oceanography

Requirements for

The Term (Research) Paper

The research paper will be a major assignment, in completing which you will be expected to read and rigorously analyze scientific literature relevant to an oceanography-related topic of your choosing. While you have the freedom to choose any topic (oceanography-related only), you may also want to go through and see if you can get topics that interest you from the websites linked under 'Useful Resources (References)' below.

Declare your paper's topic and its outline

You must declare your research paper topic and its outline latest by the due date. For anything submitted past this deadline there will be a 1 point per day penalty. Topic & Outline will not be accepted more than three (3) days after the due date.

You must submit your research paper topic & outline as a text entry in the text box below. File upload is not supported.

After submitting your topic & outline, make sure that you open this assignment's page to read your professor's comments. The professor generally reads and responds submitted topic/outline within 48-72 hours. If your professor gives you the go-ahead, you will start writing the final paper. You can't start writing the research paper without your professor's approval of your term paper topic & outline.

During any stage of writing the paper, if you have questions, message your professor via 'Inbox'.

Selecting your topic and composing the outline of the paper

● The topic for your term paper must be related to oceanography, whether covered in this course or not. Non-oceanography topic will not be approved.

● The topic should not be too general (e.g. The Ocean, Water, The Pacific Ocean, etc). Rather, you should think of some unique features about the Ocean or its inhabitants.

● The topic should not be so minutely specific as to prevent a student from completing a substantial paper due to a lack of available resources.

● The topic must be sufficiently specific to focus research on a particular aspect, example, or locality within a broader oceanographic topic.

● The Outline should summarize, in a paragraph, the main ideas you will include in the paper. It could also be in the form of bullet points describing the main ideas of your paper in short phrases or words. Scroll down to the bottom of this page to see a sample topic and outline.

● You may not work on an identical topic to any other student, though related topics are permitted.

The instructions below pertain to the content, formatting, and other important elements essential to write a quality research paper. You must follow all the instructions.

Content and length of paper

● You must research the topic you chose. ● You must show a substantial grasp of the material written. ● The paper must be on an oceanography theme, whether covered in this

course or not. A paper heavy on non-oceanography content will get substandard credit.

● The contents can not be on a general topic. Rather, you must pick certain unique features and characteristics about the Ocean or its inhabitants.

● The paper should not deal with minutely specific aspects that can not be easily understood due to their more advanced nature. On the other hand, the paper should be sufficiently focused on a particular aspect, example, or locality within a broader oceanographic topic.

● The paper must be 3 to 6 pages long (3 pages minimum, 6 pages maximum).

● The ideas discussed in the paper can not be 'copy & pasted' from the source (eTextbook, websites, or journal articles). While you will definitely need to use your references to introduce and explain the basic principles about the topic (approx. 1/3 to 1/2 of the total contents of your paper); for the rest of your paper you must use your own observations, analyses, and conclusions to:

○ explain why this topic is significant, and why other people should be interested in it.

○ describe at least one point which you think would be worth pursuing in further studies, and explain why.

● Organizing the contents of the paper in a logical manner, articulating/explaining the main message of the paper, and maintaining a perfect flow of ideas is very important. In addition, the strength of the arguments you use for the part where you explain the significance of the topic, why others should be interested in it, and why further studies are worth pursuing will indicate how well you grasp the material.

● Whether to use multiple section headings is up to individual students. You could just write the whole paper as a journal report, or subdivide it into meaningful sections with appropriate headings.

● Relevant figures (pictures, tables, diagrams, etc.) may be included, but are not a requirement. If necessary, use no more than 2 figures. If you use

figures, the maximum space all figures should take will not be more than ¾ of a page.

Useful Resources (References)

● You must use at least two credible, recent, preferably peer-reviewed references other than the textbook. You are free to choose any credible source. In addition, I have provided below a few important sources that you may consider.

● WLAC's Library Database has a wide selection of useful articles. You may want to explore Access Science data base and search for Oceanography titles.

● (Links to an external site.) ● Furthermore, Opposing Viewpoints ● (Links to an external site.) ● (from Gale In Context) offers a wide range of current topics. These are both

credible publications. ● The following websites published by scholarly institutions, societies, or

government agencies are also credible references: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration' s (NOAA) Ocean Exploration & Research

● (Links to an external site.) ● , OCEANUS (A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution publication) ● (Links to an external site.) ● , NOAA Central Library ● (Links to an external site.) ● , Science Daily ● (Links to an external site.) ● , The Oceanography Society, ● (Links to an external site.) ● etc.). ● Newspaper articles may be used as credible resources, depending on their

context and content. However, you must seek your professor's approval to use such sources.

● Websites, journals, or magazines focused on political or social activism, or with overt, unfounded bias in their content, will not be considered as credible references.

● Wikipedia may be used, but will not be considered as a credible, peer-reviewed resource. If you use Wikipedia, you are strongly encouraged to look at the sources cited in the articles.

● If you are unsure if a resource is credible or scholarly, ask your professor before investing too much time into it.

● If you have trouble finding, accessing, or understanding the material presented in these resources, please ask for help from your professor.

Citation/References

● You must include a separate “Works Cited” page, with full, proper citations. This page will not be included towards your total paper length. Remember, references listed on the works cited page must be referred to in the text (in-text citation). Conversely, any references mentioned in the body of the text (in-text cited), must appear on the works cited page.

● Follow Oceanography formatting ● (Links to an external site.) ● when listing your references (Works cited), for in-text citations, for direct

quotes or paraphrasing, and for figure and table captions.

Formatting

● All text must be 1½ spaced. ● Length must be between 3 and 6 pages – no shorter, no longer.

○ Total length will be measured starting with your first full line of body text.

○ Length will not include title page or works cited/reference lists page.

● Margins must be no wider than one inch, and no narrower than ½ inch. ● Use standard font such as Times New Roman, Helvetica, Arial, Calibri,

Georgia; please no fonts such as Comic Sans, etc. ● Body text font size: 12, no larger, no smaller. ● Paper must be written using proper spelling and grammar. I will be checking

it. ○ You must use complete sentences, not just

strung-together fragments. ○ Be sure not to trust automated spell-checkers to catch

everything. ○ This is a formal writing assignment – do not use slang,

texting abbreviations, etc. ○ The tone is to be that of a scientific paper, not a personal

story or tourism literature. Avoid first-person pronouns, contractions, and too-casual phrasing.

No Plagiarism!

● Obvious plagiarism will result in zero-credit. ● If you are unsure how to write without committing plagiarism, ask for help!

Sample Topic and Outline (Note: you can not use the sample topic or outline for your term paper)

Topic:

Seabed Mapping: Discovering the Hidden Gems of the Ocean Floor

Outline:

Currently the ocean floor has been widely shrouded in mystery; almost comparable to the secrets hidden in our vast universe. In this paper, I would like to dive deep and explore the world of Seabed Mapping. First, I plan to explain the history behind this topic. Next, I will provide details about the different methods used to create these maps. Then, I will talk about how maps are used to identify different types of marine habitats such as sediment and their properties. Finally, I will talk about why these maps are important and how they contribute valuable information to the scientific world.

Alternatively, you may present the outline in bullet points as follows:

● History of Seabed mapping ● Methods of Seabed mapping ● Use of maps to identify different marine habitats ● Why are maps are important and how they contribute to our understanding of

the seafloor

Sample Term Paper

Here is a Sample Term Paper

Actions . You can not use its title or contents in your paper.