About the paper
- The abstract is a concise summary of your paper. It is about 200 words long.
- The outline is the skeleton of of your paper. It consists of a tentative list of titles of the sections, about 5 to 10. The first section must be an introduction.
- Important note: If you need to break some of the rules above in order to write a better paper, you can do so without any grade penalty provided that you talk to me beforehand and I give you the OK.
- The "math point" is a purely mathematical aspect of the topic which is mastered by you. This math point can be, for instance, the solution of a problem, or the proof of a statement or a very good explanation of a definition. It is not the "whole" mathematical aspect of the topic.
- **Appropriately cited means that one should be able to find the work cited in a library and that this citation includes the page number.
- Make sure you understand what you are writing about.
- Here you have two excellent papers. (Note that the requirements for reference on one of the papers (paper2.pdf) were "lighter" than in our course, so the student mentions certain facts -which are not common knowledge- without citation. It is still a wonderful paper.)
- Here you can find good guidelines about citing.
- If you have any doubts about writing, make an appointment to discuss your paper in the Writing Center
- The goal of the paper assignment is help you exercise independent reflection based on recognized scientific sources. It is not about presenting your own ideas, as in an essay, but about establishing relationships to existing scholarly texts and developing and justifying your perspectives from them.
- A good strategy consist in choosing a question about your topic, and focus in finding an answer. In the body of the paper, you have to list and weight arguments for and against
- Make sure that you explain clearly any non-standard word that you introduce. Note that you have to understand the meaning of the word in order to explain it. (By "non standard" I mean that it is a word that you learned (possibly in a course) after finishing the first calculus sequences in Stony Brook. For instance "Fourier sequence" is non-standard)
Paper requirements (Note: papers not satisfying these requirements will not be graded
- The word count of the body of your paper is between 2000 and 3500 words. (Note: the body of the paper does not include the bibliography, outline and abstract).
- The first page(s) of the paper contains the title of the paper, your name, the outline, math point, the abstract, book, primary source, secondary source and word count (counted excluding the bibliography, outline and abstract).
- Your paper contains at least three figures, diagrams and/or tables. All diagrams, figures and tables are clearly captioned and referenced in the body of the paper. (It would be great if you make your own illustrations)
- Your paper is divided into sections (possibly the ones you listed in the outline) and starts with an introduction, briefly explaining the the content section by section, and why the topic is interesting or relevant.
- Every item in the bibliography is cited in the paper.
- Your paper is in PDF form and is written in an easily readable font (like Times New Roman or Cambria), size 12 pts. The paragraphs are double spaced and have their first line indented.
Paper rubric - Checklist
| Criteria | Excellent | Good | Needs Improvement | Unacceptable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historical Content | Presents an excellent historical frame | Presents a good historical frame | Presents a minimal historical frame | No historical frame |
| Math Content | Correct and relevant. All the steps of the math point* are fully justified. | Mostly correct and relevant. A few steps of the math point might be missing. | Unclear or poorly justified. Many steps missing. | No clear mathematical arguments. |
| Understanding | Writing shows deep understanding | Writing shows understanding | Writing shows some understanding | Writing shows little understanding |
| Writing Mechanics | No errors in grammar or punctuation | Few errors | Many errors | Unacceptable level of errors |
| Use of language - Level | Appropriate for an audience of sophomore Math majors at Stony Brook | Occurrence of a few technical terms without definition. | Many technical terms without definition. | Excess of jargon. |
| Organization | Logical sequence; high level of source integration | Mostly logical sequencing; not all paragraphs well integrated | Difficult to follow; little integration of different sources | No overall logic; very poor synthesis of evidence |
| Writing style and creativity. | Clear, varied expression; smooth flow of ideas. Displays strong creativity, originality, and a distinct personal point of view. Very readable. | Clear expression; generally smooth flow of ideas. Shows creativity and originality, though potential for enhancement. Readable. | Expression needs improvement; occasional disruptions in idea flow. Some creativity and a personal viewpoint present. Variable readability. | Unclear expression; disjointed ideas. Lacks creativity, originality, and personal point of view. Unreadable; poor writing quality. |
| Citations | Every claim (that is not common knowledge) is cited appropriately** throughout the work. | Most claims (that are not common knowledge) are cited appropriately throughout the work. | Few claims (that are not common knowledge) are cited appropriately throughout the work. | Almost or no claim (that is not common knowledge) is cited appropriately throughout the work. |