SPECIFICATIONS:
1. Choose a topic within Meteorology: __________________. The ma
SPECIFICATIONS:
1. Choose a topic within Meteorology: __________________. The major emphasis of your
paper must be scientific. Many topics have important political, social or economic aspects and
you are free to discuss these, but the paper should be primarily a science paper. You will ONLY
use websites from .GOV and/or .EDU domains and a non-fictional book of your choice as
references to help you with your paper. You must have a minimum of 2 website references.
The term paper is not a research paper (which completely completes an experiment or reviews
the latest experimental findings of a topic). Rather, you are asked to investigate a topic and
write a paper that displays your understanding of that topic.
2. Write a 2-4 page (double-spaced typed, 12-point Times New Roman font, 1” margins) term
paper on your topic; you must include a cover/title page and reference page. Figures and Tables
are optional (if you include them, they must contain captions). Cover/title page, reference page,
figures, and tables do not count toward the page-length requirement. Always retain a copy of
your paper on your computer until after the semester.
GRADING CRITERIA FOR TERM PAPER
1. Format (30%)
a. Length, following directions
b. References and citations (listed and adequate)
c. Organization, neatness, readability
2. Content (70%)
a. Organization of material (Intro, body, conclusions).
b. Clear objective or thesis.
c. Scientifically sound.
d. Text, figures, and tables are understandable, relevant, and support
objectives, conclusions.
e. Text demonstrates your understanding of the chosen topic.
f. Grammar, Spelling
Check out sample articles and an old term paper written by Prof. Tapp from his college
years, as examples for assembling and formatting a general science paper.Page 2 of 2
HELPFUL WEBSITE EXAMPLES
National Weather Service, Norman, OK – May 20, 2013 Summary:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/oun/?n=events-20130520
High Altitude Observatory: www2.hao.ucar.edu/
VORTEX-2: www.nssl.noaa.gov/projects/vortex2/
HOW TO INCLUDE REFERENCES
References should be arranged alphabetically without numbering. The text citation should
consist of the author’s name and year of publication.
Examples of citation within text of the paper:
Earthquakes which occur in stable continental crust are commonly associated with ancient rift
zones (Johnston and Kanter 1990).
Example of reference listed at end of the paper:
Johnston, A.C., and L.R. Kanter, 1990: Earthquakes in stable continental crust. Scientific
American, 262, 68-75.
GENERAL HINTS ON COMPLETING A SCIENCE TERM PAPER:
1. Find components of your topic that interest you!
2. Do a good job of researching (library, etc.) to find good resources.
3. Outline your paper in order to organize your thoughts and material.
4. A neatly typed paper with a cover page that includes your name, course name, and
title is necessary.
5. IMPORTANT! – Do not be tempted to use a term paper obtained from the Internet
or some other source or to copy sentences or paragraphs from the Internet or
other reference! A simple Internet search can distinguish papers that are copied.
Plagiarism is copying or direct paraphrasing a sentence or more without citing
the original source. Specific information that you obtain from a reference must be
cited. Write your term paper with your own organization and in your own words.
6. When you have finished your paper, check to see that all of the requirements have
been met.