Selecting the Paper Topic

Each student will write an individual paper in English on an approved topic involving Finnish society and culture. The paper should be approximately 6-10 web-printout pages in length (using 'html Arial size 2' as a guide), not including tables, images, references or other non-text material. The topic must be presented to other class members for discussion, and subsequently approved by the teacher following the submission of a Paper Approval Form. Please see the file of area studies topics and past FIN-1 papers for topic ideas.

Objectives of the Paper and Precision in Language

Your proposed work plan should be part of your class presentation. This should include what aspects of your topic you plan to cover and why, and where you plan to find the needed information.

The objective of the paper is to supply new knowledge to an international 'academic' audience about a topic relevant to Finnish Institutions. Papers should thus be explicit and unambiguous for readers who may not have much knowledge of Finland or Finnish. An equally important objective, relevant to Finnish as well as international audiences, is to provide accurate English terminology related to cultural and societal phenomena in Finland.

For this reason students should ensure that the terms used in the paper are in line with established usage (e.g., use official English names for all authorities, organizations, etc., whenever they exist). Adding glossaries, terminology lists, etc., as appendices, text insertions or author notes would be useful for all readers of the paper, and of direct relevance to translators and interpreters in Finland and abroad.

As terminology may differ between national variants of English, students should identify their papers as being written in either American (USA) or British (GB) English, and give special attention to the accuracy and consistency of terminology, spelling, grammar and punctuation within the chosen variant. (Some Finnish entities may have separate 'official' terminologies for American and British English; even within the same field or institution, one entity's usage may differ from another's.)

Amount and Type of Source Material Needed; Understanding the Material

While there is no set number of required sources, research should be comprehensive, balanced and adequate to the topic and treatment. Using only one or two key sources will not allow a balanced and comprehensive treatment; always 'test' the validity of key sources by checking whether related other sources agree with them. If sources do not agree, you should note this in your paper, and briefly explain why they do not agree.

Moreover, if the (basic) sources you are using have not included information which proves to be relevant to your paper, this information will need to be found from other sources. In other words, possible "incompleteness" of a source does not justify a subsequent paper also being "incomplete" on the point in question; rather, the main point of subsequent research is to fill in possible gaps in the existing information as a part of the "production of new information."

Implicit in the use of sources is understanding the source material, including from what perspective it was written, and how and why related sources may differ from one another. You must understand that many otherwise-good sources may not have been as well-written as they might have been; detail may be incomplete, faulty or missing, for example; if so, you should recognize what was incomplete or missing as it relates to your perspective and fill in the missing detail in your own paper. (See Objectivity and Balance in Papers for examples of the ideas above.)

The starting point for all papers should be print sources which have been edited by reputable publishers. In addition to print resources (including digital versions of books and periodicals originally published in print format) from the university and other libraries, one may also use web references, e-mail commentaries, personal interviews, questionnaires, diaries, government or business documents, radio and TV programs, videotapes, CD-ROMs and DVDs, etc. — the full range of potential information sources. Papers may also include multimedia elements, such as relevant audio or video clips.

MLA Citation Style; Source Languages

All sources must be properly cited, using the MLA style covered in PK6.

While source material may be used from any language, especially Finnish, the paper will be in English and many of its readers may not know Finnish. Therefore reputable English-language sources would have priority, and any text material used directly from other languages should be translated into English (see Which Language to Use With Source Texts?). In the Works Cited, 'equivalent titles' in English should be included beside the titles (or other references) of sources from other languages (including Finnish) to ensure that readers will know what the nature of that source was.

The Draft-and-Revision Procedure

Papers will normally undergo several revisions after the initial draft. Students should begin collecting source material even before the topic has been approved (as the basis for the class presentation and approval of the topic), and begin writing the paper as soon as possible thereafter.

The first draft should strive to be 'complete'. It should be submitted as a printout (on only one side of the paper). However, starting with the second draft, papers may be submitted on-line in HTML format in the student's personal webspace, unless the student feels it is more practical to submit all intermediate drafts as Word printouts (which is usually the case). The final version must be submitted online as a complete HTML document, using the PK5/FIN-1 paper template with manual HTML coding.

Each draft will be checked by the teacher, with revision suggestions marked on the printout and discussed personally with the student. After the final version of the paper has been approved, it may be selected for inclusion with the archived student papers in the FAST web pages. In this case, the teacher will transfer the document from the student's web directories to the FAST directories, and may perform minor final editing changes. Students will be asked to check and approve the archived version in the FAST directories.

Papers should be completed by the end of the academic term in which the student was accepted for the course. Starting with the 2007/2008 academic year, students who have not completed at least one complete paper draft during this term should re-register for a successive course (note that FIN-1 is usually a Code-1 course). As also noted in the Study Code, "still-in-progress" papers will expire at the end of the term following the one in which the student began the paper. However, the course will strive to be flexible and accommodating of special circumstances. Please contact the teacher ASAP if problems emerge with deadlines or other matters.

