Turfgrass Management
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Term paper instructions Summary The term paper due April 8, 1999 will be your attempt to teach others about a problem or to recommend a practice for the landscape. Why? Goals for the term paper are for you to: (1) develop in-depth knowledge of a special practice or problem in landscape and turfgrass management; (2) be able to present ideas to others; and (3) become more familiar with information resources available to landscape and turf professionals. The term paper is important. Writing helps you develop clear thinking. A landscape practice or problem becomes clearer to you the writer after you have explained it to others. You must be able to quickly collect and organize ideas and information to deal with supervisors, subordinates, and customers. While there will be no formal stand-up presentation, students will share their term papers electronically by means of the instructors placing them in class folders for all to view. For those who wish more public exposure, one of us (Phil Busey) will work with students individually to place the term paper on the web. Term papers are indicators of a student's ability and interests, which can inform prospective employers and scholarship committees of a student's appropriateness for a job or an award. Requirements Term papers may be submitted in electronic format, either on a 3.5 inch PC-compatible diskette or as an e-mail attachment. Acceptable text formats are Word, Wordperfect 5 or 6, RTF, and ASCII. The body of each paper (see below) must be at least 1500 but not more than 2000 words. Students who are unable to submit in electronic format may submit a typewritten term paper. References must include at least three web URL citations, at least three refereed scientific journal papers, and at least three articles from popular landscape trade magazines. Term papers must have the following elements in this order: (1) title, (2) author, (3) name and year of course, (4) summary, (5) body, and (6) references. If acknowledgements are warranted, they can be placed between the body and the references. Normally, anyone you interview would be cited in the reference as, "So-and-so, personal communication, January 1999." Only the summary, references, and acknowledgements should be titled. The summary can be as short as a one-sentence subtitle, as would appear under the title of a magazine article, or it can be as long as 150 words. The summary should allow the reader to get the gist of the article, and must contain the conclusion. The 1500- to 2000-word body must contain these elements, more-or-less in this sequence, without titles: lead (get the reader's interest); importance (how much does the problem cost; or what is the potential value of a landscape process); background (how was this done previously or what is the biological basis for a process); experiences (give some anecdotes with quotes from landscape professionals, or cite the results from scientific experiments, or your own experience or experiments); resolution (how the problem was solved or what was learned); and conclusion (say again what was done and why this is important, and maybe mention what should be done in the future). The references must be listed at the end of the term paper in a generally accepted format (for example, author-year). In any case, the manner of reference citation must be internally consistent, and must provide enough information to make it easy for others to find the reference in the library or on the internet. In the case of "personal communications," make sure to state the qualifications of the person referred to, for example, their occupation, and indicate the month and year of the oral communication, and indicate at least their state and city. If you interview, it is a professional practice to take notes during the interview, and to ask permission to use the person's name and ideas in your work. Only use quote marks where you have copied an idea verbatim. Copyright and ethics Whether your sources are publications, internet web sites, or interviews, it is unacceptable and against the law to copy. Copying means the removal and reuse of phrases, sentences, and longer passages, as well as the reuse of photographs and data tables in their original form. In most cases it is acceptable to copy an idea as long as you attribute it to its source, and the idea is either publicly available or is given to you with permission. But since you may not copy the expression of the idea, you may not use someone else's phrases, sentences, and longer passages. Use your own words. As implied earlier, short passages can be reused within the quotes, but do so only when they were said so extremely well or said by someone so important that it will enhance your message. How to get an A The key to writing well is: tell a good story. The characteristics of a good story for a term paper are that it be plausible, novel, and interesting. (It would nice too if your term paper helps someone make their landscape job easier, care for the environment better, or motivate to better personal or team performance.) Plausible means that your story is believable because you have documented your sources of information, and the sources are verifiable, in most cases. Novel means that your story has new information or ideas, or takes a new approach to telling an old story. Interesting means that someone would enjoy reading your term paper, that you have sound and smoothly flowing organization of ideas, short distinctive sentences, no unnecessary repetition, and maybe some mystery and surprise to motivate further reading. Suggested topics Students may make up their own topic, or may choose from the list that follows. Topics that may not be done are: (1) topics covered in another term paper by the same student in a different class, or by another student in this class; (2) topics that are essentially duplications of material covered in class, or covered in a published article; and (3) case studies or autobiographical experiences. For example, "My summer internship at Royal Oaks landscaping" would be unacceptable, but "Environmental pest management" with citations of the Royal Oaks methods would be acceptable. The most appropriate topics for Landscape and Turf Management deal with the integrated use of turf and woody ornamentals.
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