TERM PAPERS
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  • TERM PAPERS-- GENERAL:
  • A TERM PAPER is required of every student in this course. The term paper can be on any topic within the scope of the course.
    If you are not sure about the suitability of a topic, please ask.
  • EVERY TERM PAPER REQUIRES DATA OR RESEARCH FINDINGS, not just impressions, opinions, or reminiscences.
  • THE DUE DATE is specified in the syllabus.
  • GET STARTED EARLY ! !     The best term papers are always the ones that were started early.   Click here for good advice.
  • No particular page length is required. Just make sure you have included enough detail to explain what needs explaining.
    (Over the years, I have received some excellent papers as short as 5 pages and a few in excess of 50 pages.
    Most papers over 25 pages long could easily have been made shorter without omitting anything important.)
  • Please submit papers as attachments to email, either in .doc (or .docx) or .pdf format.
    Most other formats allow easy conversion to .pdf if needed.
  • DO NOT USE GOOGLE DOCS or any cloud-based service to submit your paper!


  • IN-TEXT CITATIONS:
  • Direct quotations and close paraphrases or summaries require in-text citations.
  • In-text citations may take the form of footnotes if you wish, using either raised superscripts1 or bracketed numbers [1]. The notes themselves, in any standard format, are best placed together at the end of the paper rather than at the foot of each page.
    The use of footnotes does not replace the need for a bibliography that lists all sources alphabetically (see below).
  • Instead of footnotes, most scientists, psychologists, and many other writers now prefer author-date citations that look like: Jones (1998).
    Such a citation means that a reader can expect to find, in your bibliography, a complete citation of something written by Jones and published in 1998. You can also cite a particular page number, or a work with multiple authors: Jones (1998, p. 27), Smith & Jones (1999). All the details (see below) then go in your bibliography.


  • ILLUSTRATIONS (including graphs):
  • Most term papers will not need any illustrations.
  • If you feel the need to include illustrations, be aware that they require advanced planning;
    DON'T LEAVE THIS WORK TO THE LAST MINUTE!       Click here for good advice.
  • Each illustration should have a descriptive title, and they should be numbered as "Fig. 1", "Fig. 2", etc.  
    "Descriptive" means that the title shoud describe what the illustration is about or what it shows.
  • Illustrations may be hand-drawn and then scanned in using a scanner. Scanners are available on the third floor of the Learning Resource Center (the library building), and Help Desk personnel are available there if you need advice or help.
  • Illustrations may also be computer-drawn, using a program such as MS Paint or Mac Draw. You can also download pictures taken by the camera on your cell phone.
  • Graphs can be drawn using Excel or a similar program. If you include graphs, make sure that the X-axis and Y-axis are labeled or otherwise explained. Each graph should have a descriptive title.
  • Any illustration or graph can be pasted into a Word document (.doc or .docx file) or similar file.


  • BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES:
  • EVERY TERM PAPER REQUIRES MULTIPLE BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES!
  • Every bibliographic reference MUST include the following:
    • Author:  This is usually a person's name, if you can find one. If two or three persons are named, they are all co-authors.
      If more than 3 authors are named, please list the first one only, followed by "et al.", a Latin abbreviation meaning "and others".
      If no person is named, list the responsible organization (university, government agency, etc.) as the corporate author.
    • Publication date.  If no date can be found, use the abbreviation "n.d."
    • Title, as it appears on the title page.
    • For journals, you also need the name of the journal and the volume number and inclusive page numbers.
      Some journals also have an "issue" or "number" following the volume number and preceding the page numbers.
      You may give this information as "vol. 13 no. 5, p. 163-175" or as 13(5): 163-175.
    • For books, you also need the city of publication and the name of the publisher. If several cities are listed, only the first is needed.
    • IMPORTANT:  Online references also require:  (a) the web address (URL) and   (b) the most recent date of access or use.









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