Environmental Sciene 2 pages writing.

The WA must include information (properly cited) from at least one of the assigned discussion readings and must contain information from at least two other references (i.e., a total of at least three references, all properly cited as described below). The course text and web sites can be used in addition to, but not instead of, your two additional references. You must also submit an outline of your paper that includes: title, thesis statement, main concepts to be discussed, and at least two supporting references (cited as described below). The outline should be submitted via Canvas about one week before the WA is due (see class schedule). You are encouraged to discuss assigned readings, but every student must submit an individual essay. The assignment must be written in your own words. Late writing assignments will NOT be accepted. This policy will be strictly enforced.

Your paper should be well-written (spell-checked, logically-structured, coherent, concise, and include proper citations), critical, and imaginative. The format should include an introduction to the topic (including a rationale for why you are writing about the topic, and a thesis statement, wherein you state the point of view you will evaluate (either support or reject). The main body of the paper should contain facts (data) and some assessment of those data (e.g., not enough data, contradictory data, invalid assumptions) and how the problem you are discussing is related to the global environment. Finally, summarize with an evaluation of how the data you discussed led you to support or reject your thesis.

After submitting your first draft, you will receive a grade and comments. Use this feedback to revise and improve your final draft, due two weeks after the first draft (see class schedule). The first and final drafts are worth an equal amount of points – so please do not submit a sloppy first draft or an unrevised final draft. Your final draft grade will NOT replace your first draft grade. You must turn in your graded first draft along with your final draft. Your final draft must be revised and improved based on the suggestions and comments you receive on your first draft. If you submit a final draft that is not revised, or if your revisions do not address any of the comments on your first draft, you will receive a 0.

Your essay should make some progress toward explaining questions such as, (i) Why should anyone in the Central Valley care about El Nino (or desertification or thawing of permafrost)? or (ii) What assumptions were made in developing models of nitrogen cycling (or eutrophication, or greenhouse gas influence on climate change)?, or (iii) How good are the data used to test the hypothesis that global warming is occurring (or animal habitat is lost with desertification, or agricultural nitrogen fertilization leads to anoxia in marine systems)?

Direct quotes must be enclosed in quotation marks and have an author‑date citation.

References must be properly cited in your paper. For our purposes, in the text, the following style is required:

Backsoon and Seeyah (1998) showed that water flows uphill. More recent work has shown that you can lead a horse to water and you can make it drink (Backsoon, 2001). Finally, it remains unclear if it is the heat or the humidity (Backsoon et al., 2005), but whatever the cause, cosmic forces may be at play in determining the fate of the globe (The Onion, 2008).

In the "References" section at the end of the paper, the following style of citation is required:

Journal articles:

Backsoon, I.L.B, and Seeyah, B.I. 1998. El Nino or El Nonsense? Journal of Cosmetology 1:115‑119.

Books:

Backsoon, I.L.B. 2001. The facts behind clichés. 2nd ed. Bemidji State University Press, Bemidji, MN.

Newspaper or magazine articles:

Backsoon, I.L.B., Verisi, X.O., and Enopi, L.M. 2005. Heat or humidity? Duluth Daily Diatribe. 2 January, p. A2.

Web Sources:

The Onion. 2008. Scientists warn large earth collider may destroy earth.

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/scientists_warn_large_earth. (Date viewed: 18 December 2008).

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