GEOG 2412 Exercise 7: Synthesis Essay
For the final exercise in this class you will write a synthesis essay that draws on and integrates themes or sub-themes of this class. You must choose from the list of approved topics, below. The essay will be graded on content, analysis, and writing, and the attached detailed grading rubric should be used as a guide for producing your essay. Up-load the essay to Turn_it_in.com before submitting a hardcopy to your TA, and attached the Turn-I-in receipt to the hardcopy.
Topics:
These topics are phrased mostly as questions, and you must align your essay with one of these sets of questions, though you may explore beyond these specific questions as long as you remain in that topical area.
1. Environmental Attitudes and Behavior: If our attitudes are shifting toward an ecological paradigm, why are we still losing species and habitat and facing degradation of entire global systems like the oceans and climate?
2. Transformation, Natural Resources, and Sustainability: How might we measure human transformation of earth in comparison to some baselines and thresholds that reflect sustainability? Are we nearing some limits to the sustainability of human development? Can we tell the difference between sustainable and unsustainable development?
3. The Environment as Natural Resource: How do we judge the availability of stock and flow resources, and what problems make those assessments less accurate? How can a renewable (flow) resource be depleted, and what social mechanisms can be used to achieve efficient depletion of stock resources and sustainable use of flow resources?
4. Natural Hazards: Why are natural hazard losses increasing even as we work to make development more safe? How might our attitudes towards nature affect adjustment choices and policies in response to natural hazards? What public policies might reduce exposure and/or vulnerability to natural hazards?
5. Global Warming Sticking Points: How can we set targets for greenhouse gas and climate change reductions, and what treaty mechanisms would help us meet those targets? Should developing countries accept firm GHG emissions targets in a successor to the Kyoto Protocol? Why or Why not?
You are required to make a brief (2 min) oral presentation of your topic in recitation when you turn it in during the week after Fall Break. Have your “talking points” ready.
Writing: Writing can take many strategies: persuasion, review of knowledge, hypothesis testing, assessment, etc., and we are open to different approaches but recommend highly the simple goal of analyzing the questions posed above as “problems” of the interaction of environment and human culture. Start with a problem statement or argument, or frame your essay as a question (as in the topics above), then answer it with evidence (and at least to citations to relevant literature), and bring it to a conclusion or suggest further analysis. Be sure to use good paragraph structure, including topic sentences. Avoid passive voice (“there is,” “he was being”), employ simple declarative sentences, and avoid wordiness and repetition (you can fix this through the age-old process of “draft-editing-revise” as well as reading your draft aloud). Use the attached grading rubric below for guidance.
Carefully adhere to the university’s plagiarism policy (linked on the course syllabus).
Limit your essay to about 1,000 words, roughly three pages, double-spaced, New Times Roman 12 point font and typical one-inch margins, paginated. Cite material that you draw from or quote in “end notes” --- superscript or parenthetical numbers in text linked to a numbered list of references following your essay (the references are not included in the word count). Use the examples below as guides to the reference format. Other recognized bibliographic forms are acceptable if used consistently and if they achieve the obvious goal: allowing the reader to find the cited material! Examples of citation styles include:
Book: J.Howe, E. McMahon, and L. Propst (1997) Balancing Nature and Commerce in Gateway Communities (Washington, D.C.: Island Press).
Article: Molotch, H. (1976) “The city as growth machine: toward a political economy of place.” American Journal of Sociology 82: 309-332.
Newspaper: Jennifer Beauprez, “Level 3 Shows off New Home,” Denver Post, November 9, 1993, p. 1A.
Website: National Association of Home Builders, press release April 22, 2002. See: www.NAHB.com/news/smartsurvey2002.htm [accessed May 12, 2002].
Tips: Expressing yourself clearly and well in written form is important to your professional development and success, so give this effort due attention. We will grade it on substantive content as well writing (style and grammar). You can get writing tips from many sources. We recommend Perdue University’s “Online Writing Lab”. Their material on grammar and mechanics is especially helpful. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/#planning
You can also use the University’s Writing Center in Norlin Library. To make an appointment at the Writing Center, use their website: http://www.colorado.edu/pwr/writingcenter.html
Final Preparation and Submission: Prepare your essay in word processing. Submit it to Turn-It-In.com (see instructions attached), then print out a copy of your paper, the “Grading Rubric” on the next page, and the Turn-It-In.com receipt, and staple them together, and turn that hardcopy in to your TA.
