WRITING REQUIREMENTS
By
Charles Scott Williams, Adjunct Instructor, Utah Valley University
December 31, 2012
Edited May 5, 2015
Use the following for writing all turnitin.com writing assignments for the classes that I am
teaching.
TOPIC
As an example, students were offered extra credit for writing an essay on the book Airframe by
Michael Crichton. This book details an airborne emergency and the subsequent investigation of
this incident. I received a paper from a student titled AIRFRAME but the paper was about the
actual airframe of an airplane. The student scored 0 on this paper. Make sure you write about
the assigned topic.
ELEMENTS OF THE ASSIGNMENT
If the assignment asks you to list three navigation devices that improved flight safety, list three
navigation devices that accomplished this. Not one, not two, but three devices as asked for in
the instructions. Including ALL requested elements of the assignment allows you to receive full
credit for the assignment. Read the instructions of the assignment and make sure you answer
ALL questions within your paper, per the instructions of the assignment.
WORD COUNT/PAGE QUANTITY
If the assignment asks for a given word count or given number of pages, make sure you meet
these requirements of the assignment. The assignment asked for a minimum of 1000 words
and the paper I received had less than 300 words. The assignment asked for 3 pages minimum
and I received a paper that had a title page, one page of actual content, and a reference page.
The title page and separate reference page DO NOT COUNT toward the pages of content
requested in the assignment. DO NOT increase the size of the font to 72 so that you fill up
three pages (as requested per the assignment in this example) with 4 words.
FORMAT
Write the paper in APA format and use these Writing Requirements in writing your papers.
Separate title and reference pages. Put your name on your paper. If the paper is one asking
your opinion then YOU are the source for the reference page, thus put yourself as the reference
by listing your name on the separate reference page.
% SIMILARITY TO OTHER PAPERS
When using a website such as turnitin.com your paper can be viewed as compared to a
database of similar papers. Typically (check the instructions for your particular class) if a paper
is MORE THAN 50% similar to another paper the grade is 0. I have received papers that were
nearly 100% similar to another paper(s) and the score for any paper more than 50% similar, per
the instructions of the class, ZERO. WRITE YOUR PAPER IN YOUR OWN WORDS to avoid this
issue.
PROOF READING
DO NOT use Spellcheck to do your proof reading. The waist system of the New Generation
Boeing 737 uses cabin differential pressure for suction when flushing the toilet. Spellcheck
won’t tell you that the proper word should be waste, not waist.
IF ENGLISH IS NOT YOUR PRIMARY LANGUAGE
Ask someone that is fluent in English to proof read your paper before you turn it in. One
common mistake I see from students that have learned English as a second language is with
plurals. Adding an S to the end of a word does not always make it a plural. Aircrafts is not a
word as aircraft is both singular and plural.
DUE DATES FOR ASSIGNMENTS
Turn in your work on time OR EARLY. I don’t accept late work. If a paper is late the score is
ZERO. Most courses have assignment cut off dates and times that are set in the computer
system that locks you out after the due date. If a course tells you that the due date is December
31st at 11 PM Mountain Time and you live in California (Pacific Time zone), attempting to turn
in your paper at 11 PM Pacific Time will result in a score of ZERO as you have passed the
deadline for turning in your paper. Do not wait until the last second to turn in your work.
ACRONYMNS
Define ALL acronyms upon initial use so that the reader knows what the acronym means. DO
NOT assume that the reader is knowledgeable of the paper subject matter. Defining acronyms
upon initial use allows readers without knowledge of the paper topic to better understand the
paper. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is here to help you. In this sentence you have
defined the acronym FAA and now it may be used throughout the paper. Sample acronym
definitions include, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Operating
Officer (COO), Vice President (VP), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), Unmanned Aerial System
(UAS), Unmanned Aircraft (UA), Ground Control Station (GCS), Electro Optical (EO), infra-red
(IR). After the acronym has been defined it may be used throughout the paper.
SPECIAL NOTES
There is a major airline based in Atlanta, Georgia and the name of this airline is
Delta Air Lines
not Delta Airlines.
If a sentence ends with a quotation, enclose the period at the end of the sentence with the
quotation mark.
Example
“fare war.”
Aircraft is both singular and plural. AIRCRAFTS is not a word.
REFERENCES
If the assignment asks that you use three references minimum then USE THREE REFERENCES
MINIMUM.
If a paper asks for your opinion or you use your experience and expertise to answer questions
in an assignment then list yourself as one of the references.
Example;
Mann, Super. Super Hero Subject Matter Expert.
TURNITIN.COM
After the due date of assignments, return to turnitin.com and you can view Instructor
comments on your paper. Doing this will prevent you from making the same mistakes
throughout the semester on remaining assignments.
USE OF SLANG WORDS
Do not use slang words in your paper.
Conclusion
If you follow these writing requirements your grades should benefit from doing so.
SAMPLE PAPER BELOW
Note the title page with the student’s name.
Note the defined acronyms.
Note the separate reference page.
UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES
Their economic effect on human pilots and airlines based upon autonomy levels
By
Charles Scott Williams
Utah Valley University
AVSC 2750
April 28, 2015
Autonomy levels range from automation accomplishing simple tasks such as turning a switch on
or off with a given specification to artificial intelligence (AI) which can make decisions and take
action based on dynamic circumstances. The level of human interaction required with an
autonomous system decreases as automation towards AI increases. Piloting a Boeing 737 in the
airline industry is currently accomplished by human pilots but studies are underway by the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to decrease cockpit crew members from
a minimum of two pilots, Captain and First Officer, to one pilot. As AI quality and capability
increases, the single remaining cockpit crewmember could be eliminated. For human airline
pilots this gradual replacement will initially cut the required cockpit crewmembers needed by
fifty percent, thus driving half of the airline pilot workforce into unemployment. As AI evolves in
quality and capability, the remaining half of human airline pilots will become obsolete. The
economic effect of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), in terms of on board human airline pilots,
will be devastating to human pilots as their careers will be terminated by UAV’s using AI to fly
airliners such as the Boeing 737. From an airline business perspective, ridding airline cockpits of
human pilots eliminates wages and benefits paid by the airline to pilots. There will be no pilots
to manage thus an entire level of pilot management can be eliminated. Flight Simulator
Instructors as well as flight simulators for training human pilots will be eliminated. Pilot Crew
Scheduling will become unnecessary as there will be no cockpit crew members. Aircraft empty
weight will decrease with the elimination of pilots and all associated cockpit equipment
required for human pilots to operate the aircraft. A decreased aircraft empty weight allows for
more profit generating payload which can lead to greater profit margins for a given airline.
Decreased aircraft weight also yields decreased fuel burn requirements which increases profits.
Airline X
100 Boeing 737’s in the airline fleet. Human factors required cockpit equipment, 300 pounds
per aircraft.
150 Captain’s, average annual salary per Captain $200,000, and average weight 200 pounds.
150 First Officers (FO), average annual salary per FO $100,000, and average weight 200 pounds.
4 Boeing 737 full motion flight simulators X $5,000,000 per simulator.
100 Flight Simulator Instructors, 20 Evaluators X $200, 000 per year, 80 Flight Instructors X
$100,000 per year.
3 Flight Simulator Managers X $200,000 per year.
3 Flight Simulator Secretaries X $40,000 per year.
3 Chief Pilots X $250,000 per year, 3 Assistant Chief Pilots X $150,000.
5 Chief Pilot Secretaries X $40,000 per year.
25 Pilot Crew Schedulers X $ 40,000 per year.
Annual Associated Labor Costs, Human Pilot Related
Captains $ 30,000,000
First Officers $ 15,000,000
Flight Instructor Evaluators $ 4,000,000
Flight Instructors $ 8,000,000
3 Flight Simulator Managers $ 600,000
3 Flight Simulator Secretaries $ 120,000
3 Chief Pilots $750,000
3 Assistant Chief Pilots $ 450,000
5 Chief Pilot Secretaries $200,000
25 Crew Schedulers $ 1,000,000
Total Annual Associated Labor Costs, Human Pilot Related
$ 60,120,000.00
Annual Fixed Costs, Human Pilot Related (facility lease)
Pilot Lounge Areas $ 100,000
Chief Pilot Office $25,000
Flight Simulator Space $100,000
Flight Simulator Office Space $25,000
Crew Scheduling Facilities $100,000
Total Annual Fixed Costs, Human Pilot Related (facility lease)
$ 350,000.00
Total initial fixed costs
Four Boeing 737 Full Motion Flight Simulators X $ 5,000,000
$ 20,000,000
Decreased fuel flow due to lowered aircraft empty weight
Boeing 737 fuel flow at average weight, at cruise altitude, 6000 pounds per hour. Human factor
pilot equipment removed per Boeing 737, 300 pounds. Based upon each additional 1000
pounds of additional fuel added, the added fuel burn to carry this extra ton of fuel is
approximately 10% of 1000 pounds, or 100 pounds. Using this as a measurement of weight vs.
fuel flow, each flight should save 30 pounds of fuel. Jet fuel called Jet A weighs 6.7 pounds per
gallon thus 30 pounds of Jet A equals 4.77 gallons of Jet A. If Jet A costs $ 5.00 per gallon then
4.77 X $ 5.00 per gallon equals $23.85 per flight in fuel savings.
$ 23.85 per flight
Additional available seat miles per aircraft with the cockpit converted to coach seats
+3 AVAILABLE SEAT MILES PER AIRCRAFT
Summation
Converting Boeing 737’s to UAV’s in the context of pilotless passenger airliners through the use
of complete AI is devastating to the employment of airline pilots, pilot crew schedulers, airline
pilot management personnel, airline pilot administrative personnel, as well as airline pilot
simulator evaluators and instructors. From an airline business perspective, converting airlines
to pilotless aircraft is a windfall of economic efficiency that decreases operating costs and
creates additional revenue potential worth multiple millions of dollars.
References
Williams, Charles, Scott. Aerospace Subject Matter Expert
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)