Preparing your Theme Report

HST.723J/9.285J - Neural Coding and Perception of Sound

Spring 2007

At the end of each Theme Discussion, you are asked to write a “theme report”. The purpose of this report is to demonstrate your understanding of the papers discussed in the theme and, most importantly, of their interrelationships. Thus, your report should not be a mere collection of abstracts, one for each paper. Rather, you should seek to identify threads or issues that run through several of the papers, and organize your report to discuss how each issue is illuminated (or possibly obscured) by the papers. State points on which the papers agree, those for which they are in conflict, and those for which results are inconclusive, so that future research is needed.

Theme reports make up a significant fraction of your final grade. You will be graded for clarity, conciseness, originality, cogency of arguments, and ability to synthesize different lines of thinking.

Specific Instructions:

	Your report should not exceed 4 single-spaced pages. Do not use a miniscule font in an effort to squeeze more verbiage into this limit.
	Figures and summary tables are encouraged and not included in the page limit. Figures can be hand-drawn or copied from a paper or course notes, and either inserted with the text or attached at the end.
	Follow scholarly procedures. If you include a figure or a quotation, give the exact reference in text, and include a bibliography at the end of your report (this is not necessary for the theme papers discussed in class). The bibliography is not included in the page limit.
	Be critical. Papers are not perfect. If you disagree with one of the conclusions, say so and why.
	Conclude your report with a brief (1-2 sentence) statement of the most important thing your learned from the papers.
	Your report is normally due a week after end of the theme discussion.
	If you have questions about your report, or need an extension, contact the instructor who will be grading it.