Background Writing journal articles and reports are very important for being a professional scientist, whether in the public or private sector. To write a good report, you need to understand the work that has already been done in the area, what your results are, and what your data mean in the broader context – do they agree or disagree with the general consensus? Writing a scientific report which is engaging, clear and logically guides the reader is a skill that takes most people years to refine. We have tasked you with the job of writing a report about clover roots and bulk density experiment that we did in class. Learning outcomes By the end of the assessment you should be able to: • Understand the structure and style of a scientific report • Outline the scientific and agricultural context and background of the experiment you completed • Describe the materials and methods that were used in your experiment • Analyse and present data you have collected yourself to communicate your results to others • Discuss the effect of rhizobia strain on plant growth, and the results of your experiment in the context of others’ results • Make logical conclusions about your results Instructions You should include methods and results about nodule number, mass and score, shoot height and mass and SPAD value. You do not need to include the data regarding root length and mass. The length of this report should be between 1500 and 2000 words (+10%) plus the materials and methods and the reference list. Some suggestions for the number of words for each section are in the instructions below. You need to write six sections of your report for this assessment. You should use subheadings to identify the sections. These sections are: Introduction: A brief introduction that introduces the importance of legumes in pastures for animal nutrition, pasture nutrition and the environment (500 words). Materials and methods: A description of the methods you used to grow, harvest, and analyse your samples. This needs to be detailed enough that someone else could replicate your experiment but should not read as a list of instructions. You need to assimilate the materials you used into your methods; you should not have them as a separate list of materials. There is no word limit for this section. Results: You should use figures and/or tables to display the nodule number, mass and score, the shoot height and mass and the SPAD results. You should then briefly describe the results you have found (450 words). Remember, figure captions do not count towards the word count. Discussion Discuss your results in the context of pasture productivity and persistence, pasture management, environmental impact, and in the context of the results of others (800 words) Conclusion Make some conclusions about some of the scientific reasons for your results how your findings might link back to farmer decision making and pasture productivity (250 words)
