Term paper

Last updated

A term paper is a research paper written by students over an academic term, accounting for a large part of a grade. Merriam-Webster defines it as "a major written assignment in a school or college course representative of a student's achievement during a term". [1] Term papers are generally intended to describe an event, a concept, or argue a point. It is a written original work discussing a topic in detail, usually several typed pages in length, and is often due at the end of a semester.

Contents

There is much overlap between the terms: research paper and term paper. A term paper was originally a written assignment (usually a research based paper) that was due at the end of the "term"—either a semester or quarter, depending on which unit of measure a school used. However, not all term papers involve academic research, and not all research papers are term papers.

History

Term papers date back to the beginning of the 19th century when print could be reproduced cheaply and written texts of all types (reports, memoranda, specifications, and scholarly articles) could be easily produced and disseminated. Moulton and Holmes (2003) write that during the years from 1870 to 1900 "American education was transformed as writing became a method of discourse and research the hallmark of learning." [2]

Russell (1991) writes that in the 1910s, "the research paper began to harden into its familiar form" adding that plagiarism and the sale of research papers both became a problem during this time. [3]

Plagiarism in the computer era

In the present day an entire industry has sprung up to provide plagiarized, pre-written or custom written term papers for students of varying levels of education. There are many websites that sell term papers of all levels of quality and writing proficiency, but submission of a purchased paper would be considered a serious breach of the submitting student's academic integrity by any reputable academic institution. [4] Also, plagiarism can be unknowingly committed by students. [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essay</span> Written work often reflecting the authors personal point of view

An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal and informal: formal essays are characterized by "serious purpose, dignity, logical organization, length," whereas the informal essay is characterized by "the personal element, humor, graceful style, rambling structure, unconventionality or novelty of theme," etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghostwriter</span> Writer who writes for the credited author

A ghostwriter is a person hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are putatively credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, memoirs, magazine articles, or other written material.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thesis</span> Document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree

A thesis, or dissertation, is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings. In some contexts, the word thesis or a cognate is used for part of a bachelor's or master's course, while dissertation is normally applied to a doctorate. This is the typical arrangement in American English. In other contexts, such as within most institutions of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, the reverse is true. The term graduate thesis is sometimes used to refer to both master's theses and doctoral dissertations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scientific literature</span> Literary genre

Scientific literature comprises academic papers that report original empirical and theoretical work in the natural and social sciences. Within a field of research, relevant papers are often referred to as "the literature". Academic publishing is the process of contributing the results of one's research into the literature, which often requires a peer-review process.

Electronic assessment, also known as digital assessment, e-assessment, online assessment or computer-based assessment, is the use of information technology in assessment such as educational assessment, health assessment, psychiatric assessment, and psychological assessment. This covers a wide range of activities ranging from the use of a word processor for assignments to on-screen testing. Specific types of e-assessment include multiple choice, online/electronic submission, computerized adaptive testing such as the Frankfurt Adaptive Concentration Test, and computerized classification testing.

An outline, also called a hierarchical outline, is a list arranged to show hierarchical relationships and is a type of tree structure. An outline is used to present the main points or topics (terms) of a given subject. Each item in an outline may be divided into additional sub-items. If an organizational level in an outline is to be sub-divided, it shall have at least two subcategories, although one subcategory is acceptable on the third and fourth levels, as advised by major style manuals in current use. An outline may be used as a drafting tool of a document, or as a summary of the content of a document or of the knowledge in an entire field. It is not to be confused with the general context of the term "outline", which a summary or overview of a subject, presented verbally or written in prose. The outlines described in this article are lists, and come in several varieties.

Academic dishonesty, academic misconduct, academic fraud and academic integrity are related concepts that refer to various actions on the part of students that go against the expected norms of a school, university or other learning institution. Definitions of academic misconduct are usually outlined in institutional policies. Therefore, academic dishonesty consists of many different categories of behaviour, as opposed to being a singular concept.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Academic writing</span> Writing resulting from academic work

Academic writing or scholarly writing refers primarily to nonfiction writing that is produced as part of academic work in accordance with the standards of a particular academic subject or discipline, including:

A course credit is a measure of the size of an educational course, often used to determine whether the requirements for an award have been met, to facilitate transfer between institutions, or to enhance intercomparability of qualifications. Credit may be input-based – defined by the quantity of instruction given – or outcome-based – defined by the learning outcomes and a notional time to achieve those outcomes.

