Recommended Components for Technical Research Papers
NM Junior Academy of Science Regional Paper Competition

(These components also apply for the NM State Junior Academy of Science Paper competition)

Technical papers are somewhat different from other literary papers in their composition. Characteristics which distinguish science research papers from other types of papers are: The abstract; the table of contents; the captioned text; and, often, author-date reference citations.

There are basically two types of science research papers: reviews of the literature and reports of experimental studies. For purposes of competition, your paper will be a report of your experimental study with a short literature review included in it.

You must do an experimental science investigation. Keep careful record of everything you do and all your results. Then write your paper. It should contain the following components:

Title Page – Title of the paper, name of student, age of the student, school grade, school name, school address, school telephone number, home address, home telephone number, and the name of the teacher who sponsors and endorses the paper. Both the author and teacher should sign the title page. Please type the last name of the student and the title of the paper at the top of each page of the manuscript.

Acknowledgments – Thank people who have helped you in any way.

Abstract – A brief summary of the contents of the paper. In one or two paragraphs, define the problem, describe methodology, summarize the results, and state the conclusions.

Table of contents - Use the headings from your text as entries in the table of contents and list the number of the page on which each section begins.

Introduction – Describe the background for the work; the questions to be answered; the goals, etc. If you intend to cite other literature, it may be appropriate to do so here.

Body of the Paper – Describe the process and the way the work was done. What was the experiment? If the work is mathematical, what is the background for the work? If it is a computer program or engineering design, what were the steps in the design process?

This section of the report is the most important. It describes how the work was performed. It should be complete and contain any and all pertinent information so that someone could repeat the work if they chose to do so.

Results – What were the results of the experiment, mathematical work, or design effort? This section of the paper should include tables of data, charts, graphs, photos, and a complete verbal description and interpretation of the results.

Conclusions and Recommendations – Describe the conclusions - even the obvious ones - as well as a discussion of future work if appropriate.

References - All references should be cited in an appropriate bibliographic form.

Glossary - In general, new terms or definitions should be included in the text of the report. However, if the report has a large number of symbols or new terms, a glossary section may be appropriate.

Appendix(es) – If there is information that should be included with the report but does not belong in the body, then it may be included in an appendix.

Limit papers to 1500 words (excluding References, Glossary, and Appendix).