. If not, research. 2. What are the food sources? Types? Amounts? Temporal pattern of feeding? E. Habitat 1. Where your organism lives. This does  not refer to a city or state, but rather the natural environment in  which your organism lives. 2. You should consider abiotic factors, such as soil, water, etc., as well as biotic factors, such as predators, hosts, etc. III. The Conclusion Section A. This section should contain four to six points that sum up the main points from the body of the outline. B. Start your conclusive section with  one sentence summarizing some basic information about your chosen  organism (name and geographical distribution). C. Continue with a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the life cycle and any particular body structures. D. Include a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the ecological role of your chosen organism in its ecosystem. E. Wrap up the conclusive section with a  closing note that provides brief information about a unique fact and/or  behavior of your chosen organism. IV. The Reference Section:   A. This is not just the reference page; rather, referencing should occur throughout the outline as it will in your presentation.  Therefore, your outline should include both a separate reference page containing a minimum of five sources listed in proper APA reference list format AND internal  citations throughout the outline where appropriate.  Please be  sure to see the resources below for assistance regarding in-text  citations and reference list formatting, and/or ask me if you have any  additional questions.  PLANTS/FUNGI:   I. The Introduction Section A. Organism Introduction 1. The common and scientific name of your organism. Please see this link to help with scientific names if needed: How To Write Scientific Names 2. Where you observed your organism (country, state, park, zoo, etc.) 3. A brief discussion on why you chose your organism 4. If possible, a picture and/or video  of you safely observing your species in the field. If not possible,  search the Internet for an image (and remember to cite your source for  the image) in a typical habitat.   II. The Body A. Physical Description 1. You must include a brief physical  description. You can use your personal observations. If you cannot  safely observe your organism, you must research. a. Size, Coloring, Leaf arrangement, flower color, etc. B. Life Cycle and Reproduction 1. Life Cycle: describe the life cycle  of your organism.  The life cycle refers to the series of changes that  happens from the beginning of life as your organism develops and grows  into a mature organism.  Please see here for some hints on the Life Cycle. Plants can be a bit more complicated, so if you have any questions please feel free to ask! 2. Reproduction: You must discuss the  reproductive strategies of your organism. Are there any specific  structure or cells involved in reproduction? Are the flowers  specialized? C. Structure and Function 1. Please select one organ system of your organism that you find to be particularly interesting and describe both the anatomy and physiology of that system. 2. If your organism is a plant, here are a list of the general plant organ systems 3. If you have selected a fungus the concept can be more complex.  Please contact me directly for more help if needed. D. Energy Ecology 1. If you can observe these, that is best. If not, research. 2. How does your plant harvest the energy from the sun? How does it store the energy? E. Habitat 1. Where your organism lives. This does  not refer to a city or state, but rather the natural environment in  which your organism lives. 2. You should consider abiotic factors, such as soil, water, etc., as well as biotic factors, such as predators, hosts, etc.   III. The Conclusion Section A. This section should contain four to six points that sum up the main points from the body of the outline. B. Start your conclusive section with  one sentence summarizing some basic information about your chosen  organism (name and geographical distribution). C. Continue with a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the life cycle and any particular body structures. D. Include a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the ecological role of your chosen organism in its ecosystem. E. Wrap up the conclusive section with a  closing note that provides brief information about a unique fact and/or  behavior of your chosen organism.   IV. The Reference Section:   A. This is not just the reference page; rather, referencing should occur throughout the outline as it will in your presentation.  Therefore, your outline should include both a separate reference page containing a minimum of five sources listed in proper APA reference list format AND internal  citations throughout the outline where appropriate.  Please be  sure to see the resources below for assistance regarding in-text  citations and reference list formatting, and/or ask me if you have any  additional questions.  ANIMALS:   I. The Introduction Section A. Organism Introduction 1. The common and scientific name of your organism. Please see this link to help with scientific names if needed: How To Write Scientific Names 2. Where you observed your organism (country, state, park, zoo, etc.) 3. A brief discussion on why you chose your organism 4. If possible, a picture and/or video  of you safely observing your species in the field. If not possible,  search the Internet for an image (and remember to cite your source for  the image) in a typical habitat.   II. The Body A. Physical Description 1. You must include a brief physical  description. You can use your personal observations. If you cannot  safely observe your organism, you must research. a. Size, Coloring, etc. B. Life Cycle and Reproduction 1. Life Cycle: describe the life cycle  of your organism.  The life cycle refers to the series of changes that  happens from the beginning of life as your organism develops and grows  into a mature organism.  Please see here for some hints on the Life Cycle. If you have any questions please feel free to ask! 2. Reproduction: You must discuss the  reproductive strategies of your organism (e.g. release of gametes by a  fish or hermaphroditic reproduction in earthworms), mate choice, mating  displays, mate competition and mating systems. C. Structure and Function 1. Please select one organ system of your organism that you find to be particularly interesting and describe both the anatomy and physiology of that system. 2. If your organism is an animal, here are a list of the general animal organ systems D. Energy Ecology 1. If you can observe these, that is best. If not, research. 2. What are the food sources? Types?  Amounts? Temporal pattern of feeding? Specific handling or processing of  food items by the organism (e.g. the way a squirrel manipulates an  acorn) E. Habitat 1. Where your organism lives. This does  not refer to a city or state, but rather the natural environment in  which your organism lives. 2. You should consider abiotic factors, such as soil, water, etc., as well as biotic factors, such as predators, hosts, etc.   III. The Conclusion Section A. This section should contain four to six points that sum up the main points from the body of the outline. B. Start your conclusive section with  one sentence summarizing some basic information about your chosen  organism (name and geographical distribution). C. Continue with a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the life cycle and any particular body structures. D. Include a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the ecological role of your chosen organism in its ecosystem. E. Wrap up the conclusive section with a  closing note that provides brief information about a unique fact and/or  behavior of your chosen organism.     IV. The Reference Section:   A. This is not just the reference page; rather, referencing should occur throughout the outline as it will in your presentation.  Therefore, your outline should include both a separate reference page containing a minimum of five sources listed in proper APA reference list format AND internal  citations throughout the outline where appropriate.  Please be  sure to see the resources below for assistance regarding in-text  citations and reference list formatting, and/or ask me if you have any  additional questions.     Please make note of the following tips and tricks: 

