Details on Physics 596 Assignments

Writing Assignments

Common features of all written assignments

For this small class, there is enhanced personal interaction with instructors, see Draft schedule for available days. Make appointments with Wilkins thru Trisch Longbrake (3-2778, longbrake@pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu> or with Barrett directly.

All written assignments: Double-spaced text with 12 point type. Numbered pages. Sentence outline drives paper

All emailed assignments: Use ASCII text (no attachments.) Limit lines to 77 characters. Send to both John Wilkins and Tom Barrett.

General process of each assignment

1. Carefully select a topic. See possible topics inspiration. Schedule appointment with instructor to discuss/refine topic. You can email initial topic idea to instructors prior to discussion.
2. Sentence outlines will be critiqued by professor/instructor. Note that any sentence outline -- viewed as inadequate -- must be revised and critiqued again before writing draft paper.
3. Draft is reviewed by peers and professor/instructor. Late drafts will be penalized for lateness and also by excluding author from credit from participating in refereeing process. See article on importance of refereeing in publishing science articles.
4. Final version should incorporate both the suggestions arising from the reviews and the results of additional study and reflection by the author.
5. Grade is based on the final paper, with penalties for lateness applied at each step (see grading policy).

Resume

• Write a short resume for a specific position that appeals to you: academic job, industrial job, or graduate school application. The resume should be shaped to that job. If you already have a good resume, submit that. The aim of this assignment is aid you in producing an effective resume for the next step in your career. If that is graduate work or an internship, adjust document to that goal. Ask the instructors for help.
• As many resumes are handled automatically and by email, the resume should be in ascii.
• Deadlines: see Resume webpage for details on assignment as well as deadlines that are also on full schedule webpage In the case of resume, deadline is less important than your learning this skill if you don't have it already.
• Other offerings of this course test you on interviewing. This instructor doubts most faculty are effective interviewers. On the other hand, the instructor does have experience in "preping" undergraduate/graduate students and postdocs for "interviews" for the next career stage. If there is considerable interest, a lecture with ample time for questions could be offered. Perhaps more effective might be individual meetings with instructor.

Short paper

• Topic must be suitable for short paper and 7 minute talk.
• Paper audience is non-technical peers. Technical jargon must be avoided. Talk is for your peers: you know what they know.
• Paper should avoid equations; however talk might if necessary.
• 2 pages including references. .
• Abstract, 4-6 paragraphs text and conclusion.
  Alternately, you can start with dramatic picture with 3 paragraphs that explain the new idea captured by picture. Deadlines: see assignment schedule for
  1. Topic selection
  2. Instructor meeting on topic for short paper and talk
  3. Draft short paper
  4. Comments/meeting on draft with instructor
  5. Final short paper.
  6. Meeting with instructors to discuss graded paper and draft of viewgraph (in whatever form) for short talk.

Medium paper

• Prepare a medium length paper about a technical subject.
• The audience for paper is non-technical peers. Technical jargon must be avoided. No equations are allowed.
• Since the same topic will be used for the 20-minute talk, there needs to be enough scientific depth for a more technically-inclined audience.
• Discuss and get approval of topic from instructor.
• Prepare a sentence outline and discuss with instructor prior to writing.
• The paper should be 4-5 double-spaced pages of 12pt text.
• The paper must have a title and an abstract. If abstract is on an optional cover sheet, then title and author's name should appear on both cover sheet and first page of paper.
• The paper must have an appropriate figure with an original caption. The figure may be embedded in the text or attached at the end. Original figures or ones adapted to the paper are best.
• The paper must cite all source material, using at least two independent sources.
• References should be listed at the end of the paper in the order of appearance in the paper. Use a consistent style of references; see Guide to Scientific Referencing handout on Journals and books and Internet references.
• Deadlines: see assignment schedule for
  1. topic selection
  2. instructor meeting on topic for medium paper and talk
  3. sentence outlines for medium paper and talk
  4. instructor meeting on medium P/T sentence outlines
  5. draft medium paper
  6. referee report on another's medium paper
  7. final medium paper.

Long paper

• Write a longer (than medium length) paper about a science-based policy.
• The paper must advocate, attack or defend some specific policy or point of view that leads to an action (or argues against such action) using science-based arguments.
• The audience of the paper is your classmates. The technical level is that of the talks. In particular, equations are acceptable. But specially prepared figure and tables are better.
• The length of the paper should be 6-8 pages of text.
• The paper must have a title and an abstract. If abstract is on an optional cover sheet, then title and author's name should appear on both cover sheet and first page of paper.
• The paper must have appropriate figures and table with original captions. The figure may be embedded in the text or attached at the end.
• The paper must have citations to all source material. Papers must use at least two independent sources and cite each source.
• References should be listed at the end of the paper in the order of appearance in the paper. Use a consistent style of references; see Guide to Scientific Referencing handout on Journals and books and Internet references
• Deadlines: see assignment schedule for
  1. topic selection
  2. instructor meeting on topic for long paper
  3. sentence outline for long paper
  4. instructor meeting on long-paper sentence outlines
  5. draft long paper
  6. referee report on another's long paper
  7. final, revised long paper.

Speaking Assignments

Talks will be scheduled individually.

Grades for talks will be based on peer review, as assessed by a questionnaire filled in by each member of the audience. Only the student questionnaires (and not the instructors) will be used for determining the grades. See grading policy.

Viewgraphs

• Speakers must use viewgraphs (also called overheads, powerpoint, pdf, transparencies, foils, etc.)
• Meet with instructor to discuss topic and sentence outline.
• Supply instructors two (paper) copies of the sentence-outlines & viewgraphs just prior to talk.
• Help printing viewgraphs is available from Tom Barrett or Wilkins' Secretary. Viewgraph masters supplied even shortly before talk will be quickly transferred to transparencies. Preferred form in order of preference:
  • Power Point, Word, or PDF files sent to secretary.
  • Files on CV/DVD disk or USB-connection memory device (flash, key, ... ∞).
  • Printed on paper; please note: we cannot make color transparencies without an electronic file - we do not have a color COPIER!!
  • TeX/LaTeX or postscript are best (aged instructor opinion).

Short (7-minute) talk

• Topic: selected by you after discussion with lecturer.
  Aim: present substance of an important concept or technique. Experiment always better than theory.
• Audience: your classmates. Remember they have had some physics courses as you. At most you can include one equation.
  But figures (eye candy) are always better.
• Preparation: must prepare and discuss sentence outline for talk with lecturer. At time of presentation, this must be turned with copy of viewgraphs.
• Deadlines: see Assignment webpage for "times" for
  1. topic selection,
  2. two discussions with lecturer
  3. presentation day, there will be two 7-minute talks per class period.

Medium (20-minute) talk

• Topic: the same as that of the medium paper
• Audience: your classmates. So technical level and aim of the talk is different from paper on same topic. Talk may contain equations.
  But figures (eye candy) are always better.
• Length: 18-20 minutes.
• Deadlines: see Assignment webpage for "times" for
  1. topic selection,
  2. discussion with lecturer of both sentence outlines: medium paper and talk.
  3. presentation day, There will be one 20-minute talk per class period.

Textbooks