last revised 2 September 2008
| Tutorial | Grinnell College | Fall, 2008 |
| Computers: Facts, Misconceptions, and Ethical Issues | ||
This tutorial has discussed many aspects of computing, including ethical issues, hardware, data representation, the nature of operating systems, software packages, software development, applications, networking, file sharing, privacy and security, the Internet, and e-voting. In this paper, you have the opportunity to explore your own interests by choosing a topic that you have not written about previously (at least in this course). To get started, you will need to do library research covering at least five sources (with at least three from published sources obtained from either the library or electronic databases), and you will need to organize your ideas and findings in a 5-7 page paper.
For this paper, class deadlines will be somewhat different than for previous assignments. In particular, you can learn a great deal about writing and about subject matter by reading other papers. Thus, for this paper, the writing process will be divided into several steps as follows:
On Tuesday, December 2, you must bring to class 4 copies of a draft
of your paper.
Note: Failure to meet this deadline will automatically drop your grade for
the course by two-thirds of a full letter grade e.g., from A- to B
or from B+ to B-. Only a verified medical excuse or a statement from
Student Affairs concerning extraordinary circumstances will be considered
in changing this penalty.
During the first part of class on December 2, the tutorial will break into groups (about 4 students in each group). Within each group, students will exchange papers and perhaps make some introductory comments about their papers. A copy of the draft will also be handed to the instructor. (This copy will not be graded, but the instructor will check that the paper is in a form appropriate for review by others.)
As an assignment for the next class, each student should read carefully three papers by the other students in the group and then write out some constructive comments about each paper. For example, comments might be made on your overall impression of the paper, the paper's good points, and on the one or two things you might suggest to improve the paper.
Bring TWO copies of your comments to class on December 4. During the first part of that class, students will meet again in the groups to give the annotated papers back and to make any final comments. A copy of the comments also will be given to the instructor.
On the basis of this feedback, you may want to make revisions in your paper, although that is not required. (If you want to rewrite the paper completely, that is allowed. On the other hand, you may decide to ignore all of the comments.) In any case, the final version of the paper is due on Thursday, December 11.
Finally, three days (December 4, December 9 and December 11) will be devoted to presentations (about 10-13 minutes each) when students have the opportunity to highlight those parts of their research that they found most interesting. As with the previous presentations, it is permissible to write out your entire talk, although less formal presentations also are allowed. The specific schedule for these presentations will be determined during the first week of December.
Of course, the paper should follow APA format throughout.
http://www.walker.cs.grinnell.edu/courses/tutorial.fa08/writing/paper4.shtml
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created 18 August 1997 last revised 2 September 2008 |
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| For more information, please contact Henry M. Walker at walker@cs.grinnell.edu. |