Research paper may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turnitin</span> Internet-based plagiarism-prevention service

Turnitin is an Internet-based similarity detection service run by the American company Turnitin, LLC, a subsidiary of Advance Publications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Luther King Jr. authorship issues</span> Disputes over authorship of works by Martin Luther King Jr.

Authorship issues concerning Martin Luther King Jr. fall into two general categories: Plagiarism in King's academic research papers and his use of borrowed phrases in speeches.

In higher education, a course is a unit of teaching that typically lasts one academic term, is led by one or more instructors, and has a fixed roster of students. A course usually covers an individual subject. Courses generally have a fixed program of sessions every week during the term, called lessons or classes. Students may receive a grade and academic credit after completion of the course. Courses can either be compulsory material or "elective". An elective is usually not a required course, but there are a certain number of non-specific electives that are required for certain majors. The entire collection of courses required to complete an academic degree is called a program of studies.

An essay mill is a business that allows customers to commission an original piece of writing on a particular topic so that they may commit academic fraud. Customers provide the company with specific information about the essay, including number of pages, general topic, and a time frame to work within. The customer is charged a certain amount per page. A similar concept is the essay bank, a company from which students can purchase prewritten but less expensive essays on various topics, at higher risk of being caught. Both forms of business are under varying legal restraints in some jurisdictions.

Scientific writing is writing about science, with an implication that the writing is by scientists and for an audience that primarily includes peers—those with sufficient expertise to follow in detail. Scientific writing is a specialized form of technical writing, and a prominent genre of it involves reporting about scientific studies such as in articles for a scientific journal. Other scientific writing genres include writing literature-review articles, which summarize the existing state of a given aspect of a scientific field, and writing grant proposals, which are a common means of obtaining funding to support scientific research. Scientific writing is more likely to focus on the pure sciences compared to other aspects of technical communication that are more applied, although there is overlap. There is not one specific style for citations and references in scientific writing. Whether you are submitting a grant proposal, literature review articles, or submitting an article into a paper, the citation system that must be used will depend on the publication you plan to submit to.

Contract cheating is a form of academic dishonesty in which students pay others to complete their coursework. The term was coined in a 2006 study by Thomas Lancaster and the late Robert Clarke (UK), as a more inclusive way to talk about all forms of academic work, as opposed to more outdated terms such as "term paper mill" or "essay mill", which refer to text-based academic outsourcing. In contrast, Lancaster and Clarke are computer scientists who found evidence of students systematically outsourcing coding assignments. Hence, they coined the term "contract cheating" to include all outsourced academic work, regardless of whether it is from text-based or non-text-based disciplines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plagiarism</span> Using another authors work as if it was ones own original work

Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work. Although precise definitions vary depending on the institution, in many countries and cultures plagiarism is considered a violation of academic integrity and journalistic ethics, as well as social norms around learning, teaching, research, fairness, respect, and responsibility. As such, a person or entity that is determined to have committed plagiarism is often subject to various punishments or sanctions, such as suspension, expulsion from school or work, fines, imprisonment, and other penalties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Senior (education)</span> Student in the fourth year of study, esp. in the U.S.

The term senior, in regard to education, has different meanings depending on the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exam</span> Educational assessment

An examination or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics. A test may be administered verbally, on paper, on a computer, or in a predetermined area that requires a test taker to demonstrate or perform a set of skills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ChatGPT in education</span> Use of the chatbot in education

Since OpenAI's public release of ChatGPT in November 2022, the chatbot and its peers have been at the source of intense discussion within education, with many schools and universities taking hostile stances towards usage of large language models, while others have embraced the use of the tools in assignments. The usage of ChatGPT has inspired many to foresee a potential paradigm shift in education, with oral exams being proposed to assure that it cannot be used in tests.

References

  1. "Definition of TERM PAPER". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2018-03-29.
  2. Moulton, Margaret R. and Holmes, Vicki L (2003) "The Research Paper: A Historical Perspective," Teaching English in the Two Year College 30(4) p.366
  3. Russell, David R. Writing in the Academic Disciplines, 1870–1990: A Curricular History. Southern Illinois University, 1991. p.87-8
  4. "BBC NEWS | Education | Google bans essay writing adverts". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  5. Crawford, Miki (29 September 2010). "Are You Committing Plagiarism? Top Five Overlooked Citations to Add to Your Course Materials". FacultyFocus.com. Retrieved 5 March 2015.