C h a p t e r 4 1
Term Paper
Y
ou may be assigned a term paper, so named for the fact that it is usually a signifi-
cant part of the course work for a term, the term most likely being a semester.Typically, a term paper requires considerable work on your part, including research,
either primary (such as interviews or data collection) or secondary (such as online
and library searches), or a combination thereof. The term paper may even report
personal experimentation in which you established a hypothesis, tested it, and for-
mulated results that either proved or disproved the hypothesis. All these papers
require careful documentation of references used.
The so-called term paper may actually take multiple forms other than a formal
paper, including a PowerPoint or other type of digital presentation, original software,
or any other means by which you can communicate your research summary and
data. Even among these varied products, however, documentation of references will
be essential.
Thus, because term paper covers a broad range of possible products, this book offers
two sets of instructions. One focuses on a research paper that reports online and
library search findings. The other focuses on a technical report that reports facts you
have discovered as the result of your own experiences.
[For full details, including writing processes and models of both of these kinds of term
papers, see Chapter 34, Research Paper, and Chapter 40, Technical Report.]