PHSC11000 Term Paper Guide PDF

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Environmental History of the Earth Guide To Writing A Term Paper For Extra Credit PHSC 11000

Spring 2020

Writing a term paper for extra credit is entirely optional. A term paper can add up to 5% to your final course mark. But beware! A poorly written paper will not score highly. A paper that repeats lecture/lab material without incorporating evidence of any independent reading, or that presents only one side of a debate, or that demonstrates only a superficial understanding of the material, will receive a very low score. The best papers not only give a thoughtful, accurate, and fair summary of the pertinent literature surrounding a given topic, but also demonstrate that the student truly understands the nature of the subject. This is most evident when the student offers sensible personal opinions on the subject matter— i.e., provides an informed critique of the literature. One obvious way of showing this is to include a critical discussion at the end of the paper (see below).

Subject Matter: The paper can be written about virtually anything that is mentioned in class, but must be relevant to the course. Talk to your teaching assistant (TA) about your idea for a paper before you spend a lot of time writing it—the TA must approve the subject matter prior to submission. When deciding on a topic, the key thing is that you are interested in the subject matter. A paper is often more engaging to write (and read) if there is some debate or controversy about the subject matter in the literature, so that the paper can summarize the “academic tension.” The best papers demonstrate comprehension of the subject matter and the capacity for independent, critical thinking. It is often easier to demonstrate these things if the paper delves deeply into a topic of relatively narrow scope rather than trying to cover all the various facets of a much broader issue. For example, a paper focusing on “controversies associated with the origin of cyanobacteria” might be preferable to one focusing on “controversies associated with Precambrian life”—the latter is simply too broad an issue to cover in adequate detail.

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Length: There is no page limit to a term paper. The paper must be long enough to do justice to the subject matter, but must be concisely written (i.e., no waffling or rambling sentences). Statements that are correct but irrelevant won’t earn credit! Most papers end up between 10 and 15 pages long, but there is much variation.

Structure and Content: There are no rules as to the format and content of the paper—the structure of the paper is typically determined by the nature of the subject matter. Nevertheless, a good paper will typically include the following sections: •

Title. This should be concise and informative as to the subject matter.

•

Introduction. This should outline (1) the nature of the topic being investigated; and (2) why that topic is interesting/controversial.

•

Methods. (If appropriate.)

•

Main

text.

This

should

include

a

thoughtful,

accurate,

and

fair

summary/discussion/commentary of the pros and cons of the various arguments in the debate. It is often a good idea to break this section into several subsections, each with a subtitle, to help the reader follow the various arguments. •

Summary/Conclusions. This should include a summary of your own opinions on the subject. For example, do you think the controversy of the subject matter has been resolved? If so, which argument do you support and why? If not, what do you think needs to be done in order to resolve the controversy in the future?

•

References. See below.

Please also remember to: •

Include your name on the title page.

•

Number the pages.

•

Use 12 point font and 1.5 or 2.0 line spacing for the text. Smaller font and/or single line spacing can be difficult to read. There is no page limit (see above), so there is no reason to sacrifice clarity for space!

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Figures and Tables: Include as many figures and tables as you deem appropriate. Be sure to include an explanatory caption for each. If the figure/table was taken from somewhere, be sure to cite the source. A figure can often explain a concept far more concisely than can words.

Quoting from Other Sources: It’s absolutely fine to quote a line or two from a published source. But be sure to clearly identify the quote and its source—failure to do so will be treated as plagiarism. It is usual to provide the author, year, and page number(s) when giving a quotation; for example… Smith (2010, p. 34) stated that “the Cambrian was a period of high evolutionary rates.”

References: All statements should be backed up by references to the primary scientific literature. References should be cited in the text as author(s) and year in parentheses—e.g., “(McKeegan et al., 2007),” and all citations should be listed in full at the end of the paper. Arrange the reference list alphabetically by surname of the first author. There is no rule as to the format of the references, but an example would be:

McKeegan, K. D., A. B. Kudryavtsev, and J. W. Schopf. 2007. Raman and ion microscopic imagery of graphitic inclusions in apatite from older than 3830 Ma Akilia supracrustal rocks, west Greenland. Geology 35: 591-594.

There is no minimum or maximum limit on the number of references that should be cited—this will vary widely from topic to topic. The best papers include references that were NOT provided in class. This shows evidence of independent research! It is NOT a good idea to get data from web sites (many of which contain incorrect or incomplete information). Papers that rely heavily on internet sources tend not to score highly. Textbooks and review articles are often good places to find summaries of the

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literature, but be sure to delve into the primary literature for yourself—treat textbooks and review articles not as ultimate sources of information, but rather as portals to the literature.

How/when Should the Paper be Submitted? The paper must be submitted by 5 pm on the day of the final lecture (i.e., Wednesday June 3 ). Papers submitted after 5 pm on that date will not be accepted, with NO rd

EXCEPTIONS. If you cannot submit the paper on that date, then submit it earlier. The paper must be submitted by e-mail (either as a Word file or as a PDF). E-mails should be sent to: [email protected] Do not e-mail the paper to a teaching assistant. Don’t leave submission until the last minute—computers and e-mail have a nasty habit of crashing at the worst possible time.

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