PHYS 401 / 501 term paper guidelines

1. See the example journal review papers posted on D2L.

2. Each review paper must include at least two (for undergraduate students) / three (for graduate students) journal papers. 

3. The term paper must be easily understandable by 2nd year college students who studied typical university physics and modern physics courses. An easy introduction part must be included.

4. The following must be included:
   Course number & year (PHYS-401 or PHYS-501, Term / Year), Title, Name, Affiliation, Abstract, References, Page numbers on each page.

5. Minimum 3 pages, Maximum 6 pages. Number of words must be between 1500 and 3000 excluding references. - updated on 10/30/2020.

6. Maximum number of words for title and abstract: Title (30), Abstract (120)

7. Include at least two figures which contains scientific information. - updated on 10/30/2020.

8. Use only one column (Do not use two columns) - updated on 10/30/2020.

9. Use alignment as “justify”. single spacing in paragraphs. Font sizes: title (12), abstract (9), main text (10), table/figure caption (9), references (9) in MS-WORD (or similar sizes in other software).

10. Do not leave large empty spaces. Adjust the position and size of graphs and paragraphs. Make your report as compact as possible.

11. Put captions at the bottom of figures and tables. Each figure or table must be mentioned at least once in the main text.

12. If you copy some sentences, graphs or pictures, you must use citations or quotation marks.
    Copying two consecutive paragraphs is non-arguable plagiarism. They must be paraphrased or rephrased. 

13. You can not attach graphs or anything onto your report (meaning cut and paste with physical scissors and glue). Everything must be computerized.

14. If you capture the screens of computers, save the images in PNG format. PNG is an excellent graphic format especially for graphs. JPG is good for pictures, but not good for graphs.

15. Do not use a spreadsheet to create graphs. Use professional plotting software (SCiDavis, Origin, SigmaPlot, etc)

16. You must use an equation editor for equations.

17. You can use a reference software. Zotero is recommended, or others: Mendeley, Endnote, etc.

18. First, make your report look good! Excellent visualization is required for all formal reports.

19. It is strongly recommended that students print their reports (make hard copies) at least twice and review it before final submission. Once submitted, you cannot make changes!