Term Papers

Thoughts on writing term papers:

• The assignment is to convince me that you understand a subject. Thus, you need to show some thought and understanding of the topic. Just extracting material from web pages and quoting books will not do (even if you do provide citations), show some analysis and synthesis. Tie it to the course material. [Hint: do not wait until the last minute. I expect high quality work.]
• Show the sections that are quoted so I can tell what is your work and what belongs to other people. Either use quotation marks or indent the section.
• Make sure you proofread the report [spell checking has its hazards]. I suggest printing it and reading it.
• Remember, with many students providing a term paper, I will see the same quotes and same diagrams many times, it gets to be very familiar. The solution is don't quote, say it in your own words, and don't rewrite or paraphrase, tell me what you know.
• It is a good idea to summarize, and to give your impressions, thoughts, and insights about the topic. This makes me feel that you actually learned something.
• Learn proper formats for a term paper. The usual rules for term papers apply, (this means format, style, footnoting, references). For help on writing a paper see talk with the DePaul Writing Center (that is what they are for) and also see: http://condor.depaul.edu/~writing/html/resources/tasks.html  (DePaul Writing Center: Writing Tasks) and also http://condor.depaul.edu/~writing/html/resources/acad/comp.html (Writing in Computer Science (CTI)).
• Use standard term paper or white paper format. Include a list of references and footnotes. Make sure you attribute any material and quote passages, etc. Checkout the templates MS Word provides: I saw one for Business Report.
• Although no specific style guidelines are being enforced, the report must be presented in a neat, legible, and consistent format. Make sure that each page is numbered and has a title and author.
• Double spaced papers are nice but we are aware of the dodge to double space to "pad" a paper. If you double space, then double the length too. Same goes for margins. Left should be 1", right can be ¾".
• Use business style: start with an executive summary or abstract, develop your material, add a conclusion or summary and finally include a bibliography and/or references.
• Make sure your paper has identification. Use the header and footer feature. Make sure your name is on each page and number them (e.g. as 2 of 20).
• Learn proper bibliographic citations. This means things like author first and including full URLs, not just the generic web site. On URLs, do not hide them with a hyper link, as this does not seem to work on printed paper.
• Use the CSE style for references: see CSE Citation Guide: http://library.osu.edu/how-to-find/ask-us/how-do-i-cite-references/cse-citation-guide