PHYS 280 :: Physics Illinois :: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Required Essay 2, First Version (RE2v1)

Electronic submission due Wednesday Feb. 4 at 10pm

For RE2v1 you will write an essay using the scenario and guidelines described below. Your RE2v1 will be graded by your writing lab TA, who will use this rubric. 

The primary learning goal of RE2 is to learn the important technical aspects of nuclear weapons by writing about them.

Scenario

You are an analyst for the Congressional Research Service in the early 1940s. Representatives from President Roosevelt have asked you to write a brief special report for a select group of senators and representatives that will convince them that the United States should fund a new nuclear weapons technology that is so powerful a single strike has the potential to stop the war. Funding for the Manhattan Project (active: 1942-1946) must be kept almost entirely hidden from members of Congress, but the support of these select individuals will help push through certain funding measures and allow the project to proceed without undue pressure or curiosity from the rest of the legislative branch.

Your report should tell the story of how investing in the science will be worth the cost (historically, a case initiated by Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard). Rhetorically, your report should open with a very brief statement of the challenging military circumstances the United States and its allies face in the European and Pacific theaters of WWII and why it is so important to deviate significant funds from the ongoing war effort to fund nuclear bomb development. To convince readers, you will need to explain the underlying science so that they can understand what scientists plan to do, why this development is so challenging, and how its potential for winning the war outstrips conventional bombs.

In making the case for funding the Manhattan Project, be sure to include the following technical content (not necessarily in this order).

• The definition of (a) a fissionable nuclide, (b) a fissile nuclide and (c) a fertile nuclide. In your explanation, list (d) an example of a fissile nuclide, (e) an example of a fissionable nuclide that is not fissile, and (f) an example of a fertile nuclide.
• The definition of (a) a nuclear-explosive nuclide and (b) a nuclear-explosive material. Explain (c) whether or not all fissile nuclides are nuclear-explosive nuclides. Explain (d) why some nuclides that are not fissile are nevertheless nuclear-explosive. In your explanation, (e) list an example of an important nuclear-explosive nuclide that is not fissile.
• Explain in one or two paragraphs the basic, general requirements for achieving a nuclear explosion using nuclear explosive material. n.b. Do not go into any of the details of particular weapon designs.
• Explain in (a) one paragraph why the energy released in a nuclear explosion is much greater than the energy released in the explosion of a conventional bomb. In (b) a separate paragraph illustrate the magnitude of energy release of a nuclear explosion when deployed strategically.

Guidelines

• Base the technical content of your essay on the information in the assigned reading "Physics and Technology of Nuclear-Explosive Materials" and the current (Spring 2026) class slides on nuclear weapons.
• Your answer to the third point in the Scenario section above should constitute approximately one-third of your report.
• Professional Genre Considerations:
  • You will be graded on the content and clarity of your report as well as your ability to conform to the writing style of a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report—see the rubric. Here are two examples of CRS reports: Primer on Nuclear Cooperation and Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons. These reports are much longer than yours will be and are only meant to serve as examples of style.
  • In writing your report, assume that your reader is a college-educated member of the U.S. Congress who is broadly familiar with the material that has been presented in the lecture-discussions and the material in the readings that have already been assigned, but be sure to define all the terms you are asked to define in the prompt above. You do not need to place these definitions in quotation marks, but you do need to provide citations for them.
  • Integrate the technical content into your discussion.
• Format:
  • Your report should be 1 page in length, when printed in the format specified in the Phys 280 Style and Format Guide, including the title, headers, and footers. Reminder: A single-spacing requirement was introduced on 1-31.
  • The title should briefly describe the content of the report. It should be centered, bolded, and 16-pt font.
  • After the title, include a brief (2-4 sentence) summary of the content of your report. Include a left-aligned “Summary” heading to clearly indicate this section. The heading should be left-aligned, bolded, and 14-pt font.
  • Four additional sections should follow the summary section. Each section corresponds to one of the points described in the Scenario above. Each section requires a section heading that is left-aligned, bolded, and 14-pt font. Headings should be brief.
  • Key terms should be in bold the first time you use them.
• Citation of sources:
  • Use footnotes for citations. Footnotes should be in Times New Roman, 10pt font.
  • You do not need to give citations when the information you use is common knowledge. In deciding what is common knowledge, consider what could be known by a typical University of Illinois student (not enrolled in Phys 280). If in doubt, include a citation.
  • The sources you are to use are clearly specified in the first bullet point.
  • You should refer to the Phys 280 course slides as "23p280 Nuclear Weapons, slide #" (e.g., "23p280 Nuclear Weapons, slide 15") and the "Physics and Technology of Nuclear-Explosive Materials" article as "NEM, page #" (e.g., "NEM, page 221"). The page numbers for the article are 221-226.
  • Do not include a bibliography or a list of references.
• Follow all the specifications described in the Phys 280 Style and Format Guide.
• Please refer to the Resources tab for more guidance on revision. 
• Don't forget to include the writer's memo for RE2v1 (described below and different from RE1) and your AI disclosure statement.

