I need a writing assignment done!
500 words, Scientific Writing
Write about World Human Population
Must cite at least 2 scientific papers in the essay
GEOS 330W ESSAY #1 Guidelines
I. GOAL
Find new information on your topic of choice. Write a clear, focused, well-organized essay that indicates you thoroughly understand your source material, and topic.
II. ESSAY TOPICS
There are four possible topics:
1. World Human Population
2. Sustainability
3. California Water Resources
4. Design your own topic – your topic has to be approved by me
You need to pick one of these four options. Remember: you can only write once about a given topic in a semester.
III. WRITING INSTRUCTIONS
Your essay must be written on a computer and turned in via the Turn-it-in drop box in Blackboard Learn. The deadline is POSTED THROUGH THE BLACKBOARD ASSIGNMENT LINK ON THE CALENDAR. Papers may be turned in up to 24 hours after the deadline with a 20% penalty. After 24 hours, your essay will not be accepted. No exceptions. Aim for the essay to be ~500 words long. Slightly longer or shorter essays are OK, but you will lose points if you are off by more than ±25%. Your list of references does not count against the 500 words. Write your essay in a technical, formal style. Do not use colloquial terms. Use a passive form (i.e. do not use the word “I”). Write for another GEOS 330 student. Make sure that you introduce/define all the terms/concepts before you actually discuss their effects. For example, you need to describe ozone, CFCs, and UV radiation before you can clearly discuss how these different factors affect stratospheric ozone loss.
What is Scientific Writing?
Writing is a craft; to do it well takes practice. This class will give you the opportunity to practice your writing and have it critiqued by the instructor. Each paper this semester will present you an opportunity to research a topic of your choice. Scientific writing is a specific type of writing. Scientific writing benefits from structure, planning, supporting facts, and use of specific statements. Some of the tenants of scientific writing include:
§ Create an outline before you start writing; outlines encourage organization and conceptual continuity.
§ Write clearly and concisely. Use words explicit with your intended meaning.
§ Avoid references to self (i.e. don’t use the words I, our, my,…etc.).
§ Do not exaggerate or embellish.Ali BastakiHighlight
§ Avoid vague adjectives. For example, when explaining an object’s mass it is unscientific to say it is huge or gigantic. Instead say how massive the object is (i.e. 200,000 metric tons).
§ Follow the common format of introduction, body and conclusion.
§ Introductions give the reader an overview of the topics to be covered in the body
§ The body should develop, enhance and fulfill the concepts which the introduction presented
§ Conclusions take information presented in the body and do one of two things with it. If possible, form a comprehensive statement about the inherent relationships of the information in the body. If not, explain the lack of comprehensive meaning within the body.
§ The first sentence in every paragraph of your paper should include the thesis for the paragraph. All sentences within the following paragraph should help to support your thesis.
§ Sources are to be cited and a bibliography is required.
IV. REFERENCES
You must read and cite at least 2 scientific papers in your essay. Scientific papers are peer reviewed and contain a bibliography (list of references at end). You may use textbooks for your scientific references, but NOT the textbook for this class.
Examples of scientific journals are:
• Nature • Science • Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences • Eos • Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society • Journal of Climate • Climatic Change • Geophysical Research Letters • Scientific American
Include an alphabetical list of references at the end of your essay, structured as recommended by the American Meteorological Society (see also http://ametsoc.org/PUBS/Authorsguide/pdf_vs/briefauthguide.pdf).
• Books: Reference must consist of last name and initials of author(s), year of publication of book, title of book (italicized or underlined), publisher’s name, and total pages. NOTE Do not use the textbook for this class.
For example: Wallace, J. M., and P. V. Hobbs, 1977: Atmospheric Science: An Introductory Survey. Academic Press, 350 pp
• Journal articles: Reference must consist of last name and initials of author(s), year of publication of journal, title of paper, title of journal (italicized or underlined), volume of journal, number of issue (only if required for identification), and first and last page numbers of the paper.
For example: Archer, C. L., and M. Z. Jacobson, 2007: Supplying baseload power and reducing transmissions requirements by interconnecting wind farms. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 46, 1701-1717.
You must acknowledge and identify the work done by others in your written text by citing the appropriate paper/book.
Example: As mentioned in Wallace and Hobbs (1977), the weather data in the US …
Quoted material should always be quoted exactly word for word and enclosed in quotation marks, followed by the citation.
Example “Wind is the world’s fastest growing electric energy source” (Archer and Jacobson 2007).
No more than 5% of the text can be direct quotes.
V. RUBRIC
I will use the following rubric to grade your essay.
