You should treat the paper as if you were writing it up for presentation to readers who might not know very much about the topic. That is, you should “connect the dots” for the reader. Do not think that, because I know the topic, you don’t need to provide any substantial foundation, before getting into more interesting stuff. An uninformed reader can’t comprehend the higher level stuff, without first being briefed in on the basics. If a student has some background in a particular area of Corporate Tax and would like to suggest a topic, I will be more than happy to consider including that topic in my list.
In preparing your term paper, please pay special attention to quoted material. You can use quoted material in your paper, but it must be identified as quoted material by placing it in quotations marks and identifying the specific source of that material. While quoted material may be appropriate in your paper, you should make sure that your paper reflects primarily your thoughts and your expressions, rather than the thoughts and words of others. Also, it is critically important that you understand what constitutes “plagiarism.” You can be guilty of plagiarism, even if you do not intend to plagiarize. Basically, any time you are using someone else’s ideas, whether quoted or re-stated, you need to cite your source—and, be specific, e.g., irs.gov is not acceptable. Failure to adequately cite your references will result in penalties ranging from 20%-50%. Blatant plagiarism can be grounds for expulsion from NSU. Please take this very seriously, because I will. I urge every student to do a Google search for “APA citations” before beginning to write the term paper.
Nova Coversheet included with submission? If no, paper will not be read.
Be sure to scroll down; template is larger than one screen
Content Available
Does the reader know what the paper will cover by the end of page 1? Scope & purpose of paper clearly articulated? 10 Yes = 10; No = 0; Unclear = 3-7; I’m looking for a clear statement like, “The purpose of this paper is . . .” or “This paper will discuss the rules . . .” somewhere in the first few paragraphs–by the end of the first page, for sure.
Technical Correctness 15 Minor misstatements = 9 – 13; Fundamental errors leaving credibility of paper in doubt = 0 – 9
Adequacy of discussion–thoughts finished; discussions coherent & concluded 15 0 -15; mere summary of Code & Regs or text, 8-point max; say something useful!
Length of paper 10 Less than 5 pages OK if scope & purpose satisfactorily addressed; over 6 pages, start losing points
Form
Grammar 10 Includes sentence structure
Punctuation 10 Comma use is frequently a problem;
Paragraph development 15 See Note re Paragraph development below
Clear, concise, coherent writing; well organized 15 The more often I have to re-read a paragraph to figure out what your point is, the lower this grade will be
Penalty Points
>> No Nova Coverpage >> -10 points, no second chances; Coversheet must be submitted before I will release grade.
>> Your name not included in file name (e.g., hoffman, term paper”) >> -5 points, no second chances
Total Penalty Points
Total 100 0
Proper Documentation of Sources Multiplier P = 50% penalty P = Little or no documentation of sources; e.g., several pages with no cites to sources
F = 20% penalty F = Some documentation of sources in text; but still when using sources and when discussing in own words not clear.
A = No penalty A = Adequate documentation of sources in text; one or two omissions, but mostly OK
Documentation Assessment (P, F, or A) >>>>
Final Paper Grade = 0 Grade in (C-19) minus Documentation Penalty, if applicable
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