Homework 2: History to Databases.

There were a few errors or oddities that many of you committed on this one.

Again, DBMS a is common, singular noun. It stands for "database management system." There exist many such systems. Just as you wouldn't say, "Database management system is changing how people store data," you shouldn't say "DBMS is changing how people store data." Instead, say "DBMSs are changing how people store data."

Some of you like excessive phrases such as "DBMSs are said to have certain advantages" or "based on what is known as the relational model." You don't need these long phrases unless what is said or known conflicts with the facts. You can simply say "DBMSs have certain advantages" or "based on the relational model."

A number of you have difficulties with articles--"a" and "the" in particular. Nearly every common, singular noun needs an article in front of it. If you're talking about one database, and it doesn't matter which particular database, you write "a database, " as in "A database is harder to use than pencil and paper." If you're talking about one particular database, use "the database", as in "The database I designed last year sucked."

For plural nouns, such as databases, you don't need an article if you're talking about them in general: "Databases are expensive to maintain." If you're talking about a particular group of databases, you need to use "the": "A virus is bringing down all the databases in New York."

A few of your papers lacked a good thesis statement. Somewhere near the beginning of your paper (usually the first or last sentence of the first paragraph) you should have a single sentence that sums up your complete paper. For this assignment, something like "The evolution of database systems has so far involved three generations" would be good. Even something as simple as "Databases have undergone many changes over the years" is okay. But I'm looking for a sentence that states the single point of your entire paper.

I wasn't looking too closely at this, but many of you seemed to forget your parenthetical citations. Whenever you quote from a book or give a fact, you should state where you got that information. In the past, people used footnotes or endnotes. Parenthetical citations within the text are generally easier to use.

You all remembered your Works Cited page. However, many of you only provided links. When you give a reference to a webpage, you should included the URL, the title of the page, and a date. The date can be the date the page was last edited (if that information is available) or the date you accessed it. If the webpage tells who wrote it, you should include the author's name too.

Overall, good job. Let me know if you have any questions.

-- Zach.