Well, if the only audience is the teacher, and the one of requirements is textbooks, then I don't see any reason why you shouldn't do it. I guess she's kind of asking for it. Sure you can talk about more common topics such as social injustices and all that, but if they are not your passion, why bother?

How long is the paper? Do you have enough space to walk a reader through the topic?

Some of my best papers written for English classes have been on blacksmithing, the impact of modern programming methods on life, how basic mathematical analysis on writings can reveal 'interesting' details, and Shakespearian plays I had neither seen or read.

I say go for it. If you can meet the requirements, and present it in a form that is interesting for someone with only the vaguest knowledge and interest in computers, then it sounds like a great paper. I often got high marks in university level English courses simply because I wrote about something different, or from an angle completely different from any of my classmates.

How long is the paper? Do you have enough space to walk a reader through the topic?

Some of my best papers written for English classes have been on blacksmithing, the impact of modern programming methods on life, how basic mathematical analysis on writings can reveal 'interesting' details, and Shakespearian plays I had neither seen or read.

I say go for it. If you can meet the requirements, and present it in a form that is interesting for someone with only the vaguest knowledge and interest in computers, then it sounds like a great paper. I often got high marks in university level English courses simply because I wrote about something different, or from an angle completely different from any of my classmates.

5 or more pages.

As an English major myself, perhaps I can add in some advice.

Don't shy away from this particular topic. The key thing you have to do with topics, especially concerning research papers, is to make them interesting and relevant to the reader. If your topic lacks either quality, people lose purpose in reading your work. Procedural generation is already interesting specifically because it's not something that you can freely talk about with any random person. Relevancy asks, rather importantly, "why should the reader care about subject x?" You've got to show people why procedural generation is worth anyone's attention.

Also, remember, a writer's "audience", at least for the college papers I had to write, isn't just his or her professor. You should aim to make your topic accessible to others, e.g. your peers, even if they aren't the ones who will read it. Think of it like this: if you couldn't explain your topic to the person who sits next to you in class, you'd probably have an even harder time doing so with your professor. Usually, the more people that can understand what you've written, the better. Obviously though, there's no need to completely gut out every single small detail about procedural generation.

Actually, the best thing I was ever taught was to write in a clear and concise manner. If you can say something with less words and still maintain its full, proper meaning, go for less. Make every word count while avoiding excess. The minimum page limit might be five, but don't take that as a license to go too far. Usually six-eight has been the sweet spot for me. I did a research paper (ENGL 104 as we call it at NIU) on the Creative Commons. The teacher told me the draft was too long (14 pages double-spaced); I ended up having to cut four whole pages while still preserving my original message.

Good luck with your paper; I hope it turns out well. Maybe you could even share it with us when you're done.

Maybe you could even share it with us when you're done.

Yes, that's what I was intending to do. We will see what happens with it.

Wanted to add my 2 cents on this one, since I'm also interested in PCG.

I disagree completely with the statement that it should be saved for a higher-level or more math-related course. In fact, I think you could have a wildly fun time writing about this, and probably learn some great stuff in the process. I recently wrote a final research paper and gave a presentation on the topic in an English/Speech class. It couldn't have gone better. You don't even need to mention math to get the idea across. Procedural generation is such a cool concept that I think almost anyone can get excited about it without even hearing the word math The fundamental ideas behind procedural generation are easy to explain - it's a concept that is far more general than just "math," although math is certainly the most prevalent means of implementing the concept. Again, procedural generation is a concept, not a field of math!

Hope you chose to go with it! As Shonumi said, would love it if you'd share when finished ;)

I also agree this sounds a reasonable idea - you don't have to get into the maths, for English you can still describe what it is, what it's used for, and so on. Consider popular science books that describe high level scientific theory to lay people, using little or no maths. Or journalists often have to do (and often do badly when it comes to maths or science).