The required elements: Depending on the type of organism you have chosen you will address different sets of questions.  Please see the category that responds to your selection. Your outline should contain the following elements in this order, and please note that some of these should be your personal observations. Also remember that your presentation (Assignment #3) should only be 10-15 slides, so you need to be concise and clear with your information.MICROORGANISMS:I. The Introduction Section      A. Organism Introduction1. The common and scientific name of your organism. Please see this link to help with scientific names if needed: How To Write Scientific Names2. Where you observed your organism (country, state, park, zoo, etc.)3. A brief discussion on why you chose your organism4. If possible, a picture and/or video of you safely observing your species in the field. If not possible, search the Internet for an image (and remember to cite your source for the image) in a typical habitat.II. The BodyA. Physical Description1. You must include a brief physical description. You can use your personal observations. If you cannot safely observe your organism, you must research.a. Size, coloring, etc.B.  Life Cycle and Reproduction1. Life Cycle: describe the life cycle of your organism.  The life cycle refers to the series of changes that happens from the beginning of life as your organism develops and grows into a mature organism.  Please see here for some hints on the Life Cycle. If you have any questions on this please ask!2. Reproduction: You must discuss the reproductive strategies of your organism. For example, discuss how your microbe undergoes asexual reproduction.C. Structure and Function1. Please select one organ system of your organism that you find to be particularly interesting and describe both the anatomy and physiology of that system.2. If you have selected a bacterium or a fungus, the concept can be more complex.  Please contact me directly for more help is needed.D. Energy Ecology1. If you can observe these, that is best. If not, research.2. What are the food sources? Types? Amounts? Temporal pattern of feeding?E. Habitat1. Where your organism lives. This does not refer to a city or state, but rather the natural environment in which your organism lives.2. You should consider abiotic factors, such as soil, water, etc., as well as biotic factors, such as predators, hosts, etc.III. The Conclusion SectionA. This section should contain four to six points that sum up the main points from the body of the outline.B. Start your conclusive section with one sentence summarizing some basic information about your chosen organism (name and geographical distribution).C. Continue with a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the life cycle and any particular body structures.D. Include a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the ecological role of your chosen organism in its ecosystem.E. Wrap up the conclusive section with a closing note that provides brief information about a unique fact and/or behavior of your chosen organism.IV. The Reference Section:  A. This is not just the reference page; rather, referencing should occur throughout the outline as it will in your presentation.  Therefore, your outline should include both a separate reference page containing a minimum of five sources listed in proper APA reference list format AND internal citations throughout the outline where appropriate.  Please be sure to see the resources below for assistance regarding in-text citations and reference list formatting, and/or ask me if you have any additional questions.PLANTS/FUNGI:I. The Introduction SectionA. Organism Introduction1. The common and scientific name of your organism. Please see this link to help with scientific names if needed: How To Write Scientific Names2. Where you observed your organism (country, state, park, zoo, etc.)3. A brief discussion on why you chose your organism4. If possible, a picture and/or video of you safely observing your species in the field. If not possible, search the Internet for an image (and remember to cite your source for the image) in a typical habitat.II. The BodyA. Physical Description1. You must include a brief physical description. You can use your personal observations. If you cannot safely observe your organism, you must research.a. Size, Coloring, Leaf arrangement, flower color, etc.B. Life Cycle and Reproduction1. Life Cycle: describe the life cycle of your organism.  The life cycle refers to the series of changes that happens from the beginning of life as your organism develops and grows into a mature organism.  Please see here for some hints on the Life Cycle. Plants can be a bit more complicated, so if you have any questions please feel free to ask!2. Reproduction: You must discuss the reproductive strategies of your organism. Are there any specific structure or cells involved in reproduction? Are the flowers specialized?C. Structure and Function1. Please select one organ system of your organism that you find to be particularly interesting and describe both the anatomy and physiology of that system.2. If your organism is a plant, here are a list of the general plant organ systems3. If you have selected a fungus the concept can be more complex.  