Instructions for Writing the Research Paper

First, the paper must be interesting to both you and me, so pick a topic involving a section of the

electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, ×-rays, or gamma rays)

about which you are interested. All of these are various forms of light. Other forms of waves are not

acceptable e.g. ultrasound Is very interesting but is not an appropriate topic because it is not an

electromagnetic wave). The paper must be your work. Plagiarism will not be accepted.

Get your material from the Internet, documenting each source you use in the end notes section. Use

superscripts in the body of the paper that refer to the proper end note. The end note section is

essentially a bibliography with numbers in numerical order rather than alphabetic order When you use

another’s material give proper credit. You may quote, just don’t pass it off as your own, and your paper

should not be one long quote after another. Read the material first from various websites. Take notes

and then write your paper from your notes. Anytime you need to include information that is not

common knowledge, give a reference.

How long should it be? This report counts the same as one lab report. It should be between 500 and

1000 words long.

Concentrate on the physics of the radiation. For instance, if you were to choose X-rays, describe what

they are, how they are produced, what they are used for, the benefits and drawbacks to their uses.

Don’t go into long discussions of different x-ray machines or film development or radiology training.

Think physics!

Don’t make this into something hard. There are fascinating aspects to the various types of radiation and

their applications. Scan two or three types of radiation before you choose a topic.

How will the paper be evaluated? I will look to see if the paper indicates the student has enjoyed what

he/she has done and has gotten a small grasp on one tiny topic in physics. Here is how you can tell if you

have met the criteria for this paper. Write it. Put it awav. A dav or two ater ask ourself how much of it

you remember without looking at it. If you remember a great deal after a couple of days, you probably

enjoyed writing it.