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Paper Outline 2019 

In the technological section you are to discuss each component eg the battery, the light bulb and the circuit individually. 

Innovation There are two things that you need to keep in mind when writing your paper: 1. Structure 2. Coherence Structure. A good paper has a set structure. When you read any article, you will see the same basic organization. A good paper is structurally organized as follows. a. Introduction. The introduction presents the question/topic of the paper. It can introduce some context but this should be limited (as in one or two sentences). I would recommend that you remain basic here: “The purpose of this paper is to …” It should then include a paragraph that provides an outline of the paper so the reader knows what to expect (and sometimes what not to expect) in the paper. This also helps you stay focused in your writing. (This paper begins by providing a background to the innovation and why it is important. It then examines the technologies assembled from small worlds used to create the [technology]. …” b. Background. You need to put your work in some context so you need to provide a section dealing with the background to the question/topic. Why is your topic important to study? For example, if you are writing about the Keystone Pipeline and U.S. energy security arguments (“Is Keystone crucial to U.S. energy security?”), you would need to describe the current energy situation in the U.S. and not that of the Keystone Pipeline or the oil sands. This places your discussion on the Keystone Pipeline and the oil sands in the proper context of the geopolitics of oil and oil security. In the case of a technology/innovation, you similarly need to place it in some context.

Whether it is atmosphere water collecting technology or some internet software, explain why it is important. c. Technology Section. In this section you break down the technology into its component parts and explain the origins of each: what small world does each component come from? Perhaps draw a Venn diagram. Then describe how these came together into the technology/innovation you are writing about. Finally, summarize how this technology/innovation has been refined through incremental innovation and improvement. Make sure you include diagrams, photos, illustrations and other supporting materials to your narrative. In terms of resources, I will be pretty flexible for this section so use web sites to help present the small worlds. d. Social Section. Having discussed the technological side, you now turn to the social impacts and/or relevance of the technology/innovation. Be expansive here. Consider the various ways the specific technology/innovation impacts person-to-person interactions, how we live our daily lives, how we work and play, and anything else. Consider all the dimensions of the technology here. Also, make sure you use proper academic (peer-reviewed) and professional materials here. e. Discussion. This is where you present your arguments based on the evidence presented in the previous sections. I expect you to organize this section around some of the theoretical ideas we covered in the course. How important is your technology/innovation? Has this technology/innovation been ‘good’ or ‘bad’? Where might it go in the future? How might it morph into new technologies and for what purpose(s)? How has the technology/innovation been liberating as per Borgmann? Is the technology masking as per Heidegger? What about Idhe? Or biomimicry? Or flat earth/spiky world? Make sure something of the course is included in this discussion. How does your technology/innovation fit into our ideas concerning innovation? f. Conclusion. This where you return to the question posed in your introduction. You then take the reader through your paper, very briefly, highlighting key ideas and arguments. You then present your conclusion – you answer your question. You do not introduce new ideas, evidence or arguments in this closing section. g. References. Your section listing all references should be consistent and complete. Coherence. A well-written paper takes time, thought and effort. It is not something that you can sit down and write off the top of your head. It requires you writing down all of your thoughts on the topic and then organizing them into a well thought out argument. Make sure you set aside time to write a draft, forget about it for two days or so and then return to it.