Project 5: Research Paper and Presentation

COMP 340 Project 5: Research Paper and Presentation
Spring 2011
Presentation Due: in-class Tuesday 31 May and Wednesday 1 June
Questions Due: before your presentation
Paper due: in-lab Thursday 2 June
Worth 75 points
This is an individual project with a pair option.

Overview

You will research an operating system topic, write a paper describing it (outline below), write two potential exam questions on the topic, and give a 15 minute oral presentation to the class on May 31 and June 1. Note that the project timeline runs concurrently with that of Project 4.

Topic Selection

I will give you a list of topics. Mark your top three preferences or request an OS topic not listed. I will assign topics based on your preferences. Each person or pair will be assigned a different topic. It is OK to work on the same topic as a pair; the paper length, presentation length, and number of exam questions required will be doubled.

Paper/Presentation Recommended Outline

Due to the varied nature of the topics, there is no standard outline to follow. Here is a generic outline for both the written and oral report:

Introduction
Background
Explanation (this is the main feature)
Significance
Summary

The main body of your report will be in the middle section that I have generically called "Explanation". Substitute a more appropriate heading. I expect the remaining sections to be no more than one or two paragraphs in length.

Specification for paper

Follow the outline given above, or a close variation.
Use 1" margins all around, 12 point Arial, double spacing.
Length should be about 1000 words (4-5 pages of text based on the above specifications). Double the length if writing as a pair.
Have a title page containing the title, your name, the date and the course number and name.
Organize the paper into sections as shown above in the generic outline, with section headings.
If you use any resources other than the textbook, list them in a numbered list at the end and cite them by that number (put the number in []) at the spot in the report where you used the material.
Do not copy extended text (longer than a short phrase) verbatim from the textbook, or at length from any other resource without citation. I reserve the right to deduct points for excessive use of quoted passages. Quoted passages less than two lines long should be placed in quotes. Longer passages should be single spaced and indented .5" on both the left and right without quotes. A citation should appear at the end of the quoted passage.

Specification for presentation

Prepare a PowerPoint presentation with a structure corresponding to that of the paper.
Avoid incompatible text-background color combinations (such as yellow on white or red on blue).
Slides should be informative but not filled with text. I will deduct points if your presentation consists of reading your slides!
If you have handouts, give them to me in advance for copying.
Your presentation will be 12 minutes long followed by 3 minutes for questions. I will give you a signal when 2 minutes remain. I will deduct points if your presentation is less than 10 minutes or more than 15 minutes long. Double these numbers if presenting as a pair. Rehearse!
Give me an electronic copy of your PowerPoint so I can make it available to everyone to study for the final exam.
NOTE: Class will be held at 12:30 pm in Towers 115 both Tuesday and Wednesday.

Specification for exam questions

You will provide two questions for possible inclusion on the final exam. Four if presenting as a pair.

They can be a multiple choice or short answer.
They need to be suitable for a closed-book exam and answerable from material in your presentation and handouts.
They must be submitted prior to the start of class on the day of your presentation. I will hand out printed copies.
Submit answers along with the questions. I will print and distribute questions (but not answers!) to everyone prior to the presentations.
I will decide which questions to include on the exam and reserve the right to edit them.
Your combined questions will comprise at most 25 points on the 150 point final exam.

Grading

Due to the nature of this project, no late work will be accepted. The paper will be graded based both on its content and how well it meets the format specifications. The presentation will be graded based on its content, how well the graphic presentation meets the format specifications, and how well organized and presented the oral presentation is. Here is the breakdown of the 75 point total:

maximum 7 points: paper meets formatting specifications
maximum 35 points: paper content
maximum 7 points: presentation meets formatting specifications
maximum 20 points: content and delivery of the presentation
maximum 6 points: turn in two exam questions

This project is worth 75 points for the quarter, or 15% of your grade.

To submit

Submit your paper and presentation documents and questions by email to psanderson@otterbein.edu by the deadlines given above. Remember that late submissions will not be accepted!

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Peter Sanderson (PSanderson@otterbein.edu)