Please contact me directly for more help if needed.D. Energy Ecology1. If you can observe these, that is best. If not, research.2. How does your plant harvest the energy from the sun? How does it store the energy?E. Habitat1. Where your organism lives. This does not refer to a city or state, but rather the natural environment in which your organism lives.2. You should consider abiotic factors, such as soil, water, etc., as well as biotic factors, such as predators, hosts, etc.III. The Conclusion SectionA. This section should contain four to six points that sum up the main points from the body of the outline.B. Start your conclusive section with one sentence summarizing some basic information about your chosen organism (name and geographical distribution).C. Continue with a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the life cycle and any particular body structures.D. Include a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the ecological role of your chosen organism in its ecosystem.E. Wrap up the conclusive section with a closing note that provides brief information about a unique fact and/or behavior of your chosen organism.IV. The Reference Section:  A. This is not just the reference page; rather, referencing should occur throughout the outline as it will in your presentation.  Therefore, your outline should include both a separate reference page containing a minimum of five sources listed in proper APA reference list format AND internal citations throughout the outline where appropriate.  Please be sure to see the resources below for assistance regarding in-text citations and reference list formatting, and/or ask me if you have any additional questions.ANIMALS:I. The Introduction SectionA. Organism Introduction1. The common and scientific name of your organism. Please see this link to help with scientific names if needed: How To Write Scientific Names2. Where you observed your organism (country, state, park, zoo, etc.)3. A brief discussion on why you chose your organism4. If possible, a picture and/or video of you safely observing your species in the field. If not possible, search the Internet for an image (and remember to cite your source for the image) in a typical habitat.II. The BodyA. Physical Description1. You must include a brief physical description. You can use your personal observations. If you cannot safely observe your organism, you must research.a. Size, Coloring, etc.B. Life Cycle and Reproduction1. Life Cycle: describe the life cycle of your organism.  The life cycle refers to the series of changes that happens from the beginning of life as your organism develops and grows into a mature organism.  Please see here for some hints on the Life Cycle. If you have any questions please feel free to ask!2. Reproduction: You must discuss the reproductive strategies of your organism (e.g. release of gametes by a fish or hermaphroditic reproduction in earthworms), mate choice, mating displays, mate competition and mating systems.C. Structure and Function1. Please select one organ system of your organism that you find to be particularly interesting and describe both the anatomy and physiology of that system.2. If your organism is an animal, here are a list of the general animal organ systemsD. Energy Ecology1. If you can observe these, that is best. If not, research.2. What are the food sources? Types? Amounts? Temporal pattern of feeding? Specific handling or processing of food items by the organism (e.g. the way a squirrel manipulates an acorn)E. Habitat1. Where your organism lives. This does not refer to a city or state, but rather the natural environment in which your organism lives.2. You should consider abiotic factors, such as soil, water, etc., as well as biotic factors, such as predators, hosts, etc.III. The Conclusion SectionA. This section should contain four to six points that sum up the main points from the body of the outline.B. Start your conclusive section with one sentence summarizing some basic information about your chosen organism (name and geographical distribution).C. Continue with a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the life cycle and any particular body structures.D. Include a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the ecological role of your chosen organism in its ecosystem.E. Wrap up the conclusive section with a closing note that provides brief information about a unique fact and/or behavior of your chosen organism.IV. The Reference Section:  A. This is not just the reference page; rather, referencing should occur throughout the outline as it will in your presentation.  Therefore, your outline should include both a separate reference page containing a minimum of five sources listed in proper APA reference list format AND internal citations throughout the outline where appropriate.  Please be sure to see the resources below for assistance regarding in-text citations and reference list formatting, and/or ask me if you have any additional questions.Please make note of the following tips and tricks:

I understand that this is a rough draft and, as your research and writing continue over the next few weeks, details may be added or changed.  Although you do not have to resubmit it to me, I recommend that you update this outline to help you best complete Assignments 3.
Write your outline so that it has detailed bullets that you can easily then flesh out into sentences for the narration of your presentation (Assignment 3).
After your outline is complete, I recommend that you next draft your introductory and conclusion sections for your outline.  This will ensure that all the main points of the outline are incorporated in these two framing sections of your final presentation. 
Please note that less than 10% of your outline or presentation (Assignment 3) should contain direct quotes.