Papers submitted to the Journal must be organized and formatted according to the following guidelines. The editor will work with the author and the author's teacher to revise the submitted paper as necessary.

Papers must be organized into sections entitled:

Abstract - Summary of the topic of investigation, methods, and the main conclusions, in less than 200 words.
 
Introduction - Discussion of the situation investigated. Explanation of the theory applicable to the investigation. 
 
Methods - Description of the experimental setup and the techniques used to: control unwanted variables, make measurements, and analyze the data with uncertainties. 
 
Results and Discussion - Processed results with uncertainties.  Discussion of all conclusions and implications, issues which might have affected the results, suggestions for improvements and areas for further research.
 
Conclusions - Summary of the main conclusions.

References - Sources cited in the paper following the APA citation format.

 

Papers must be formatted as follows:

Font -  Times New Roman
Titles and Subtitles - Bold
Equations - centered, separated from the text and numbered in brackets on the right.
Sources - noted with numbered superscripts referring to the references section.
Font Sizes -

Title - 16
Author - 11
Abstract - 10
Subtitles - 11
Text - 11
Captions - 10

An annotated example of a properly formatted ISJOS paper is provided in pdf and in MS Word to help you in preparing your paper for publication.

 

How to Write a Paper

Papers published in the ISJOS are relatively short, averaging less than 1,200 words. They are very different from the reports that high school students write for their classes. Prospective authors are encouraged to read a number of ISJOS papers from previous issues to gain an understanding of the expected form. The following is a description of the organization and content of a typical ISJOS paper.  While each paper is different, we describe here the general structure of a paper.

Abstract
The Abstract should be carefully revised after the paper has been completed in its final form. The Abstract must state the objective of the paper, summarize the procedure, and describe the results. Abstracts are normally, for short papers in the ISJOS, less than 100 words.

I. Introduction
The Introduction section begins with a discussion of the topic that is being studied, explaining why it is important or interesting. Theoretical background to the topic is discussed, if appropriate, as well as any published papers relevant to the topic. If possible, a predictive model may be proposed, derived from theory or previous studies.

II. Methods
The Methods section begins with a short description of the apparatus and techniques used, with an illustrative diagram. A clear summary of the procedures used to collect all data is described, including measurements taken and repetitions and ranges tested.

III. Results and Discussion
This section begins with a presentation of the results of the research: typically a graph or series of graphs. The meaning of the results is discussed in terms of any theory or previous research or predictive model from the introduction. Limitations of the findings and suggestions for further research are discussed here.

IV. Conclusion
The Conclusion is a short summary of the findings of the paper. It distills the important points into a few sentences.