ENVSCI 120 –Introduction to Environmental Science
Extra Credit Paper – Due in class 12/10/15
The purpose of this writing assignment is to allow you to research and clearly present a specific environmental topic of your choice. The in-depth examination of a single topic enriches your experience in Environmental Sciences beyond what is available in lecture, exams, discussion sections or writing assignments. An excellent job of research and presentation will be awarded by in increase in your Final letter grade by as much as 2/3 of a letter grade (B+A). However, simply turning in a paper of low quality will not necessarily have any impact on your grade.
I would like you to write a 5-10 page paper on a topic of your choice. The guiding principles of this paper are that you are up to date with current literature, construct a well-organized synthesis of the topic, and present an original thought to the issue. This could be in the form of a novel solution to a problem, an original viewpoint of the issue, or a new appreciation for some aspect of the topic.
You should find 5-10 references, at least 3 of which are not on the internet (i.e. peer-reviewed literature-see ISI Web of Knowledge at Healy Library website).
Please properly cite references in the text and at the end of the paper (see www.mla.org). Please make sure you understand plagiarism (see http://www.plagiarism.org/plagiarism-101/overview/). All direct quotes (including cut and paste from websites!) must be in “quotation marks” with a proper citation. The overall paper must be original work (your own), meaning the structure, progression of ideas, and overall synthesis, as well as each sentence and string of words, are yours, not borrowed or stolen from another source.
After you have completed some initial research on your topic, you must discuss your topic and approach with Bob Chen or Patrick Sheldon.
Topic due November 24, 2015
Paper due December 10, 2015
