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.
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.

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. Your assignments must use margins of 1 inch on the left and right. The top and bottom margins are to be 1 inch. You are to use New Times Roman Font with 12 point. You are to use single line spacing between lines. 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 also 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.

It takes time to improve one’s writing skills, and very often, talking to another person who is interested in and good at writing could help one generate ideas, notice errors, or even enjoy writing more. The Writing Center, located in LRC 111G, is a place where students can go for help with writing. The service is free and no appointment is necessary. The tutors at the Writing Center have experience working with all forms of college writing and all stages of the writing process. Please consider visiting the Writing Center (LRC111G, http://www.nmu.edu/writingcenter).

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	UFO’s or Search for Extra-Terrestrial Life (SETI)	Due Friday September 7, 2018 5:00 PM
Writing Assignment #2	Commercial Activities in Space or The Google Lunar X Prize	Due Friday September 28, 2018 5:00 PM
Writing Assignment #3	Sending People to Mars or 50^th Anniversary of Moon Landing	Due Friday October 19, 2018 5:00 PM
Writing Assignment #4	Earthlike Exoplanets or Parker Solar Probe	Due Friday November 2, 2018 5:00 PM
Writing Assignment #5	Juno Mission to Jupiter or New Horizons Mission to Pluto	Due Friday November 16, 2018 5:00 PM

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 August 24, 2018