Term Paper 1: OS Research Paper and Presentation

COMP 3400 Term Paper 1: OS Research Paper and Presentation
Spring 2017
Due: Monday 13 March
(presentations to be made in class, paper can be turned in later that day)
Worth 60 points
This is an individual project

Overview

You will research an operating system history topic, write a paper describing it (outline below), write two potential exam questions on the topic, and give a 6-8 minute oral presentation to the class on March 13. Note that the project timeline runs concurrently with that of programming Project 3.

Topic Selection

Select your top three choices from among these historically signficiant operating systems -- Apple MacOS or OSX or iOS, Microsoft DOS or Windows, IBM OS360 or 370, BeOS, Sun's Solaris, Multics, UNIX, Linux, Android, other -- and let me know your top three by February 20 (email or in person). I will assign topics based on your preferences. I will try to assign each of you a different topic.

Paper/Presentation Recommended Outline

Here is a generic outline for both the written and oral report:

Introduction
Origins, History and Significance
(technical description of one OS feature)
Summary

The main body of your report will be the two middle sections. "Origins, History and Significance" should introduce the Operating System through those three aspects of its existence. What motivated the development of this OS? Why is it important? The third section gives a technical description on one feature of the OS that you select. It should be presented at the level of topics we've covered in this course. In other words, it should cover some internal OS structure not a superficial feature. I have OS textbooks that you can borrow for this section if you wish. All of them include case studies of different operating systems. I expect the first and last sections to be no more than one or two paragraphs in length.

Specification for paper

Follow the outline given above, or a close variation.
Word document with 1" margins all around, 12 point Arial, double spacing.
Length should be no less than 800 words (3-4 pages of text based on the above specifications).
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.
You must list at least three different references. Place them in a numbered list at the end of your report and cite them by that number (put the number in []) at the spot in the report where you used the material. The same source can be cited in multiple places.
Do not copy extended text (longer than a short phrase) from any 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.
Submit to me by email by the deadline above.

Specification for presentation

Prepare a Google Slides 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. Use illustrative images if you can.
If you have handouts, give them to me in advance for copying.
Your presentation should be 6 to 8 minutes long. ]Rehearse!
I will create a shared Google Drive folder for your presentations and send you the link. Put your name in the filename to avoid confusion and to facilite quick transition on presentation day.

Specification for exam questions

You will provide two questions for possible inclusion on the exam.

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.
Questions with answers must be submitted to me by email no later than 12 noon March 13. I will compile the questions and upload them to the Google Drive folder later that day so you may study and research them prior to the exam.
I will decide which questions to include on the exam and reserve the right to edit them.
Your combined questions will comprise at most 12 points on the 100 point 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 60 point total:

maximum 5 points: paper meets formatting specifications
maximum 5 points: paper organization and grammar
maximum 25 points: paper content, including appropriate level of detail
maximum 5 points: presentation meets formatting specifications
maximum 15 points: content and delivery of the presentation
maximum 5 points: turn in two exam questions

The 60 points of this project represents 7.5% of your grade. I will assign a similar project later in the semester on a networks topic.

To submit

Submit your paper and questions by email to psanderson@otterbein.edu, and your presentations to the Google Drive folder (TBA), by the deadlines given above. Remember that late submissions will not be accepted!

[ COMP 3400 | Peter Sanderson | Math Sciences home page | Otterbein ]

Last updated:
Peter Sanderson (PSanderson@otterbein.edu)