Required procedure for the use of AI tools in this assignment 

1. Prepare your own standalone answers (no AI use) to the third point of the scenario section.
2. Instruct your AI-tool to write the paragraphs requested in the last two bullet points of the scenario section.
3. Based on the products of (1) and (2) draft your own response to the RE2 scenario (no AI use).
4. Instruct your AI-tool to prepare a draft. A good prompt may include as inputs the products of (1) and (2), one or both CRS examples for style reference, and relevant documents from the references provided.
5. Create the final version based on both (3) and (4)

Please note: The AI prompts and AI outputs are all to be included in the writer's memo.

AI Disclosure Statement

Discloses the use of AI in technical writing. The statement specifies the tool used and briefly describes how the tool was used. It includes a certification that the author takes responsibility for the verification of all facts and content.

Writer's Memo

note: Writer's memos and AI disclosure statements do not count toward an assignment's length requirement.

Professional writers often ask for feedback from their peers on their written products. This feedback is most productive when one requests comments on specific points or sections. 

For the RE2v1 writer's memo, please compose 3-5 questions to which your peer review partner will respond. These questions can be related to content, organization, style, or grammar. For example, you could ask for clarification on some aspect of the points described in the Scenario section above, or you could also ask if your paper has adequately adhered to the CRS report genre.

The writer's memo for RE2v1 will facilitate the peer review (see below) component of this assignment. Please see the Phys 280 Style and Format Guide for additional instructions on the formatting of the writer's memo.

Please also include:

• Both your response and the AI-tool’s to the third point of the scenario section
• Both your draft and the AI draft
• A complete log of all AI prompts and responses
• Brief answers to the following questions:
  • Did the AI-tool make any factual/technical mistakes in its explanations?
  • A brief analysis of the differences between your own draft revision and the AI draft revision.  You might comment on the overall structure, factual correctness, style, use of vocabulary (e.g. use of professional arms control terms).
  • Which aspects of your own draft do you prefer over the AI draft?

Your submission must include:

1. Your RE2v1
2. Your AI disclosure statement
3. Your writer's memo for RE2v1

**submission must be in one file**

Content Learning Goals

1. Learn the different types of relevant nuclides pertaining to nuclear weapons and examples of them.
2. Learn the general requirements to achieve a nuclear explosion.
3. Understand how a nuclear explosion compares to explosions from conventional bombs.
4. Explore the use of AI in summarizing general technical content.

Writing Learning Goals

1. Learn course concepts by writing about them.
2. Learn and practice conforming to the Phys 280 style and formatting guidelines.
3. Practice assuming a professional role and style (in this case, an analyst for CRS).
4. Practice analyzing and adapting to different writing situations and genres for responding to them.
5. Practice the use of AI-tools for organizing, drafting, and styling writing.
6. Develop a sense of audience and editorial awareness as a writer through peer review.

Required Essay 2, Peer Review of RE2v1

Electronic submission due Monday Feb. 9 at 10am.

This assignment has a peer review component. You will be asked to review a peer's RE2v1 by i) addressing the questions contained in their writer's memo (describe above) and ii) making at least two substantive comments on their RE2v1, preferably using the review feature of Microsoft Word. These comments can address an issue with content, style, or grammar; they could also praise an exceptional aspect of the paper. Your partner will be assigned via email after you submit RE2v1, and you will discuss your review with your partner in the Feb. 9 writing lab. The peer review is due on Feb. 9 at 10am via electronic submission.

After the RE2v1 due date, you will receive an email with your partner and instructions on finding their RE2v1 submission. Also you will be asked to email your peer review to your partner at the end of your Feb. 9 writing lab.

As stated in the RE2v1 rubric, peer review is 10% of your RE2v1 grade (the points will be added after the Feb. 16 writing labs).

Required procedure for the use of AI tools in this assignment 

1. Write your own peer review comments (no AI use).
2. Upload your peer’s paper and your peer review comments to your AI-tool and instruct the AI-tool to analyze the paper and make additional comments.
3. Create a final set of peer review comments based both on your original comments and the AI-tool’s response.

Please note: The AI prompts and AI outputs are all to be included in the writer's memo.

AI Disclosure Statement

Discloses the use of AI in technical writing. The statement specifies the tool used and briefly describes how the tool was used. It includes a certification that the author takes responsibility for the verification of all facts and content.

Writer's Memo

Please include:

• Both your original peer review comments and your AI-tool’s comments
• A complete log of all AI prompts and responses
• A brief answer to the following question:
  • Were the AI-tool’s comments useful or not and why?

 

Required Essay 2, Second Version (RE2v2)

Electronic submission due Wednesday Feb. 11 at 10pm.

For RE2v2 you will revise your RE2v1 essay. This revision should address all the comments of your TA and peer review partner. Your RE2v2 will be graded by your writing lab TA, who will use this rubric (different from the RE2v1 rubric above). RE2v2 page limit has been increased to 1.5 pages single spaced. 

Writer's Memo

In addition to your RE2v2 essay please submit a brief statement (5-10 sentences) that describes how you incorporated your TA and peer review partner's feedback and, if appropriate, explains why you did not incorporate any feedback that you chose to ignore. 

Please see the Phys 280 Style and Format Guide for additional instructions on the formatting of the writer's memo.

Your electronic submission must include:

1. Your RE2v2
2. Your writer's memo for RE2v2

 **submission must be in one file**