Guidelines for Report Component ( worth 20%)
The report may be based on articles from sources such as Chem Matters Magazine,
Science News, Materials Today, Discover Magazine or College Science Journals.
The report is not to be presented in point form. It will be an evaluation of a topic
in Science related to everyday Materials and will reflect the student’s ability to
discuss a science topic , and summarize and integrate the material in a logical
manner. The impact of the “material” chosen on society should be addressed.
Students should clearly identify and explain the science and its relevance to the
broader social and legal context.
Students will be assessed for a clear, lucid writing style.
Essay/ Report Guidelines:
The following sections need to be considered:
1. Introduction: In this section, the student clearly identifies the science and
includes a rationale why the subject is of interest and relevance to course.
The topic of choice should be in the spectrum of Science of materials as in
plastics, polymers like nylon for example, food additives, PTFE, cell phones,
transistors, light emitting diodes (LED) lights, biodegradable materials,
recombinant face cream, contact lenses, kevlar etc .
Topics related to Global Warming, Energy consumption can also be
considered provided materials relevant to the topic of choice are discussed.
For example, materials such as zirconium alloys are of importance in nuclear
reactors. Likewise, conventional materials are used in wind turbines for
harnessing energy such as stainless steel and polymer composites.
2. Science and Methods Used: The student presents the science content pertaining to
the material such as structure and properties that relate to its function and utility.
You may use graphic, schematic flow charts and pictures to illustrate your report,
but do not clutter with too many images. Any limitations or problem areas in its
discovery and development can and should be addressed if relevant.
3. Societal Impacts: How the material you have picked has made an impact on
the lives of people and society can be addressed. Applications, limitations
such as cost, availability ease of storage etc can be discussed in this
section.
4. Bibliography: This will be one page and should include the references cited. The
reference citation should include the author, title, source and date of publication
and correct page numbers. APA, MLA or Chicago style can be used. Use the
same format for all the references cited for consistency. No more than 10
references need to be included. Make sure that you reference your report
appropriately from the references cited in the bibliography.
The individual reportsshould be approximately 1,000-1200 words, double-spaced,
have a title page on the first page and with appropriate titles and subtitles in the
appropriate sections of the report. Reports that contain an excessive number of spelling
and grammatical errors or inadequate number of footnotes will be accordingly penalized.
Evaluation will be based on how well all these elements are presented and on how
well students present the science they have learned in the course. At the end of
every chapter you will see a feature titles “Chemistry in Action” . You may use
similar themes/ ideas parallel to these topics. Review of some of these will be
instructive. If you use a topic from the text be sure to do some further reading and
literature search ontha ttipic. You may quote words from a paper or author but do
not copy paste entire sentences. The ideas must be presented in your own words.
A concise and clear writing style is especially critical.
The assessment criteria are given below:
Introduction/Rationale: 5 marks
Science: 10 marks
Discussion/Societal Relevance /impact: 8 marks
Bibliography: 7 marks
Total: 30 marks
The report is worth 20% of your grade and is due first week in February.