• I understand that this is a rough draft and, as your research and  writing continue over the next few weeks, details may be added or  changed.  Although you do not have to resubmit it to me, I recommend  that you update this outline to help you best complete Assignments 3. 


• Write your outline so that it has detailed bullets that you can  easily then flesh out into sentences for the narration of your  presentation (Assignment 3). 


• After your outline is complete, I recommend that you next draft  your introductory and conclusion sections for your outline.  This will  ensure that all the main points of the outline are incorporated in these  two framing sections of your final presentation.  


• Please note that less than 10% of your outline or presentation (Assignment 3) should contain direct quotes. 


• All internal citation references should be listed on the reference page, and vice versa. **  Work which is improperly cited and referenced or lacking either proper  citations or references may not be accepted for credit. **   

Additional Resources:  

• Sample outline 


• Use MS Word’s Outline Function.  Use a MAC?  Here is a  video link (captioning included on the link) that you may find useful  that reviews formatting in MS Word. (Setting up APA headers in Word). 


• Also, please see the resources below at The Owl at Purdue site for more information on how to develop an outline:  
  
  
  
  • Types of Outlines and Samples 
  
  
  • Four Main Components for Effective Outlines 
  
  
  • Why and How to Create a Useful Outline 
  
  
  
  


• For more information on how to format in-text citations and references lists, the links below:  
  
  
  
  • In-Text Citations: The Basics 
  
  
  
  

Evaluation:  Please review the Outline Grading Criteria that describes how your outline will be graded. Submission Instructions: 

1. You must submit your Outline as a “Microsoft Word” document (rather than a Word Pad, Works, etc. document) AND title your file name as FirstnameLastname_SCIN130_Assg2.doc. Otherwise, you will not receive credit for your assignment. 


2. Upload your assignment for grading by clicking on the "Add Attachment" button at the bottom of the page.  


3. The new screen will prompt you to click the "Browse" button so you can locate the MS Word document of your Outline on your computer. 


4. Find the file and double-click on it. 


5. Click "Continue". 


6. Double check to ensure that your outline was successfully uploaded as an attachment. 


7. When you have completed this assignment, type "Completed" in the rich text editor box below. 


8. Check the "Honor Pledge: I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment." checkbox. 


9. Click the "Submit" button. 


10. Your outline is automatically submitted to Turnitin with your submission: 

Outlines will be automatically added to and checked against the  standard Turnitin repositories.  Originality reports will be returned to  the faculty and student in roughly 15 minutes of the submission.   Multiple submissions are allowed before the due date. If you wish to  learn more about and how to access Turnitin.com, a plagiarism detection  website, these are available from the APUS Online Library. APUS Writing Center.