As you think about your presentation, consider these sections that are often included in scholarly work. You do not need to include all of these sections or label them as they are presented below. These are just suggestions as you start to plan. Ask your supervisor or teammates what is commonly included in your field.

Download this as a Word document (Content in Scholarly Work) to make your own notes and outline.

Summary – An overview that might include a brief background, goals, what you did, the results, and conclusion(s). In scholarly work, this is called the abstract. You’ll submit a 200 word summary for the showcase website. It should be in simple terms that someone outside your field can understand and does not need to include specifics or outcomes. The summary on your ePortfolio can be longer or different.

Goals – Why are you doing this work? Share what you aimed to accomplish or what you hoped to learn or better understand from completing this this work or project. In scholarly work, this is called the objectives.

Background – This is the information someone needs to know to put your work topic in context. Introduce your work/project or state the major purpose, question, or area of investigation, the significance of your work or study, and brief literature review. You can also include the mission statement or overall purpose of your site.

What did you do and how? – Explain the focus of this work. What is this project or work about? What were some key features of the work? How did you get it done? This is the place to include what surveys, data/databases, theories, etc. you used. In scholarly work, this is called the materials and methods. If your project doesn’t fit this, you can adjust it as needed depending on your site and project. Some posters or manuscripts have this divided into a few sections.

What happened? – What are the results of what you did? This is where images, tables, and figures will go. In scholarly work, this is called the results section.

What did you learn? – From your results, what can you conclude? Did you find the answers to your questions? Did you accomplish your goals? In scholarly work, this is called the conclusion.

What’s next? – This area describes where this topic is heading in the future or what potential studies or work could elaborate on what you did in your project. In scholarly work, this section can stand alone or in the conclusion section.

Works Cited/References – Use an accepted citing method (i.e. MLA, APA, etc.). Depending on the project, not all students will require a works sited. Anything in the ePortfolio should include proper citation or attribution if you’re using content, visuals, or videos from other sources.

Acknowledgements – All students should have this section and at least acknowledge their site. Students should also honor however the site receives grants/funding.