CIS Term Paper Instructions

Charles V. Balch

Your goal is a short, scholarly and informative fact sheet on the topic assigned. Thus your term paper should be concise, complete, and focused. In particular, for many topics, it is very easy to find specific product information from companies that advertise on the Internet or in trade magazines. Parroting such literature is not appropriate to your paper. Keep the mention of specific companies and products minimal and justified.

Your paper should be mostly in your own words. All words that are not your own must be within quote marks with an attributed source. Plagiarism is defined in the UVI Course Catalog as "passing off the ideas or work of another as one's own without crediting the source." Further, as stated in the catalog, plagiarism is academic dishonesty and grounds for an automatic "F" in the course for the first offense.

The paper should follow the example below.

Your Topic

Your Name
Date, Version (i.e. First Draft, Second Draft, Final)
Class Name and Section

Definition
Define your topic in one short paragraph.

Significance
Explain why your topic is an important computer issue.

Issues
Discuss current issues/controversies.


Note the following:

  • Your assigned topic is in the "Grade Info" section of my Email messages.
  • Papers should have a descriptive title and include your name, date, class and version.
  • The Title should 14 point, bold, italic and centered.
  • Your name should be italic.
  • Name, date, class and version should be the same size as the body of your text.
  • All words that are not your own must be within quotes and have an attributed source.
  • Papers may not be longer than 1 page and must have 1 inch margins.
  • Do not include a cover page.
  • On a separate page list and discuss your references including URLs. See example below.
  • Paragraphs must be single spaced and tab indented.
  • Type should be Times Roman size 10 to 12.
  • Be sure to do a spell and grammar check.

    • Example Reference Page

    References for Topic

    Charles V. Balch
    Date, Version (i.e. First Draft, Second Draft, Final)
    Class

    James, Geoffery. The Tao of Programming. Infobooks. 1987. Pgs. 12-24, 56-68. This is the source of my definition.

    http://www.microsoft.com/kb/default.htm
    Microsoft Knowledge Base This web site discusses why the topic is important to the computer industry.

    Thomas, Susan G. AOL's Busy Signal. in U.S. News & World Report February 10, 1997. Pg. 68. This article discussed some current issues related to topic.

    Note that URLs go on a line by themselves.

    Tips for Using Microsoft Word

  • Under the View menu set the Zoom option to "Page Width."
  • The grammar checker is found in the Tools menu.
  • Adjust margins by looking in the File menu and selecting "Page Setup."
  • Save your work often.

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