PH 331 Guidelines for Term Paper

A) The term paper is to be a factual research paper, and the topic must come from the list in the syllabus or be approved by the instructor. Use the reference list, the library, the Internet, etc. to gather information. (See below for more information about the proper use of the Internet.) If help is needed in writing the paper, including help with grammar, sentence structure, paragraph structure, etc., then use the following websites.

http://wic.oregonstate.edu

http://cwl.oregonstate.edu

B) Plagiarism is a serious problem. Please go to the following website and learn what plagiarism is.

http://oregonstate.edu/studentconduct/code/index.php

C) If any part of the paper is plagiarized, then the paper will be assigned a grade of zero and the author will be referred to the administration for disciplinary action. To not be plagiarized, the paper must include references (or citations). The references (or citations) must come from the sources listed in the bibliography (or works cited) and must include the page number or numbers. If the paper not does included any references (or citations), then plagiarism has occurred.

D) The term paper must have a title page. The title page must be a separate page that comes at the beginning of the paper. Two items are required: 1) the title of the paper and 2) the author's name. Other information may be included on the title page if desired.

E) The term paper must have a bibliography (also called works cited). The bibliography must be on a separate page appended to the end of the paper. There must be a minimum of three entries in the bibliography. The textbook and lecture notes from this course may not be included in the bibliography. For each entry, the following four items must be included: 1) the author (or editor), 2) the title, 3) the publisher and 4) the year of publication. Each entry must have been published. The publisher cannot be the same as the author (or editor). These publications can be in traditional paper form or they can be electronic.

F) URLs may not be included in the paper. (URLs are computer programs that find electronic documents on the Internet such as www.physics.oregonstate.edu.) Including URLs anywhere in the paper will result in a lower score, so it will be to the benefit of the author not to include them. Instead of URLs, provide the four pieces of information listed above for each source.

G) The paper must be typed, double-spaced and three to five pages in length. This does not include captions, figures, diagrams or pictures. It does not include the title page nor does it include the bibliography. It does include the written text. The text must be a minimum of three complete pages. The paper cannot be longer than five pages.

H) Late papers will not be accepted, except for the following reasons: 1) transportation problems, 2) illnesses, and/or 3) emergencies such as a death in the family. If the paper is to be submitted late, then the author must contact the instructor before the paper is due, or as soon after it is due as possible. The author must get the instructor's approval. Approval is not automatic.

I) If there are any questions or concerns, then please contact the instructor.