For a while now, the <span class="code">CAT5/5e</span> standards for twisted-pair cables have been ubiquitous in computer networks.  Indeed, home users are often advised to simply use <span class="code">CAT5e</span> cables because they are cheaper than the more advanced <span class="code">CAT6</span> cables, whose full potential might not be used, anyway.  Still, <span class="code">CAT6</span> cables are becoming more common, and networks are starting to adopt them as a form of "future-proofing".  
<ul>
    <li>Write a brief essay (1-2 pages, <strong><u>not</u></strong> including sources and endnotes) addressing the growing importance of <u style="font-weight:bold"><span class="code">CAT6</span> Ethernet cabling</u>. Your essay should address the following issues:
        <ul>
            <li>How <span class="code">CAT6</span> cables are fundamentally different from the older <span class="code">CAT5/5e</span> type -- in terms of both performance and construction.</li>
            <li>Where <span class="code">CAT6</span> cables are most commonly being used -- and the reasons for it.</li>
            <li>How a user or network administrator can decide whether or not to spend more for <span class="code">CAT6</span> cables -- and in which areas of the network this should be done.</li>
            <li><em>Optional</em>: Address the even newer <span class="code">CAT7</span> standard and its relevance.</li>
        </ul>
        <strong>NOTE:</strong> This does not mean your essay simply answers the above, one after the other.  Rather, you should incorporate these in a manner that <em style="text-decoration:underline">logically flows</em> from one idea to the next.
    </li>
    <li>Your 1-2-page essay should meet the following specifications:
        <ul>
            <li>Use at least two sources that are <strong style="text-decoration:underline">NOT</strong> the textbook or lecture notes.
                <ul>
                    <li>All sources must be consulted must be explicitly oriented to science, technology, and/or engineering.</li>
                    <li>Generic, non-technology-specific encyclopaedias, dictionaries, websites, etc. are not valid sources.</li>
                    <li>User-created content -- such as blogs and discussion board posts -- should be vetted for credibility before being used.</li>
                </ul>
            </li>
            <li>Cite your sources:
                <ul>
                    <li>List any sources consulted.  These are sources that significantly <em>influenced your thinking</em> or <em>helped you to work out your ideas</em> -- even if you did not take any specific ideas or points from them.</li>
                    <li>If you do consult the textbook and/or lecture notes, those must be cited, as well.</li>
                    <li>Any direct quotes (or close paraphrasals) -- in other words, where you are using a <em>specific idea or point</em> from a source -- should be surrounded by quotation marks (<span style='code'>" "</span>) and cited with endnotes</li>
                    <li>There may be some overlap between works consulted and endnotes.</li>
                    <li>There are various official citation styles -- MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.  Choose one that you know.  At the very least, your citation should make it easy for me to find your source -- and place within the source, if applicable.</li>
                    <li>Any online source cited <u><em>must</em></u> include a URL so that I can easily navigate to it, if needed.</li>
                </ul>
            </li>
            <li>Correct grammar and spelling</li>
            <li>In paragraph form -- <em><u><strong>not</strong></u> one large block of text!</em></li>
            <li>Paragraphs flow logically from one to the next</li>
            <li>Double-spaced</li>
            <li>12-point font</li>
            <li>1-inch margins</li>
        </ul>
    </li>
    <li>To get a broad idea of visual appearance, here is an example: <a href="./Lorem.pdf">link</a>.</li>
    <li>If you wish, you may include some visual aids (e.g., images, figures, diagrams, graphs, tables, etc.) in order to support your points, subject to the following guidelines:
        <ul>
            <li>These <u><strong>do not</strong></u> count towards your 1-2 pages of content.</li>
            <li>If the visual aids are taken from somewhere else -- rather than being your own creation -- then you <u><strong>must</strong></u> give proper credit with an appropriate citation.</li>
        </ul>
    </li>
    <li>There is no need to consume several lines at the beginning with information like class, date, etc.  Your name will be sufficient.</li>
</ul>