Explain in words understandable by your classmates what their contribution means. You can assume we know more than algebra.
If you need help understanding the math, please do ask!
A well-written, quality paper. Our course readings all great models.
4-5 pages (substantial content on the fourth page)
12pt font, standard margins. No games.
Bibliography expectations as stated below
Recall that if a paper is unacceptable, it must be redone. As a result, a paper is either complete (A) or incomplete (F).
A plagiarized paper results in an instant failing of the course. No second chances.
You will be asked to correct and resubmit your paper for any of:
Incorrect facts
One or two small typos, for example writing (x+1) instead of (x+1)2, is acceptable.
Writing a statement which is completely false is not acceptable. A single false statement will result in the paper being returned for correction.
For example: “The Greeks managed to trisect an arbitrary angle using compass and straightedge.”
Poor writing
One or two spelling or grammatical errors are acceptable. Everyone makes mistakes. Please do minimize those mistakes by seeking others to read over your paper. WSU offers free help at the Writing Center. See http://webs.wichita.edu/?u=COMPOSITIONWEB&p=/writing_center/
Significant spelling / grammatical errors (more than 5) are not acceptable.
Keep the tone of your paper professional. An example of what not to write from an actual student paper:
“His full name was Abu Ja’far Muhammad ibn Musa Al-Khwarizmi. Abu and Ja’far are also names of characters in Lion King.” (there are two things wrong with this… )
Make sure your writing is clear. Another example of what not to write from an actual student paper:
“He died in 1727 from natural causes and his body started to deteriorate.”
Make sure you use complete English sentences.
Not meeting requirements outlined above
For example: not explaining a math concept, writing only 3.5 pages of content, using 13pt font to boost your content, not fulfilling bibliographic requirements, etc.
Sources not academic in nature, or sources are further than “secondary”
For example: Howstuffworks.com is a neat website, and I, too, listen to “Stuff You Missed in History Class”, but they’re reporting from secondary and occasionally primary sources. You should, too.
In the past students have cited PDFs found on .edu domains and thought them reliable because they were on an academic website. Most times these were students’ papers from their History of Math class… Review your sources to ensure their reliability and authority.
For some other reason not enumerated here.
The point of this assignment is to produce a brief, professional paper conveying meaningful content to others. I want this assignment to reflect the quality of a class at a state university.
If there is a reason not listed above for which a paper does not meet professional quality, I’ll discuss it with you and add it to the list for the next paper. Let’s keep our quality high in exchange for small page counts!
My bibliography expectations:
0. Your source should be a valid source for academic work:
No “Research Starters”, other student papers, general encyclopedias (Wikipedia, Britannica, etc),…
1. I expect you to use more than one source for your research.
2. Cite all your sources.
3. Citation format will be APA or MLA (choose one).
You can and should use resources such as EndNote or http://www.bibme.org/ that help take the thought out of it citation formatting.
4. On your bibliography, give a brief sentence for each citation explaining its relevance and reliability.
For example: Let’s say I am wanting to share an anecdote about the duel of Evariste Galois. I found a great passage in the book:
Burton, D. M. (2003). The Renaissance of Mathematics: Cardan and Tartaglia. The History of mathematics: an introduction (5th ed., pp. 308-9). Boston : McGraw-Hill.
The author has written books in algebra and number theory as well as six editions of a textbook on the history of mathematics.
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