The Research Paper Followup Report

After the paper has been completed (beginning in 2006/07 with the new curriculum), students must produce a report which includes the following:

1. Why you chose that particular topic?

2. A brief summary of new perspectives on the topic in your paper. What was your main research question and how did you answer it?

3. A brief summary of what you might do differently if you were to start again with the paper. Why, and how?

4. A brief review of [possible] other aspects of Finnish Institutions which emerged during the research for your paper that might also be useful topics for the future, and why you feel they might be useful.

   Examples of past followup reports include (in PDF format unless otherwise noted):

   • Maternity and Child-Care Clinics in Finland
   • The Finnish Spitz: Finland's National Dog
   • The Finnhorse as a Part of Finnish History and Identity
   • A Nation in Transition: The Resettlement of the Karelian Evacuees
   • Kyllikki Salmenhaara's Influence on Finnish Ceramics
   • Donald Duck As a Finnish Institution
   • The Lotta Svärd Organization
   • Integrating Immigrant Islamic Labor
   • Sauna-Whisking Traditions in Finland
   • Video Game Journalism, and
   • Elk Hunting in Finland, among others.
   • See also the US-7 followup report on Here Comes the Bride, by Salla Hakulinen [HTML].

This report should be either e-mailed to John in RTF format (which John will convert to PDF for the online version) or placed online in HTML format. Possible followup may be conducted either via e-mail or a meeting with John.

Summary of Paper Procedure

1. Select a topic, with the aid of the topics guide, past papers, or other sources. When selecting the topic, it must also be clear how you wish to treat the topic, and what your research question will be. These two points are essential for the research and writing of the paper.

2. Ensure that you have enough source material for your topic, considering your proposed treatment and the research question(s).

3. If you are considering adding an original research component to the paper, please note that (a) the basic paper itself must be nearly complete before approval can be obtained for the (optional) original research; and (b) there must be a direct connection between one or several questions raised in the basic paper to be clarified via the original research. Note also that original research plans and instruments must be approved before the research is begun, for which the submission to John of your research plan and drafts of possible instruments for review and discussion is required.

   To clarify, one might have in mind from the outset a possible original research plan, but actual work on this should wait until after the basic paper is nearly complete (e.g. has gone through at least two drafts), at which point the research plan may be submitted for approval.

4. Prepare a synopsis of your proposed sources and topic development for your class presentation (this will be an oral presentation; you do not have to submit the synopsis in written form). Anticipated original research may be briefly included in this synopsis, but is not required.

5. After getting feedback from your class presentation, complete and submit a Paper Approval Form to obtain confirmation of your topic and plan.

6. Write the first draft of the paper. Before or by the deadline, submit the first draft as a Word printout (or html URL) for checking and markup.

7. When comments on the first draft have been received and discussed, revise the paper accordingly, preferably within the following few days week after the draft discussion so the proposed changes will still be fresh in mind. Subsequent intermediate drafts may also be submitted in Word format if this is easier for the student.

   'Final' version(s) should be submitted on-line, in HTML format in your personal webspace, using the layout style of the PK5 Paper Template (or a template of one of the FIN-1 papers already in the online archives). E-mail the URL of the paper to John so it can be checked. Possible web references must be active links so they can be checked directly from your on-line paper.

   Drafts in your personal webspace may be "un-linked" if students wish. In this case only you and the instructor will know (from the URL you send him) how to access them.

8. After the final HTML version of the paper has been accepted, with all links, the research paper report (see above) should be e-mailed to John as an RTF attachment or placed online as an HTML file linked to your paper.

9. The course grade will be submitted after the research report (see above) has been submitted and possible followup discussed.

10. Selected papers which meet quality requirements for the writing and treatment, together with their research reports, will be added to the FIN-1 paper online archives. In this case, John will copy your HTML version from your web pages, put it into the appropriate FIN-1 template, and add it to the FAST website.

    You will be notified when your paper is archived so you may check and approve it. After your paper has been archived in the FAST website you may, if you wish, delete the original from your personal web pages.

Checking Sources, and Useful Sources Concerning Finland

All sources must have been personally consulted; do not include references in your Works Cited without personally checking them. Where relevant, include in an Appendix or Note other sources you may not have cited but which may be useful as further information.

Paper Layout and Documentation

Papers must follow the FIN-1 Layout Guidelines, the AK2 Text Layout and Usage Guidelines and use MLA-format citations as presented in the TRENPK6 Academic Citation and Documentation Course. Papers must be available digitally for archiving in the FAST web directories. Please also be familiar with the English Section Plagiarism Procedure Policy.