Guidelines in Writing a Scientific Paper

ROGERS, Steve G., STARK, Tony E. and ROMANOFF, Natasha A.

Group No. 1
Monday/ 2-5 pm /OZ309
Math and Physics Department, Adamson University

Abstract

An abstract is a succinct (one paragraph) summary of the entire paper. The abstract should briefly state the
question asked (present verb tense), what was done to answer the question (past verb tense), the most important
results and evidence (data) presented in a logical order (past verb tense), and the answer to the question (present
verb tense). Although it is located at the beginning of the paper, it is easiest to write the abstract after the paper is
completed.

Introduction Results and Discussion

The purpose of the introduction is to stimulate
the reader’s interest and to provide background
information which is pertinent to the study. The
statement of the research question is the most
important part of the introduction.
Theory
Theory discusses concepts and/or principles deemed
important and relevant to the content area being
studied.
Equations must be numbered and centered. For
example, the hypotenuse, h, of a right triangle is
h  a 2  o2
(1)
where a is length of the adjacent side and o the length of
the opposite side.
Use MS Word Equation Editor in presenting
equations.
The two functions of this section are to report
the results (past verb tense) of the procedures described
in the methods and to present the evidence, which is the
data (in the form of text, tables or figures), that supports
the results. Begin each paragraph with an opening
sentence that tells the reader what question is being
tested in the experiments described in that paragraph.
Your data should be presented succinctly in the
body of the report and presented in detail as tables or
graphs. Explain your results in detail, speculating on
trends, and possible cause of the results and inaccuracy
or errors (if any). Try to present the principles,
relationships, and generalizations shown by the data
obtained.
Embed the figures in the document and place them
closest to the text where the figure is referred and
discussed. Figures may be submitted in color or
grayscale. Figures are centered and embedded as a
separate line and not wrapped inside the text. Hence no
text should appear beside a figure.

Figure 1 shows how images be embedded in the

Materials and Procedure
report. The figure-captions are centered. Please layout
The Materials and Procedure section should your figures appropriately to allow space for figure
succinctly describe what was actually done. It should captions to contain in one page.
include the materials used in conducting the experiment
and the description of the techniques used so someone
could figure out what experiments were actually done.
This section should be written in the past tense.

rob2016
 Format:

1. Print your laboratory report in a 8.5”x11” bond

Figure 1. Example of embedding a figure in your report.
Longer figure captions should be centered underneath
the figure and justified for both left and right.
paper
2. Margin: Narrow (0.5” all sides)
3. Font Style: Calibri, Font Size: 11 (Body), 14 (Title)
4. Limit your paper up to 2 pages only.
5. Write in past verb tense, passive voice and third
person point of view. (Unless stated in the above
guidelines)
6. Attach the grading rubric in front of your
laboratory report.

Tables should be centered and numbered

consecutively. One line table headings should be
centered above the table. Longer table headings should
be centered above the table and justified for both left
and right. Captions for tables will appear above the table,
such as in Table 1.

Table 1. Example of embedding a table in your report.

Time (s) x (m) y(m)
0.0 0.0 0.1
0.2 0.2 0.5
0.4 0.4 1.0

Conclusion
This section should comprise a brief statement of
the major findings and implications of the study parallel
to the research question or objective. Conclusion leaves
a final impression on the reader.

References: (sample in APA format)

1. Gladding, S.T. (2005). Counseling as an art: The

creative arts in counseling. Alexandria, VA:
American Counseling Association.
2. Landsberger, J. (2011). In Study Guides and
Strategies. Retrieved May 13, 2005, from
http://www.studygs.net/citation.htm.

rob2016