Writing a Paper CS-495

Organization Abstract Introduction Historical Perspective Logical Development of main body Future Conclusion Bibliography Biography

Abstract A one paragraph overview of the paper. Usually used on title page or an a separate document such as a conference flyer

Introduction Introduce the topic by leading the reader into the paper body. Introduces each of the sub-topics “Tell them what you are going to tell them”.

Historical Perspective Tells the reader what has occurred previously, relating to the topic. This section must contain specific referenced information regarding previous work in the area of the paper’s topic.

Logical Development of the Main Body “Tell them” Use sub-topics to discuss the main body information Discuss primary ethical considerations of the topic Use referenced information from experts

Future Perspective Provide projections into the future Use specific referenced projections from experts. Opinions of non-experts and fellow students are not acceptable

Visuals Anything that is not pure text diagrams, illustrations, charts, graphs, photographs Extremely important, helps the reader visualize the topic “A picture is worth 1,000 words”. Should be labeled, titled and referenced from the body text Your paper should contain at least one visual.

Opinions Should only be from experts on the topic Opinions of non-experts and students are never appropriate. Must be properly credited and referenced

Examples and Analogies Examples and analogies are necessary to further clarify particular topics Use them to explain new concepts that the reader my already be familiar with. Use examples and analogies frequently

Statistics The source of all facts and statistics should be specifically referenced using: Comments in the text Footnotes Bibliographic references

Measurements International publications prefer metric measurements

Units of measure may be abbreviated: Abbreviations Never abbreviate regular words Do not use abbreviations such as: stats, intro, 4th Editorial abbreviations "etc.", "e.g." and "i.e." are acceptable. Units of measure may be abbreviated: ml MHz

Acronyms Always spell out what the acronym stands for the first time it appears, after that you may use the acronym. e.g.: An Internet Protocol (IP) address …. The IP address

Always use Active Voice Some passive sentences are acceptable. Do not exceed 20% passive sentences. Bad: She was delighted by the new version of Windows. Good: The new version of Windows delighted the her. Bad: The student was given additional work by the teacher. Good: The teacher gave the student additional work. Bad: The program needs to be corrected. Good: Correcting the program is necessary. or Good: The program requires corrections

Currency When providing a specific amount of money, use “$” rather than the word “dollars”. Use $20,000 instead of 20000 dollars. Use commas to indicate thousands, millions… people get lost in the zeros if the commas are missing

Quantifiable Data Do NOT generalize ANY quantifiable data, if it can be presented numerically, then it should be quantified. Bad: PCs have been around for quite a while. Better: IBM sold the first IBM-PC in 1982. Bad: The sales of Windows 2000 were great. Better: The first year sales of Windows 2000 exceeded 40 million copies. Bad: A few years ago….. Better: In 2001….

Numbers Typically, the numbers one to ten are written as words digits are used for all other numbers. Use commas in large numbers to simplify reading the digits. Raw data is always presented as digits. Never begin a sentence with a digit.

Never use cliches such as: Clichés Never use cliches such as: Big money Push the envelope Taken its toll Hit the market Nowadays Few and far between