Ms. Shon's Pocket Guide for Writing a Procedure

An experimental procedure is a detailed, step-by-step "recipe" for conducting a scientific investigation. A strong experimental procedure is so detailed and complete that any other scientist can replicate the experiment and results.  

Each time an experiment is repeated is called a trial.  In order to gather reliable, fair data from experimentation, we must always perform multiple trials (at least 3) for every experiment.  

If you have struggled to write a strong experimental procedure, you are not alone.  Writing a procedure for making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or drawing a simple smiley face can even be tricky! 

Check out Ms. Shon's "Pocket Guide for Writing a Procedure" to help you edit your procedure to make sure that any other scientist is able to replicate your experiment and results. 

Ms. Shon's Pocket Guide for Writing a Procedure
When writing a procedure, you should....

• Number steps
• Start each step with a verb (action word - list of examples follow)
• Include only ONE action in each step
• Include measurements (size, how much, how far, how many, etc.)
• Use pictures and labels for hard to explain parts
• Use the present tense (fill, place, measure, pour, etc.)
• Avoid transitional words or phrases (next, finally, in addition to, therefore, however, etc.)

Variety of Verbs
Pull from the list of verbs below to improve your experimental procedure!

• Gather
• Label
• Measure
• Observe
• Count
• Determine
• Calculate
• Average
• Clean
• Record
• Throw out
• Cut
• Lift
• Listen
• Repeat

Homework: 
Due Tuesday, December 17, 2013.
1.  Copy Ms. Shon's pocket guide for writing a procedure in your science notebook.
2.  Edit your experimental procedure using the guide (SNVP) above.  Write them in your science notebook.