The term paper is a research report on some aspect (your choice) of the design of operating systems, and is an individual effort. The format should be compatible with guidelines taught in MSOE composition courses (EN-131 and EN-132), and include appropriate bibliographic references. No specific length is set, though it seems unlikely that a reasonable job could be done in less than 15-20 pages of "double spaced" body text.
You are expected to research your topic in some depth. Your sources must include technical journals, books, and similar "reputable" sources. While you are encouraged to use internet/web resources as well, be careful to assess the quality of the information you find. Be especially critical in evaluating information provided by someone with a vested interest (e.g., the vendor of a particular operating system or software package). Your treatment of your chosen topic should extend beyond any related material in the textbook.
A preliminary outline and bibliography is to be submitted before the full paper; due dates are shown in the course schedule.
The final paper must be submitted in Word, PDF, or other agreed upon format via email and will be posted on the Web.
Each student will give a short oral presentation, covering the highlights of the term paper content.
Many past students have found the term paper to be a valuable and enjoyable project. It may be difficult to choose a topic early in the course, when many operating system subjects have not yet been discussed. You are encouraged to read ahead in the textbook, to visit the library, to surf the Web, and to consult the instructor.
There are a few good formats for outlines, but the most common is the classic I-A-1-a format. (I-a-1 is not an acceptable format.)
I. Top level
II. Another top level item
A. Second Level
B. Continued
1. More
2. Yet more
a. And more yet
b. Et cetera
There is also the I-A-1-a)-(1)-(a)-i) format (University of Chicago Press), but this is not as common. I am not too particular about the “line up the periods” rule, but you should do this if it is easily supported by your word processing or text layout software. Generally, the rule that there must be 0, or 2 or more (but not 1) subpoints is a very good one, but you could make an argument for breaking it in certain situations.
Each term paper should have at least a few journal article (or perhaps conference paper) references, which contain the most recent information available that has been peer reviewed. Newer papers provide depth and, especially, currency that is hard to find in books. Older papers may be appropriate, especially when they are seminal (from the time of the origin of the idea and strongly influencing further development).
Additionally, as you write your papers, be mindful of when to use quotation marks and when to cite a work. Almost exclusively, you should be using your own words. When it is particularly advantageous to borrow the words from one of your sources, you must put the borrowed text in quotation marks as a sign of giving proper credit to the author of those words. In the quotation you may also want to take advantage of ellipsis (…) to indicate removed words and brackets to indicate inserted words. You must provide a citation in several situations, including…
According to Durant \[7\], there are no feasible solutions to the halting problem.
Several authors propose solutions to the instruction restart problem \[3, 18\], but only Corner's method \[5\] meets the second of our criteria.
The bracketed numbers are from the IEEE citation format [1] – you may use any appropriate, standard citation format.
Failure to follow these guidelines is an ethical breach and is considered plagiarism. You must give credit to those whose thoughts and ideas you are borrowing for your paper.
[1] "Documentation: IEEE Style", Engineering Communication Centre @ The University of Toronto, [Cited 19-December-2005].
This assignment is based on a similar assignment by Dr. Welch