CSci 300: Social Responsibility
Fall Semester 1997
Term Paper

Deadlines

Topic description due: Thursday, 25 September.

You must choose a topic and submit a brief written description of the topic to the instructor for approval as soon as possible--no later than 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, 25 September. You may submit your topic choice and description via email. The instructor will either approve or disapprove the topic as soon as possible.

Two review copies due: Thursday, 6 November.

Two review copies of your term paper must be submitted to the instructor by 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, 6 November.

On 6 November you will be given a review copy of another student's term paper to critique.

Two critique copies due: Thursday, 13 November..

Two copies of your critique must be submitted by 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, 13 November.

You will be given a copy of the critique of your paper on 13 November.

Final copy due: Thursday, 20 November.

The final copy of your term paper is due by 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, 20 November.

Choosing a Topic

Choose an interesting topic related to the subject matter of this course. The topic you choose may concern any aspect of computing, but the focus should be on the professional, social, human, ethical, and/or legal issues and impacts.

No two class members may choose exactly the same topic. In case of a conflict, topics will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Dr. Baase (the textbook author) has several possible term paper topics listed on her A Gift of Fire course materials pages, http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/faculty/giftfire/CourseMaterial.html .

The material in the textbook's chapters, exercises, and further reading sections should suggest other possible topics.

You might also want to "surf the Web" a bit looking for ideas. The Resource Links page would be a good place to start.

Description

You are required to research your chosen topic and write a paper according to the following guidelines:

1. This is an individual assignment under the provisions of the School of Engineering's Honor Code. You must conduct the research and write the paper yourself. You are, of course, encouraged to discuss your topic with your fellow students, your instructor, and other knowledgeable individuals. You are also encouraged to take advantage of the normal services of the University's libraries and writing centers.

2. Your paper is a piece of technical writing. Structure it appropriately. Write using standard, technical English.

3. The term paper should include a title page, an honor code statement, an outline, the text, and a bibliography.

4. A signed copy of the following Honor Code statement should be included in the term paper on a separate page:

            In keeping with the Honor Code of the School of Engineering, I 
   affirm that I have neither given nor received assistance in preparing
   this assignment.
                                     
   Signature:___________________________________ 
   

5. The outline should be complete, consistent with the paper's text, appropriately worded and formatted, and at an appropriate level of abstraction.

6. The paper's text should include an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

7. The introductory section should motivate the remainder of the paper and give appropriate background information.

8. The transitions between sections should be smooth and continuous.

9. The paper should end reasonably (not just stop abruptly when the page count is reached).

10. The scope and level of detail should be appropriate for a paper of this length.

11. The paper should present alternative points of view of the issues involved.

12. Terms and acronyms should be defined before they are used.

13. The paper should include a bibliography of the materials you consulted in writing your paper. You should include at least eight carefully chosen references. These may be professional books and journal articles, trade journal articles, popular magazine and newspaper articles, world-wide web documents, etc. Several of the references should be to professional publications.

14. The bibliographic entries should be prepared according to an appropriate standard and be correct, complete, and consistent in format. (One standard reference on bibliographic style is Kate L. Turabian's A Manual For Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations . Copies of this book can be purchased in the bookstore or found in the library.)

15. The text of the paper should include appropriate, correct, and consistent citations of your references.

16. The paper may include appropriate figures. Any figures included should be explained clearly in the text. The figures should have appropriate captions and identifiers.

17. You should produce the paper using a word processing (or typesetting) program.

18. You should check the spelling and grammar carefully. Use the spelling and grammar checking tools that are available, but also read the paper very carefully several times.

19. The review copy of the paper should be printed double-spaced using a font size no larger than 12 points or smaller than 10 points and using one-inch margins on all sides. The pages should be numbered from 1 beginning with the first page of the body. Staple the paper in the upper left corner. Do not bind it otherwise.

20. The final copy of the paper should be printed in a single-spaced format using a font size no larger than 12 points and smaller than 10 points and using one-inch margins on all sides. The pages should be numbered from 1 beginning with the first page of the body. Staple the paper in the upper left corner. Do not bind it otherwise.

21. When printed, the (single-spaced) final copy of the paper should be 7 to 10 pages in length (not including the title page, honor code statement, outline, and bibliography).

If you write an excellent paper, we will look for ways that it can be submitted for publication.

Critique

After the review copies of the term paper are turned in, you will be given a copy of another student's paper to evaluate. You will have approximately one week to read the paper carefully, edit it, complete an evaluation form, and write a one-page critique of the paper. When that work is complete, you are asked to submit the edited paper and two copies of the evaluation form and attached critique to your instructor.

As much as possible, your review will be anonymous. Please be honest in your evaluation. The content of the evaluation will affect the person's grade very little, but it will definitely affect yours. Be tactful and constructive.

In the one-page (typed, single-spaced) critique of the paper, address what are, in your opinion, the strong points and the weak points of the paper. Indicate areas you believe can be improved. You should elaborate on the responses you gave on the evaluation form, especially where a low score was given.

You will be given a copy of the evaluation form and critique done by another student for your paper. One week later the final copy of the term paper is due. As appropriate, you may revise your term paper to respond to issues raised in the critique.

One purpose of the evaluation and critique is to help the other student improve his or her paper. Thus remember to be tactful and constructive in your comments.

A second purpose of the evaluation and critique is to help you improve your paper and your writing skills in general. The other student's comments may be helpful. I also hope the process of evaluating and editing the other student's work will give you new insight into techniques for effective writing.

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