Biography Paper Reminders

• Formatting (papers will be rejected if formatted incorrectly)
  • Line-spacing at 1.5
  • All margins at 1 inch (use Page Setup in the file menu)
  • Times New Roman font for main text, size 12 pt, not bold
  • No extra spaces between paragraphs
  • Section headings should be 14 pt Arial, bold
  • Use a title page to give the title, your name, your class period, and the due date
• Bibliographies
  • Bibliographies must be on a separate page within your main document
  • Format according to standard rules used in English or History (use the online tool at the SHS library web site called NoodleTools)
  • Use parenthetical citations within the body of the paper like this: (Last Name of Author, pg #).
  • Find a book-length biography to help you fill in the details; pages from the Internet with one or two paragraphs of information are poor sources.
  • You must have at least three non-Internet sources
• Selection for Publication: How to be a Candidate
  • Write in a professional way; do not be informal; refer to the scientist by last name
  • Tell stories about the scientist clearly and in an interesting way
  • Provide details, not just facts; the story behind the work that led to a Nobel Prize is more interesting than the bare fact of winning it for making a certain discovery
  • Learn to understand the science as best you can and explain it clearly; this may take extra reading! See me for help with this if needed.
  • Separate your paper into the three sections outlined in the original handout: Personal Biography, Scientific Biography, Personal and Scientific Legacy; these may overlap somewhat but avoid redundancy wherever possible
  • Make the pursuit of science an obviously human one: show how an individual can contribute to the creation of new knowledge about the world and how their life is intertwined with their work; the great genius’s of the past were really ordinary people who made extraordinary efforts

A reminder of the original requirements for the paper:

Overview

Science is both a body of knowledge about the world and a method for creating new knowledge. Both of these facts about science are very general and philosophical. Science is also very specific and practical. Science is a human endeavor carried out by real people. It moves forward in great leaps only after many individuals contribute thousands of incremental steps.

In science classes you learn about the facts discovered by science and about how to discover new facts and build theories. Less time is spent on exploring the human side of science. In this project you will take some time to learn about individual scientists and their discoveries. You will write a biography about the life of the scientist both in and out of the lab. You will write about the person: their family, their career, their successes, their failures. You will also write about the scientist’s contributions to the body of knowledge called science.

Your research project has implications beyond your grade for this course. When all projects have been completed and graded I will select ten which are the best of the best. They will be edited and re-submitted for inclusion in a permanently bound book to be kept in the library. It will serve as a resource to students in the future. It will also be a monument to your achievements.

The Paper

Your biography must have several sections (listed below). Each section should be as long as two or three pages. The questions listed below each section heading are merely for guidance. They do not represent the totality of the types of questions you might answer within each section.

Personal Biography: the story of the scientist’s life

• Where was the person born? Tell about their family, marriage, children, and where they worked. Describe their education.
• What was the person’s childhood like? How did they become interested in science?
• Was the person successful? Did they struggle to make ends meet?

Scientific Biography: the story of the scientist’s work

• What kind of scientific work did the person do? Did he or she work alone, with a partner or with a group of researchers?
• What did the person discover? Explain in as much detail as you can.
• Did the person invent anything or change the world during their lifetime? Did their life lead to social changes, such as a greater acceptance of women in science? Tell the story.
• Was the person’s work controversial? Describe and explain the controversy and how it was resolved.
• Did they receive recognition for their work? Why or why not?

Personal and Scientific Legacy: what does their work mean for us today?

• How did their work affect scientists who came after them?
• Did their work lead to new technology that changes how people work? Did their work lead to a deeper understanding of the world?
• Does their work have any implications for everyday life? What? Explain.

You may need to do research beyond the confines of the Scarborough High School library and computer lab. Be ready to take some time to visit the town library. Be willing to take the time to talk to a librarian for help.