Rough Requirements for the Paper Proposals CSC 300 (Turner),  Spring 2008.


Here is a bare minimum outline:


  1. Cover page (with Title, your name, date, course number, optionally the abstract.)
  2. Abstract (short take on purpose and result.  Basic facts, issue, your way to resolve it and mention your result.  Keep to one or two short paragraphs.)
  3. Known facts relevant to the issue of concern (the current state of the art in your area of interest.  Include citations.  Use reputable sources.  Wikipedia is not such a source.)
  4. The Issue of concern to you (keep it short and simple.  What is the issue that needs attention? It must be narrowly focused and understandable.  Avoid compound issues.)
  5. Your Method - a plan of attack.  Do you plan to do an experiment?  Interview subjects to find a consensus and report the result with analysis and implications?  Find extant work for analysis so you can criticize, defend or extend the work?  (Include one liner summaries of the basic arguments or hypotheses you plan to work with.  If an experiment or survey, what is your population?  Include major arguments made and cite to the sources.  You must cover more than one view of the situation, opposing arguments are critically important to supporting your analysis and synthesis.)
  6. Rich annotated bibliography.  Annotations are a few sentences of summary of the main points of the source and its relevance to your topic.  (get at least 5 "real" resources – not mere web resources)


Mechanics of the paper you will eventually produce from this proposal:


20 pages (not including title, table of contents, bibliography) or more, double spaced.  Quality is what I'm after.  "Good" quality is about clarity of writing, proper citations (when you state a "known fact" I need to know whether I can depend on its basic truth), well structured arguments and counter arguments.  Detail tradeoffs, cover weaknesses and strengths of YOUR arguments as well as others.  Originality of analysis is important (this does not mean brand new ideas, it can be a "new" combination of ideas, a "new" insight on commonly discussed ideas and even a "new" application of well known solutions from another domain.)   Your creative part of the paper, the analysis, will account for half the grade in the end.   Note that your 10 minute presentation will also come from this research (the topic is the same, the presentation changes from paper to speech and slides.)  Your good work on research pays double dividends.   A mere "report" about factual situations, arguments and counter arguments will receive a failing grade.  Poor spelling, poor grammar, inaccuracy or lack of citation/reference, poor organization, and conclusory arguments will contribute to a failing grade.  (Conclusory arguments are statements that merely assert a conclusion rather than show the reader why it has logical strength.)