This format has been established by the scientific community because of its clarity and organization. Each section must be clearly labeled using the headings in bold below. See Steps to writing a Proposal and also see the Sample Proposal.

TITLE

Your Name

RESEARCH QUESTION:

State your research question in one sentence with a question mark at the end.

HYPOTHESES/DEDUCTIONS

• State your null hypothesis (H0), your alternative hypotheses (H1, H2, etc.), and their deductions (D0, D1, etc.).
• The null hypothesis is the one that states there is no significant difference.

VARIABLES/ASSUMPTIONSS

Independent Variable: the variable you manipulate (the tested cause of the effect).
Dependent Variable: the variable affected by the change in the independent variable.
Controlled Variables: factors that could affect the results but that you keep the same among all samples so that they don't have an effect on the results.
Assumptions: statements that you must assume to be true for interpretting the results of your study but that you do not actually measure.

METHODS: must be able to stand alone and be specific enough for someone else to repeat

Date(s) and Times: include the date(s) you will collect your data (give the year too); also include the times you will be collecting data (if relevant -- for example, time will be relevant for birds but usually not for plant abundance studies). Must show at least 8 hours of data collection.
Location(s): include study site location (and description if relevant).
Sample: include placement and size of transects/observation areas, etc.). Also include total sample area size.
Data Collection: specifically, what data will you collect, and how will you collect the data. Must show at least 8 hours of data collection.
Data Analysis: specifiy how all data are to be summarized (totals, averages, etc.) and analyzed (state which statistics you will use).

Refer to your table(s)/graph(s) [for example, See Table 1]
Tables and Graphs: Each table/graph/map should be named (i.e., Table 1, Table 2, ... Graph 1, Graph 2, ... etc.). Each table/graph/map should contain a caption that includes enough information to allow the table/graph/map to stand alone so that someone would understand the data without reading the rest of the report (e.g., include data units, dates, times, locations, sample size, etc.). Note: For graphs, put in fake data (for example, 1, 2, 3, etc) for now so that you and I can see what the data will look like. You will replace the fake data with the real data for the report.

Pechenik, J. A. 1993. A short guide to writing about biology, 2^nd ed. Harper Collins, New York.
McMillan, V. E. 1997. Writing papers in the biological sciences, 2^nd ed. Bedford Books, Boston.