Bibliography and References checklist
- The paper must contain at least one book. (Besides the Stony Brook Library, a good source of online books is the Internet Archive)
- The paper must contain at least one primary source. A primary source is an original writings (possibly translated) from the area under study. For instance, the Rhind papyrus and its translation, Euclid’s elements and Euler on the Bridges of Koningsber, translated by Prof. Phillips, The Foundations of Geometry by David Hilbert.
- The paper must contain at least one secondary source. A secondary source is a paper that analyises a primary source. (JSTOR is a good source of such papers)
- Numerical pointers to the bibliography are fine but other formats are acceptable as long as they are clear and precise. (Google scholar is usually helpful. Check the “ below an entry). The URL address can be added but it cannot replace all the other data (author, title, year, etc)
The term paper should be submitted on Blackoard, before Tuesday May 7th.
Late papers cannot be accepted.
Abstract and Outline checklist
- Numerical Here are two sample outlines (from two of our students)
Grading
The term paper will be graded on it's content, as well as on how well it is written
The approximate rubrik for grading the paper is below (Perfect score 230 points)
- (5 points) Topic is chosen on time - due Feb 13
- (10 points) Bibliography
- (10 points) Outline Content -on April 9th.
- (10 points) Draft - on April 16th.
- (10 points) References are relevant and correctly cited.
- (10 points) Illustrations are relevant and, if necessary, correctly attributed.
- (10 points) Ideas are arranged logically and flow smoothly.
- (10 points) Writing is clear, with no grammatical, spelling, or punctuation errors .
- (10 points) There are relevant and consistent connections with the content of the course.
- (10 points) Demonstrates a sophisticated understanding and careful, critical analysis
- (10 points) Creativity/Originality, personal point of view.
- (10 points) New information and/or important issues are considered.
- (40 points) Historical context is clear and relelvant.
- (40 points) Mathematical general content is clear an relelvant.
- (40 points) Mathematical specific point is well understood and explained.
A good test for your paper: read it in loud voice. How does it sound? Is it telling a good story? Also, be careful with the excess of formulae.
Plagiarism:
- Do not even think about doing it.
- Any student who plagiarizes material will receive zero for the course, and will be reported to Academic Judiciary.
- All the work you submit be your own work. If you cheat or aid someone in cheating, you will automatically fail this course and be brought up on charges of academic dishonesty without warning.
- Cheating includes: presenting work of other as your own, copying other student work, facilitate that other student copies your work, cut and paste from websites without the appropriate acknowledgment, use of notes, calculators and/or electronic devices during examinations.
- The term paper will be checked with SafeAssign and if cheating is detected, it will be reported to the Academic Judiciary.
Suggestions
The material on which you will base your paper will probably consist mostly of secondary sources. Be very careful when using tertiary sources: they may be unreliable. It is probably better to use such sources mostly as pointers to secondary sources that you can then use with a bit more confidence. If you have access to the relevant primary sources, then make sure to make use of them; by looking at the primary sources yourself you have the chance to propose an original interpretation, to correct wrong perceptions, or simply to get a feeling for the flavor and tone of the original texts. You should put a lot of effort into locating the right sources for your paper, using electronic indices, published bibliographies (e.g., Dauben), sourcebooks, and references in articles and books you already have. To write a good paper you must spend enough time in the library.
6. What is plagiarism? Plagiarism occurs when you copy from a reading and don't say so. If you put long paragraphs in quotations and give the author credit (by, say, putting his/her name in your footnote) this is not plagiarism. However, bear in mind that, as noted above, if your paper is one long string of quotations, it suggests that you did the reading but did not do any thinking of your own. This will not be considered plagiarism, but it will also not be considered a very good paper. (Needless to say, copying another student's paper -- traditionally called "cheating" -- is also a case of plagiarism.)
7. Never finish your paper on the day it is due. Instead, print out a final draft a day or two in advance, and let it lie on your desk overnight. Then re-read it (if possible, read it aloud, either to yourself or to a friend). You will almost certainly find things you would like to correct or modify slightly before you turn it in.
8. Grading Policy
This is just intended to give a rough idea of how your paper will be graded. The papers described here are somewhat idealized: in reality, no paper will ever have all or the characteristics described. Use this and the self-evaluation checklist when you proofread your paper.
- A Papers: The paper begins with a good thesis (argument) and is well-organized. The factual material is accurate and is relevant to the thesis. The mathematics is correct. The ideas are presented in a clear and logical fashion, and the arguments are supported by the evidence. The paper demonstrates a sound understanding of the period and of the issues. There are no spelling or grammatical errors, and the writing is clear and effective.
- B papers: The thesis is relatively weak or is only partially supported by evidence. Some of the evidence presented is incorrect, or contradicts the thesis. Some relevant evidence is missing. Some statements indicate an incomplete understanding of the mathematics and science or of the historical situation. The style needs improvement and/or there are a few spelling and grammatical errors.
- C Papers: The paper has a weak thesis and the thesis is poorly supported by evidence. The paper is entirely descriptive or shows confusion about key facts and concepts. Facts that are covered are not well related to the thesis, or contradict it. The sources are mostly tertiary sources of dubious quality. The paper contains rudimentary or stereotypical generalizations that reflect a poor understanding of the subject. There are significant spelling or grammatical errors, or there are enough stylistic problems to make it hard to follow what you want to say.
- D Papers: The paper contains no thesis and demonstrates a very poor knowledge of the subject matter. It shows little evidence of original thought. The writing is very hard to understand, laced with spelling and grammatical errors, and uses words inappropriately. There are only one or two sources, and those are of dubious quality. The paper shows signs of having been written very quickly.
Are there F papers? I hope not.