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Term Papers Each of you is responsible for two papers, both on the topics of your choice. You should inform me about the subject of each paper, e-mail a detailed outline, and submit the paper by the appropriate deadlines. Failure to do so will result in an automatic one-third grade deduction (e.g., from B- to C+). Each paper should contain a bibliography section listing the references (sources) you used while researching and writing your paper. Your bibiliography should contain at least three references. You can use non-assigned sections in Burton as the starting point of your research but should not overrely on them. At least one of your references should be a book not assigned for this course. You can use both printed and web references. Keep in mind, however, that web sources should not be trusted completely — even well-known "encyclopedic" sites contain many errors. You can find a number of books on the history of mathematics in the Math/Physics library. Some have been put on reserve. Another good source for printed material is Google Books, where you can search within books unavailable at the library (complete downloads are impossible, though). Plagiarism: if you don't know what it is, find out and don't do it. Cutting-and-pasting without acknowledging your source is an example of plagiarism. Any student who plagiarizes material on a term paper will receive zero for this paper and may be reported to Academic Judiciary. The first paper should be at least ten pages in length and deal with a particular subject in the history of mathematics. You should work out at least some of the appropriate mathematics. A clear setting of historical context is also expected. Lengthy biographical sketches are too easy to write and should be avoided. Rather, you should show how a particular mathematical subject was developed in a given historical period. The second paper should be at least fifteen pages long and on a subject different from the first paper's. You are expected to go deeper into the historical and mathematical setting and show a more critical attitude toward your sources. Either paper may be used to satisfy upper-division writing requirement. Often a rewrite is necessary. |