PH2502: Lasers -- writing term papers
R. Quimby term B, 2017
Olin 128 Oct. 24, 2017
PH2502 -- Lasers
HOW TO WRITE YOUR TERM PAPER
If you are writing a term paper for the Capstone, it is important that you
understand what is expected for such a paper. The paper should,
first of all, focus on one particular type of laser, and the practical
applications of that laser. You should be focusing not on a general
category of laser (i.e. "gas laser" or "semiconductor laser", but rather
on a particular laser using some specific gain medium (e.g. "InGaAs
semiconductor laser" or "ArF excimer laser"). There are a great number
of different lasers now in use, and I will have time to discuss only a
few of them in class.
A good strategy for choosing a laser for your report is to browse through
ch. 23 in your textbook, as well as some other laser books in the library or
on reserve. There are also many web sites which give information about
lasers.
You may also want to try a search for key words using the library's
electronic card catalog. It is probably a good idea to check with me
about the suitability of a particular topic, before investing a lot of
time in it.
After deciding on your laser, you should obtain information on this laser
from a number of sources. The lecture material I present is, of course,
one such source. Your textbook is another. In addition to these, I
would recommend at least 3-5 additional sources of information for your
term paper. Wikipedia is one such source, but you should include other
types of references. As you start to read and think about the material,
put together an outline of what you'll include in your paper. Keep
things tentative at this point, and be willing to change your outline
upon further reading. When you think you have a good idea of what you
will write about, you can show me your outline to get my feedback.
When you start the actual writing, keep in mind the following guidelines.
Your paper should be organized into sections, starting with an
Introduction and ending with a Conclusions or Summary. Include
appropriate equations, figures, and diagrams, numbered in sequence. When
referring to a book or journal article, give the reference as a
superscript and number all such references sequentially. The text should
be typed, but you may neatly hand-write equations and diagrams. Diagrams
are very helpful in explaining most material, so use them frequently.
When you do present figures and/or diagrams, make sure that you refer to
them explicitly in the text by figure number (treat both diagrams and
figures the same for purpose of numbering). Equations should be made
part of a sentence, and all symbols should be fully defined and
explained. Avoid long derivations, focusing your attention instead on
the interpretation and physical significance of the important equations.
Give limiting cases where appropriate, and include typical numbers for
key parameters. Short derivations are appropriate when they help the
reader understand the key concepts.
The purpose of your paper is to convey to another student like yourself
a good understanding of your laser's operating principles and
applications. Don't quote directly from a book or article, but rather
discuss the material in your own words.
For help on writing skills, the WPI Writing Workshop (Project Center,
Upper Level) is open to help student writers. Hours TBA.
Staffed by trained peer tutors, the Workshop helps undergraduates and
graduates with writing assignments. Students may drop in or schedule
one-hour appointments via the website, http://www.wpi.edu/+writing.
The term papers will be graded in a number of categories. First of all,
the extent to which you successfully incorporate material from the
lectures, textbook, and other reference sources will be considered.
There should be a balance between material from different sources, and
you should explain in your own words how the concepts or examples
obtained from the various sources are related. Other criteria for
grading the term papers are as follows:
Accuracy: It is expected that student's papers will be factually correct,
without incorrect or misleading statements. Typographical
errors are considered here, also, so be sure to proof-read your
papers!
Breadth: Your paper should not be too narrow in focus. Of course, you
can't cover everything, and you shouldn't try. Examples of
breadth in a paper would be looking at a phenomena from
different points of view, considering different applications of
a principle, or showing the relationship of your laser to
other similar lasers. If your paper is less than 10
pages long, your paper may well be lacking in breadth.
Clarity: Your paper should explain the material to the reader, rather
than just stating facts or results obtained from a reference
source. You need to "make the material your own", putting
things in your own words in such a way that another student
could understand what you have written. Sometimes a derivation
is too advanced or complicated to include in your paper. In
this case you should explain clearly the meaning or definition
of all symbols you use, and emphasize the usefulness of the
result. A few simple examples usually help to clarify the
significance of some important equation. Remember, in your
term paper you are trying to teach the reader something. As
you are writing, always imagine someone like yourself reading
it, and ask yourself (honestly) if that person would understand
it fully without having seen the material before. This is the
hard part (and the essence) of good writing -- putting yourself
in the reader's place.
Depth: Your paper should go into sufficient depth into one or two
aspects of the topic so that you have truly put something of
yourself into the effort. This means that you have understood
the fundamental issues involved in sufficient detail and with
sufficient clarity that you can successfully "teach the reader"
something (see above). Of course you can't go into this kind
of detail in all aspects of a topic -- you would then be
writing a book! A good strategy would be to give an overview
of your topic, and then focus your attention on the details of
your particular laser. It is most important to incorporate as
much as possible the material that we've been learning
throughout the course, in the readings, lecture, and homework.
Give specific numerical calculations that are appropriate to
your laser, so as to illustrate its principles of operation
and application. Try to indicate orders-of-magnitude
estimates of all relevant parameters.
In your overview portion, you still need to write clearly,
without being vague, but you can reference other books for
derivations of key equations. In the discussion of your
laser, however, you should try to fill in simple derivations
and intermediate steps that the reader would likely need to
see in order to fully grasp what you are saying. You should
also consider various limiting cases, the validity of any
approximations, and some important applications of the laser.
Writing: Your paper should be free of spelling and grammatical errors,
and should be effectively organized. Make smooth transitions
between paragraphs by connecting them logically in a natural
way. The logical connections between different points should
be clear to the reader. Again, the key to good writing is to
put yourself in the place of the reader. One effective
technique is to write a first draft, and then set it aside for
a few days. When you read it again later, you might notice any
deficiencies more readily.