Buddy Binder excerpt Tips for Writing the Background Report:

  The background Information of the written report should be 1-2 pages in length, 3 paragraphs. This will help YOU become the EXPERT on your own project. Judges want to see that you understand you project, so this step is very important. You can insert diagrams, photos into your background too.  Always put ideas into your own words. Don't just copy and paste from the internet or other sources...that would be called plagiarism which is not acceptable and in some schools it will earn you at minimum an F on an assignment or being expelled from school. Mentors will help you avoid this by editing your written work after you email it to them paragraph by paragraph!  Step one: Write the 1st paragraph and send it to your mentor for editing suggestions. The first paragraph serves to introduce your project. The first sentence must have a 'hook' to draw the reader in. Follow this with a statement of the purpose of the experiment you intend to do. Next explain why the project is important(what it can teach people about the topic) and any potential practical applications of the information you hope to learn from doing a project like the one you propose to do. This is all done in a CONVERSATIONAL MANNER...NOT A LIST. *See the complete sample background report. Send the first paragraph to the mentor for editing  Step two: Write the 2nd paragraph while waiting for your mentor to edit the first The second paragraph tells what you have learned from your background information searches on the internet, magazine, book etc. and includes references to what at least two other experiments similar to or somehow related to yours & have been found to be factual. This section is the most difficult of thebackground report to find and understand so mentors will help edit and make suggestions but will not write it for you. The following suggested fill in the bland format the for 2nd paragraph is Courtesy of Jennifer Horton, Officer SRVHS, '08 & modified by Patti Carothers Advisor MVHS '10 Directions: Try to fill in the blanks with what you have done research on! In the science field of__________ (name of your topic i.e. Botany, Geology, Energy...etc.), the__________ (person/group that did the experiment, i.e. Johnson & Johnson) found out what happened when ______________ (what the person/group tested, i.e., usually their testable question or hypothesis goes here). This was an important experiment because it showed that _________________(i.e. here you write the key point that you learned from the experiment - look at the experiment's conclusion to see what they discovered). Another experiment that proved to be important was _________ (i.e. here put the goal of the experiment OR the title of the experiment), was done by_________ (person/group that did the experiment). The research discovered_____________ (what the person/group learned). The major points learned from these two experimenters was that__________ (i.e. here summarize what you learned/key point(s) from the 2 experiments - think about the experimental conclusions). *see the complete sample background report.  Send the second paragraph to the mentor for editing. paragraph.

Step 3: Write the 3rd paragraph while waiting for your mentor to edit the 2nd This paragraph will focus on some of the "key words or terms" you've learned in

paragraph your literature search that will help show you have become "THE EXPERT" on your topic such as on growing plants or flying paper airplanes etc. You may also include a chart, diagram, or photograph in this third paragraph if it helps to explain what you are talking about and be sure to give the diagram, chart of photograph a caption and cite the source next to or underneath such as: "photo courtesy of (and fill in the source)... The last sentence in theis paragraph should explain how this information you have learned is helpful to prepare you to understand your own project.   Send the third paragraph to the mentor for editing.

Step 4: Write the bibliography of Works Cited while waiting for your mentor to edit the

third paragraph. References must be in APA format. A good site to use for creating your bibliography is www.easybib.com. All you need to do is type in the information and it will be converted to the right format. After that, just make sure they are put in alphabetical order by the author's last name on a word document. Your mentor can help you organize this section. Here is an example of a Background report for the sample testable question: "What is the effect of different concentrations of sugar water on the germination time of bean seeds?"

SAMPLE BACKGROUND REPORT Infant plants must overcome huge obstacles before they can grow and be productive. The purpose of this experiment is to determine if soaking seeds in sugar water prior to germinating them will speed up the rate of seed germination. This is an important experiment because it can help to potentially grow crop plants faster than normal and increase rate of crop yield and improve the availability of crops in undernourished communities or countries. In the science field of seed germination, the experiment of Foley and his associates from St. Louis University found what happened when they soaked seeds in plain cold water for 24 hours before planting to test if germination time changed. This was an important discovery because it showed that seeds soaked in plain water germinated one day faster than the control seeds that were just planted in the sold dry and then watered in the ground. Another experiment that proved to be important was testing if soaking seeds in hot water would kill seed pathogens and help seeds germinate faster, was done by Miller and Ivey at Oregon State University. This research experiment discovered if properly used, hot water treatment kills most bacterial disease- causing organisms on or within seeds but it also showed that some seeds were damaged by the treatments and rotted in the soil so it should only be used on seeds of eggplant, pepper, tomato, carrot, spinach, lettuce, celery, cabbage, turnip, radish and other

crucifers. Over half of the seeds in each test group did not germinate at all. The major points learned from these two experimenters was that pre-soaking seeds in water of room temperature can speed up seed germination by one day but that the temperature of the water should not be hot enough to ruin the seed. the seed contains and embryo with two points of growth (one of which forms the stems the other the roots) is enclosed in a seed coat with some food reserves. The seed contains the embryo of the new plant, with a supply of food for the embryo until it has formed sufficient roots and leaves to obtain its own food. The food, endosperm is a sugar source for the baby plant to begin germinating, it may be in the seed leaves or it may be outside the seed leaves and be consumed as the seed germinates. To start germination, the seed leaves absorb water and swell. Seeds are generally dry when they are planted into the ground. The parts of a seed that must absorb water include the seed coat, cotyledon, endosperm (food for embryo), and embryo.

(photo courtesy of Wikipedia) Once enough water is absorbed the seed swells and breaks the seed coat. The embryo begins to consume the endosperm food and grow within the seed. When it is large enough the embryo's root leaves seed first followed by the shoot which breaks through the ground This process takes a great deal of energy and becomes a huge obstacle to overcome by the embryonic plant. My project is important to this process because it hopes to show that adding sugar water to the seed it will add more sugar energy to the seed and speed up the germination process therefore possibly make it easier on the embryo and ultimately get crops growing faster. Works Cited: Search results for http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/Germination.htm. Search results for http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/Germination.htm, Sear.Print. Search results for http://gardening.wsu.edu/library/vege004/vege004.htm.