Description

The objective of the paper is for you to pursue extra reading and writing on a topic of your choice that goes beyond what we have time to discuss in class. Please write your paper using 1500 to 2000 words. Multiple outside articles must be read and referenced in the paper. Possible Topics: Anything you have a particular interest in is fair game.

1) Submit a single file in either MS Word or PDF format containing your paper.

2) The paper must include a reference list at the end listing all books and articles you read to research the topic. This list must include at least five (5) sources outside the class materials. Each source in the reference list should be numbered and include the complete article name, date and page numbers so that I can easily look up the reference in a library or on the Web.

Example: Gilbert Held, "Selecting a WAN Operating Rate", Network Administrator, Volume 1, No. 4, September/October 1994, pp. 4-16.

World Wide Web articles are perfectly acceptable also. An example of a webpage reference in your reference list could look like this: Frank Snowhow, “A Tutorial on IP Voice Technologies and Products”,http://www.myco.com/tutorials/voice.html.

3) When you directly use words from some book or article you read, you must put quotes (") around them and indicate which reference (from your reference list in the back) they came from. References are easily indicated with brackets (Networks are“the most important business tool today [3]”) or with superscripts (Networks are “the most important business tool today”

3). No more than 25% of the paper content should be quotes from other sources.

4) It will be considered PLAGIARISM and you will automatically fail this assignment you:

•  Use exact words or substantial ideas from any other person, article, or book in your paper without putting quotes around them and referring to an item in your reference list.
•  Use information from any source which is not included in the reference list at the end of your paper.

5) My grading will be mostly holistic, with my attention focused on these major components:

•  Content - does the paper have substance?
•  Integration - is the author tying together the various sources?
•  Coherence - does the paper follow a logical and consistent order?
•  Length - is it long enough to say something without going on too long?
•  Grammar - is bad grammar interfering with a smooth reading of the subject?

6) Hints: One goal of this paper is to show me that you understand the material. If you include a long quotation or a list of technical specifications, you have not shown understanding unless you follow up with a paragraph explaining why this is important or pertinent to your topic

• . Another goal of this paper is to add value to the reference materials. You can add value by combining several viewpoints that have not been previously considered together or by explaining some information from a different viewpoint than that of the original author.
•  Your paper must go beyond the material covered in class. Please do not just repeat back the information we have already covered in class.
• Include a clear introductory paragraph describing what you will discuss in the paper and a clear concluding paragraph at the end summarizing the paper.