Grading Rubric (print this out and attach to your hard-copy)
Student name:______
TA: ______
Word Count:______
1. Problem statement/Topic (1 points): The essay:
- Draws on two or more elements or topics covered in this class___
- Offers a clear problem or topic statement___
- Topic presented verbally in recitation___
2. Exposition/Analysis (4 points): The essay includes:
- (1 pt) A focused proposition or argument____
- (.5 pts) Relevant facts (don’t forget the readings as sources!)___
- (.5 pts) Examples (feel free to draw on the many offered in class!)___
- (1 pt) Analysis/interpretation___
- (1 pt) Recommendations or critical reflection___
3. Style, Grammar & Citations (2 points): The essay:
- (1 pt) Is structured from problem statement/introduction, through analysis, to clear conclusions with good paragraph form___
- (.5 pts) Uses clear syntax and correct sentence structure and proper spelling and punctuation___
- (.5 pts) At least two appropriate sources are used and cited; references are included where appropriate and cited clearly and consistently___
4. Turnitin.com: Your paper will NOT be graded unless you post an electronic copy of it to the website Turnitin.com (see instructions attached) before you turn in a paper copy of your essay to your TA. When you submit your essay to Turnitin.com, print out a copy of your Turnitin Digital Receipt and staple it to the hard-copy of your essay.
Turnitin.com student instructions
You must turn in a paper copy of your essay to your TA. You must ALSO turn in your essay using Turnitin.com. Turn in your essay to Turnitin.com before you hand in a paper copy to your TA, so that you can also attached the Turnitin.com confirmation receipt.
To log into Turnitin.com, do either A or B below:
A. If you do not already have a Turnitin.com profile:
1. Go to www.turnitin.com.
2. Click New Users on the Turnitin homepage.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions (choose your own id and password for your Turnitin.com account). In order to create a profile, you will need the class ID (2982271) and enrollment password (geography) for this class. When you are done creating your profile, you will be logged in to your account.
B. If you already have a profile from a previous class, you need to enroll yourself in this class:
1. Click the enroll in a class tab on your homepage.
2. On the next screen, enter the class ID (2982271) and enrollment password for your class (geography).
3. Click submit to enroll in the class and add it to your homepage.
Class ID: 2982271 Password: geography Class name: GEOG 2412 Assignment: Synthesis Essay
You will submit your essay to your class from your class portfolio. To open your class portfolio, click the class name GEOG 2412 on your homepage. The class homepage lists the assignments your instructor has created and your submissions to these assignments. This assignment is the Synthesis Essay. You can submit an essay in two ways:
• by file upload (used to submit an essay as a computer file: Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, RTF, PDF, PostScript, plain text, and HTML formats)
• by cut and paste (used to submit an essay by cutting and pasting the text into a text box)
To submit by file upload:
1. Click the submit icon next to the desired assignment in your class portfolio.
2. Select file upload from the submission pulldown menu.
3. Enter a title for your submission and an ID (optional).
4. Click the Browse button and locate the file (essay) you want to submit.
5. Click submit. On the following page you will be asked to confirm the text of your submission. If the text checks out, click yes, submit to finalize your submission. After submitting a paper, you will receive a digital receipt. PRINT THIS DIGITAL RECEIPT AND STAPLE IT TO YOUR PAPER.*
To submit by cut and paste:
1. Click the submit icon next to the desired assignment in your class portfolio.
2. Select cut and paste from the submission pulldown menu.
3. Enter a title for your submission and an ID (optional).
4. Cut and paste your paper into the text box.
5. Click submit. After submitting your paper you will receive a digital receipt. PRINT THIS DIGITAL RECEIPT AND STAPLE IT TO YOUR PAPER.*
*If you forget to print this out, you will need to print out another page from Turnitin.com that proves that you submitted your essay to the website. You should be able to log in and view your essay after submitting it. Print out this view and give it to your TA, with your name clearly visible on the printout.