Essay HT 2023

Essay information 2023

Graded essay

The goal of this essay is to provide training in scientific writing and an opportunity to reflect on how the course content can be applied in a degree project. You will practice writing primarily in a scientific style, but also in a popular science style. Your work will be based on a bachelor’s thesis in Computer Science.

Your essay should begin with an accessible summary of the thesis intended for a layperson with little or no knowledge of computer science. Give a brief and engaging popular explanation of the topic of the thesis and its interest to the general public. (1 page maximum).

Next comes a section with general scientific considerations related to the thesis. This may include historical references, philosophical concepts, statistical concept, scientific issues from computer science, ethical issues, an analysis of the arguments in the thesis, a discussion of the reproducibility of the work in the thesis, etc. (2 pages recommended length).

Try to make use of the course content while staying relevant to the topic. Several different perspectives should be considered. Remember to refer to all sources of information in a correct and complete way. You can choose any commonly used convention for references, but this must be followed consistently. This section should be written in an academic style.

In the final (third) section, you should give suggestions for how the work could be improved, e.g., to satisfy the requirements of a Masters' thesis.  Focus on the scientific content rather than minor language details, though you may also make suggestions related to the presentation. Since the thesis was written a couple of years ago, it is very likely that there is new research in the area. Find several relevant newer references in addition to those cited in the thesis, and explain how these connect to the thesis work and how it could be improved and extended (older references not included in the thesis may also be considered). (2 pages recommended length).

KTH guidelines for master's theses in Swedish can be found here (see the page bilaga 4 Mål och kriterier: Examensarbete 30 hp för masterexamen, 120 hp) and an informal English translation here.

Formal requirements

• Title page with your name, and the name of the Bachelor's Thesis under scrutiny.
• Part 1 (Summary). Maximum 1 page.
• Part 2 (Scientific considerations). Recommended length 2 pages.
• Part 3 (Suggestions). Recommended length 2 pages.
• List of references
• Font size 10pt
• Your essay must be checked with spell checking and grammar checking tools before submission, and carefully proofread manually after that. You must include a note (e.g. at the end) stating precisely what tools have be been used and how. Your reference list should be checked so that all references are correct and complete. The essay will be checked for plagiarism - text by others can only be used in the form of explicit quotes with a source.
• Note that the use of more advanced generative AI tools such as ChatGPT is not permitted, since this is an exercise in academic writing.
• You are required to review the essays of two other students. A draft of your own essay must be submitted for peer review.
• LaTeX submissions are strongly encouraged; the submission should be a pdf file.

Dates

• December 11,  2023  -  January 9, 2024 Peer review in Peergrade
  • You may hand in the preliminary version of your essay in Peergrade for peer review at any time between these dates. This will be a Live Session so if you hand in earlier, you will receive earlier feedback. 
  • Feedback in Peergrade on preliminary versions will be due Jan 10.
• January 12, 2024, 17:00. Final version due in Canvas
  • Deadline for submitting the final version of your essay (after review)  in Canvas.

Grading

Your essay will be graded according to the following criteria:

• A late essay can not get a higher grade than E.
• An essay that does not fulfill all pass criteria will receive Fx (and must be revised and handed in again).

Pass: 

• The essay fulfills the formal requirements,
• The essay is easy to read and understand, and the language is of acceptable quality.
• The student has summarized the thesis in an appropriate way
• The student has written about different scientific considerations related to the thesis subject, and shows an ability to connect these to the course content.
• The student has identified areas that need improvement, and given consideration both to the presentation and the scientific content. Some relevant references are included.
• All sources are properly referenced, with references given correctly. 

The following criteria will be considered for higher grades:

• The style is well adapted to the target audience for each of the three sections. 
• The language of the essay (and other aspects of the manuscript), are up to the standard expected for submission of scientific articles to an international journal, i.e., correct and reasonably idiomatic. 
• The summary generates interest and can be understood by a layperson.
• The general scientific considerations are clearly connected to the thesis and show a broad knowledge of the course content, both with regard to the theory of science and to research methodology.
• The author gives constructive and insightful suggestions for improvement and development of the thesis, and cites multiple relevant references connected to the thesis topic.

Essay subjects (Bachelor's theses)

Resources

• Free grammar and spelling checkers on the web: Grammarly and GrammarCheck
• The KTH Guide to scientific writing
• The Centre for Academic Writing (CAW/CAS)
• Popular science writing. - a guide from Lund University