PH 332 Guidelines for Term Paper
A) The term paper is to be a factual research paper. Pick a topic that you think is interesting. Do some research on the topic. Use the reference list, the OSU library, the Internet, etc. to gather information. (See below for more information about the proper use of the Internet.) If you need help writing your paper, including help with grammar, sentence structure, paragraph structure, etc., then go to the following two websites.
B) Plagiarism is a serious problem that you must avoid. Please go to the following website and learn what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
http://oregonstate.edu/admin/stucon/plag.htm
C) If any part of your paper is plagiarized, then you will receive a zero for the paper and be referred to the administration for disciplinary action. To avoid plagiarism, your paper must include footnotes. The footnotes must come from the sources listed in your bibliography. If your paper not does include any footnotes, then you will have committed plagiarism.
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 your paper and 2) your name. You can include other information if you desire.
E) The term paper must have a bibliography. The bibliography must be on a separate page appended to the end of the paper. There must be a minimum of two entries in the bibliography. You may not include the textbook in your bibliography, nor may you include the lecture notes from this class. For each entry, you must have these four items: 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) Do not include URLs anywhere in your paper! (URLs
are computer programs that find electronic documents on the Internet such as
www.physics.orst.edu.) Including URLs anywhere in your paper will
result in a lower score, so it will be to your own benefit to not 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 text that you write. The text must be a minimum of three complete pages. The paper cannot be longer than five pages.
H) I will not accept any late papers, except for the following reasons: 1) transportation problems, 2) illness and/or 3) an emergency such as a death in your family. If you want to turn your paper in late, then you must contact me before the paper is due, or as soon after it is due as possible. You must get my approval. Approval is not automatic.
I) If you have any questions or concerns, then please contact me either by phone or email, or stop by my office during office hours.