Write a Report

Essay Assignment Introduction This essay assignment is mandatory, is marked out of 100, and contributes 20% of your final grade. The essay is introduced at the end of Unit 2, Module 4; it must be submitted by the end of Module 7. The following is available here, Essay Assignment, as a downloadable Word file. This comprehensive essay provides you with the opportunity to apply and examine your growing knowledge and appreciation, gained progressively through GEOG 1191, of a topic/issue of your own choice related to people’s and society’s interaction with the environment and its resources. Instructions Essay Objectives and Marks Allocation Write an essay of 1,500 words (at least eight pages) that focuses on a chosen and agreed-upon topic examining the relationship between people (or society) and their environment/resources. The focus of the report may be at the local, regional, continental, or global scale. Possible topics include: Problems and potentials with respect to maintaining the quality or availability of a particular resource (water, forests, wildlife, ecosystems, open space, etc.) Maintenance/loss of biodiversity Land-use planning in an urban or non-urban context Changing relationships between culture and environment The differing views of sustainable development/sustainability between the LDCs and the HDCs Differing worldviews such as traditional knowledge and Western-based “scientific” knowledge, and how these worldviews reflect different relationships between people and environment Any topic of interest to you and which you can discuss with, and gain approval from, your Open Learning Faculty Member For example, if you selected “loss of biodiversity” as an essay topic, you would need to consider developing a thesis statement about this topic that reflected the course’s theme of humans and their environment. One such topic could be, “habitat loss threatens biodiversity.” You must clearly identify a thesis statement in your essay; if you would like, once you pick your topic you may verify the appropriateness of your thesis question or statement with your Open Learning Faculty Member. From our example above, an appropriate thesis statement would be: “The destruction of habitat from urban expansion will eventually lead to an irreversible loss of biodiversity. As a society, we need to decide what is more important: new subdivisions and shopping malls, or preservation of natural ecosystems?” Discussion The paper requires a certain amount of research beyond that which is supplied by the course package and your Open Learning Faculty Member. Its successful completion will thus depend, not only on your interest in the topic you have chosen, but also on the way in which you utilize a wide range of information sources. You will already be aware of information sources with respect to your topic of interest, but your Open Learning Faculty Member may be able to provide you with additional leads and sources. The key thing in the initial stage is not to jump in feet first, but to think about and visit potential information sources before developing the overall term paper objectives and, thus, its research design. Grading Relevance of essay to course content (demonstrate knowledge of course content) and inclusion of course content into essay answer 40% Formation of appropriate essay topic and clarity of thesis statement 30% External research to support essay arguments 20% Grammar, sentence structure, appropriate use of citations (APA Citation Style), title page, spelling, etc. 10% Total 100%