Guidelines for Astronomy Writing Assignments

Choose an article from either print (magazines, scientific journals) or from the Internet. The article must be at least 3 pages (mostly text, pictures taking up most of the three pages is not acceptable.) For Internet articles, when printed out they should be at least 3 pages again pictures not included. Moreover, on Internet articles, please be discriminating. Not everything on the Internet is true. Consider if the source is reputable. NASA is ok, Joe Schmoe from Nowhere, may not be. Do not include the article! I am not likely to have the time to read them. If you cannot find one article of sufficient length, you may combine two or three articles as long as they each have some different information so that combined they would provide the right amount of material.

The article should have some reasonable relationship to the topic that is due. When in doubt, ask me. The article should have been written within the last 5 years. If you cannot find something that recent, please see the professor for guidance.

Cover Page:	Include your name, date, topic for assignment, Article title, Article Source (Magazine, Date of Magazine, pages, etc., for Internet, URL should be given). Note: Cover Page does not count as one of your two pages. You must have this!!
Page One :	a synopsis of the article. Be sure to cover the big points. Explain terms you have never seen before etc. If you wish to go to a page and a half or even two pages, fine; but you still must do a page of your ideas.
	Do not use in text references. It is understood your material is coming from your article(s). It is also understood that providing a line long reference every other line or so is simply a way of filling the page. Your source(s) is on the cover page, there is no need to cite on these pages!
Page Two:	YOUR IDEAS!!! What do you think about this article, this topic etc.? Explain your ideas. Do not try to be a scientist and spout off a bunch of technical ideas unless you truly understand what you are saying. I want to see you produce some well-constructed ideas. I am not looking for you to create a scientific masterpiece. You need a page! A sentence or two does not cut it!! Again if you wish to go over a page fine; however, let’s keep the whole thing to four pages tops not counting the cover sheet.

Do not use profanity! You can be more clever by using provocative ideas rather than provocative words! I understand the current public climate is to shock people and to use profanity. We are an academic institution and we can be shocking without resorting to such words.

These assignments are not tested on. They provide you a chance to learn about things we do not have time to cover in lecture. The first assignment will be handed back before the second

one is due to illustrate that the professor is serious about the guidelines and rules. The remaining assignments might not be turned back before other writing assignments are due. This in no way relieves you of the obligation to follow the rules.

These assignments must follow the specifications listed here. Deviations will result in loss of points. Continuing to deviate from these specifics will cause an increasing loss of points with each assignment.

Margins (Top, Bottom, Left, Right)	1 inch for All!
Font	Times New Roman
Font Size	12
Line Spacing	Single
Space Between Paragraphs	None

Please note the Word Defaults are not these. Please check the settings under Page Layout, then Margins. If you are not sure how to do this, see the Professor. Do not add space between paragraphs. Do not add space between the section title and your first line. Do not add space between the top margin and your section title. Near the end of this document, you will find an example of how your spacing between your title and your writing should be, and font sizing and line spacing.

Each section must be clearly identified by a title as either Synopsis or your Opinion. If I cannot determine which is Synopsis and which is opinion, then points will be deducted. I am not looking to grade your ideas. I merely want to see them. You will not lose points expressing an opinion. Each section must start on a new piece of paper. Each must be at least page. Go over a bit not be under a bit. If you are not at least one page, you will lose points!!

Your opinion should not contain major quotes or references to the article or other scientific authorities. Do not include additional summary statements about the article. I want your ideas, not theirs. Additionally, you choose the articles you are actually using. If you find the article boring, pick another. Don’t spend your page just writing about how awful the article was. Find an article that you can write something about that is constructive and thought provoking.

Your summary must be just that a summary. Do not just block quote the article until you have filled a page. If your article is too short, then you cannot summarize.

Spell-Check and Grammar-check and then Proof-read!!! Really poor writing quality will result in loss of points. Be sure your references are correct. I do check them periodically. If I cannot find the article, you receive no points for the assignment.

The assignments are due at 5:00 PM on the day assigned. You must provide a hard copy of your paper. I do not accept electronic submissions. You should not provide a hard copy of the article you used, just the reference noted on the cover page.

Writing Assignment #1	Foreign Government Space Programs (Not USA) OR The Parker Solar Probe	Due Friday January 25, 2019 5:00 PM
Writing Assignment #2	Stars OR Galaxies Colliding	Due Friday February 15, 2019 5:00 PM
Writing Assignment #3	Black Holes OR Wormholes	Due Friday March 15, 2019 5:00 PM
Writing Assignment #4	Inflationary Universe OR Multiverse Universes	Due Friday March 29, 2019 5:00 PM
Writing Assignment #5	Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life (SETI) OR UFO’s	Due Friday April 12, 2019 5:00 PM

Good Example of proper spacing between top of paper and title and body of paper

(top of paper)

Synopsis

Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its’ five-year mission to seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before. . . .

Bad Example of proper spacing between top of paper and title and body of paper

(top of paper)

Synopsis

Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its’ five-year mission to seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before. . . .

Font Test

This is 8 point.

This is 9 point.

This is 10 point.

This is 11 point.

This is 12 point. <-- This is what you should be using

This is 14 point.

Testing for line spacing

This is 1.5-line spacing

Testing for line spacing

This is single line spacing. <-- This is what you should be using

Testing for line spacing

This is double line spacing.

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This page last updated on January 11, 2019