Writing a course paper

My name is Michael. I am a student of Berlin University. I study at the faculty of Science and Engineering. I like studying here. The teaching staff is friendly and well-organised. Our dean is very competent. He knows how to cope with different people and problems. During my study here I got acquainted with new books and scientific ideas. Our library with its electronic catalogue impressed me.

I am a second year student and this term I have to write a course paper. My scientific supervisor is Professor Davidson. Professor is a very experienced supervisor. The theme of my course paper is ”Computer today.”

It consists of 3 chapters. First I want to state the problem. I begin with the fact that the computer is a defining symbol of 20th century technology - a tool that has transformed businesses and lives around the world, increased productivity, and opened access tо vast amounts of knowledge. I aim to show that in the first half of the 20th century, a steady stream of technical innovation transformed people's lives. I want to underline that In many ways, new technologies were no longer a surprise when came a new machine - the computer - which astonished the world and promised to remove other forms of drudgery from life, such as tedious calculations.

In the second chapter I describe how the computer soon evolved from an elaborate calculator to a complex system of enormous capability. I pay attention to the fact that before the century was over; the computer had become an integral part of every major industry.

In the third chapter I present the history of computer. For a better understanding of some problems I consider the earliest digital machines, beginning with ENIAC and continuing into the late 1950s based on vacuum tubes. Moreover, in this part I discuss the next phase that required the development of a whole range of components used in computers today. Then I pass over to 1981 when IBM introduced the PC, a key event in the development of the consumer computer industry. It was based on an Intel microprocessor and the operating system DOS, licensed from Microsoft.

In the last part I focus on the result of my research and touch upon the future of the computer. I also explain that graphically driven software makes computers easy to use and has begun to open new worlds through the Internet. I state that the real computer revolution is not one of numbers and bytes, but one in which people, regardless of geography and politics, can share information and learn from each other. At the end I present a list of books as well as tables and charts.