Paper

CS 102

60 pts., due Nov. 16

Your paper will be graded using the following criteria. They are arranged in descending order of importance.

1. Subject matter. You may write your paper on any topic relevant to the course. However, some topics are better than others and will be graded accordingly. For instance, I'm not very interested in a comparison between the Dell ABC and the Gateway XYZ PCs. I would be more interested in new and innovative ways computers are being used in your discipline. I would also be interested in a discussion of the DMCA and its effect upon our society, or of the effects of computing on the environment, perhaps a study of how Google might possibly challenge Microsoft for control of the desktop.

   I suggest you run your proposed paper topic by me so that we're clear on the relevance of your chosen topic.

2. Writing style. The harder you work on making your paper easy to read and enjoyable to read, the higher your grade.

3. Substantiation of position. I don't particularly care what position you take on an issue, but it must be substantiated through a valid supporting argument. As noted above, I prefer to see papers in which a position is taken rather than papers which merely report facts.

4. References. You should cite at least five references. All references should be from online sources. A proper format for an online reference is:

   Author/editor. Title of Print Version of Work. Edition statement (if given). Publication information (Place of publication: publisher, date) (if given). Title of Electronic Work. Medium. Information supplier. Available protocol (if applicable): Site/Path/File. Access date.

   Example reference:

   Pritzker, Thomas J. An Early Fragment from Central Nepal. Online. Ingress Communications. Available:
   http://www.ingress.com/~astanart/pritzker/pritzker.html. June 8, 1995.

5. Correct spelling and grammar.

6. Formatting:
   1. 1 inch margins, all around. Doublespaced. The paper should be 4-5 pages in length. Indent the first line of each paragraph by 1/2 inch. The body of the text should be left- and right-justified.

   2. Centered title and author name. These should be in a font different from the body font and should be a larger point size. Don't use a separate title page. The body text should be in an 11 point font.

   3. Page numbers in the footer and the paper title in the header (except on the first page)

Use Microsoft Word or another word processor to write your paper and print a copy. Hand in the printed copy at the beginning of class on the 16th. Electronic copies, in MS Word or RTF format, may be sent to kelliher AT DOMAIN goucher.edu by the beginning of class on the 19th. A 10% penalty will be applied for each day the assignment is late. After two days I will no longer accept late assignments.

Tom Kelliher