In the lecture notes for another class, CSci555, there are two papers on how and how not to write a scientific paper:
You must now write a paper on the topic you selected in your proposal. The purpose of the research report is for you to become an expert on the topic you selected. The research report should be written so that it conveys information to the reader. When grading the paper I will ask myself whether other students in the class might learn about the topic you choose by reading your paper. The paper should contain original analysis of the papers you choose to cover, and ideally suggest directions for future research on the topic.
In writing your paper you should use the assigned papers read during this class as a guide or an example of what is expected of you. In particular, the length and level of detail should be about that of the typical paper from your readings. There is no hard limit for maximum or minium length, but the paper will be evaluated on the criteria above: too short to convey what needs to be conveyed and it will not make for an effective paper; similarly, a paper that is too long will likely not be focused. The real constraint on the length, though, is that your paper should be as long as is necessary to get across the material you wish to convey, and not longer. You should use the papers in the readings as a guide to what is expected in terms of properly citing other works.
We realize that some of the students in CSci530 have not been required to submit research papers in other classes that they have taken. For those of you who have not written a research paper before, we urge you to utilize the resources of the Engineering Writing Center.
Your submitted paper must contain a cover page with your name, student ID number, the tiles of the paper, and the course name "CSci530 Computer Secrity Systems". The cover page must also contain the following statement, signed by you:
Signed:______________________________________
The papers must be submitted as a PDF document. You may email the paper to CSci530@usc.edu, and it must be sent by Friday December 1.
If papers are submitted after December 1, but by December 8, they will receive a penalty of one letter grade (e.g. an A becomes and A-). This will likely have only a minor effect on the course grade if any, as weighting of the assignment into the final grade has an effect of 0.09 to 0.12 grade points. If your course grades are borderline, however, this might make the difference. You do NOT get to use your remaining time from the reading assignments.