Please follow these rules:
Each student must choose a structural issue and write a paper between 10 and 15 pages (including figures, tables, and references).
· The paper should be typed, double-spaced (you don't need to put it in a folder).
· The paper is due by the fourth week of the semester (see Lectures menu item on the we site!).
· You can choose any other structural topic if you don't like the listed structrural topics.

Format for the Research papers.
The paper should consist of five basic sections as follows:

Summary
A summary should not exceed 400-500 words. Despite its short length, this is an important part of the paper. Based on the contents of the summary, readers often decide whether to continue reading the paper. A good summary includes concise, to-the-point statements regarding the purpose, results (a statement about the methods of analyses may also be given here) and, conclusions of the article in well-structured paragraphs. Short and simple are the key points when writing a summary for your article.

Introduction
About 1-2 pages long. As the name implies, it introduces the subject to the reader. It should give:
1. A short historic background (e.g. when, and by whom the matter was raised first; connection to people lives; chronology of events if possible).
2. Outstanding questions remaining to be answered.
3. What the paper is set to do (objectives).
An introduction usually contains citations from other works on the subject such that the readers are informed as to where they can locate key sources about the subject under discussion. The introduction section should also be the most non-technical part of the paper so that readers can decide whether the reading benefits them. As a courtesy to readers, you may add a paragraph at the end, describing how you plan to proceed with your analyses.

Analyses and Discussion
This will be the bulk of your paper, typically 4-7 pages long, including text, data tables, maps, photos and graphs. The analyses and discussion must be your take from what you have read and researched, and come in your own words. The best approach is to break it down into a number of subheadings so that a reader does not get lost. You may number the subheadings in order of their importance, or just have subheadings.
This approach allows the readers to skip unwanted sections as well as letting them see the order and structure of your paper. It also makes it easy for you to keep track of the development of the subject as you write. It is advisable that you design the paper with all its subsections in mind before you write, but this may not always be possible. If you include diagrams, maps, charts, photos or graphs, they must be labeled and have captions, complete with a figure number assigned at the beginning of the caption, like: Fig. 2. Graph showing the fractal distribution of clasts in a cataclasite (reference here); Table 3. Orientation data of foliation in the mylonite... (reference).

Conclusions
No more than a page, usually one or two paragraphs. Put all the salient points of the paper here. However, you need to present these points in some order of importance commensurate with the way you posed the issues in the analyses/discussion part. Without the conclusion section, a paper sounds like a story or a newspaper article. Do not conclude something that is not supported by what you presented in the discussion.

References
You may have cited a number of scientific articles, books, newspapers, websites, or other sources in your paper. Now you need to tell the reader about them in sufficient detail such that if needed, they can locate the sources. There are several standard formats for giving references. You would adopt the following format.

Books:
In the text:
Smith (1989) has suggested that..., or ... It was inferred that the natives were capable of defending themselves (Smith, 1989).
In the reference list:
Smith J. D. "A History of Kentucky", 2nd Edition 1989, Goodwill Publishers Inc. Lexington KY.

Journal Articles, Newspaper Articles:
In the text:
Poet & Albridge (1992) contended that Illinois basin was... or: Several communities along the river complied (Poet & Albridge, 1992).
In the reference list: Poet James K & Albridge C. D. (1992), The great mining towns of Illinois, Journal of Exploration, Vol. 132, # 12, 435-455.

Web sites:
In the text: ...In this respect the data published by the USDA is conclusive (W5).
In the reference list:
W5: US Department of Energy. http://www.usde.gov/epon.usde/html

Criteria for Grading the Research Papers
Your research paper must be a balanced discussion of different aspects of the environmental issue. The paper is graded based on the following criteria:

Criteria % of grade
Paper follows the format provided above. 20
Paper is divided into sections that make the arguments and interpretations easy and clear. 20
Paper has enough evidence, explanation, previous work, to justify its analyses and conclusions. 30
Paper uses properly captioned graphs, models, maps, tables, etc., with relevant references. 10
Paper is reasonably free of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors. 10
Paper has an alphabetical list of proper references, that are appropriately referred to in the text. 10
Total 100