Environmental Science Essay
Since I began teaching this class, I have noticed that students often have a “favorite” environmental-science related issue. Now is your chance to further explore a topic of your choice. For this assignment, you will write an essay about a topic of your choice, addressing the items below. Gather information from various sources: books, magazines, the internet, interviews with people involved with the issue, etc. You are required to use at least 3 sources (make sure to cite them).
Your paper must be typed with standard margins, size 11 font, double-spaced, with proper spelling and grammar. You are required to follow the format below:
Title
Introduction
Make the essay interesting, may begin with a quote or other attention grabber
Move from general to specific in regards to the topic
Provides a “road map” of the essay in a logical order
Include a thesis statement. Your thesis statement must be bold font!
The thesis statement states the purpose of the paper
Body
Include evidence and support and your ideas
Paragraphs must include a topic sentence which relates the discussion back to the thesis
statement
The following should be addressed in order, each with a bold heading, and each should be at least a solid paragraph – or longer, if needed, to cover all of the required content
Passion
Why are you interested in this topic? Why did you decide to write about it?
The Big Picture
Why is this topic important within environmental science? How does it fit within the big picture?
How does this topic relate to other areas of environmental science?
History
What is the history of your issue/topic?
When did this become a problem?
What factors contributed to the problem?
Solutions
What has been done to address this issue in the past? Was it effective?
What is being done currently? Is it effective?
What do you believe should be done in the future about this issue?
Motivation
What do you think would motivate others to be concerned about this issue and willing to do something about it?
Government
Does the government provide oversight/regulation regarding this issue?
Do you believe that the government should or should not be involved with this issue?
Ensure that transition sentences are present to create a positive flow to the essay
Make sure each example is relevant to your topic
Conclusion
Restate the main arguments in a simplified manner
Wrap up all of your arguments and points
The rubric below will be used to grade your paper:
Item
Description
Points Possible
Grammar/Spelling
Paper is free from grammatical/spelling errors
10
Format
Bold headings with discussion in paragraph format
Paper follows required format above
Normal margins
Size 11 font
Double spaced
Minimum of three sources
Sources were cited
10
Content
Ideas are articulated clearly with sufficient detail
Paper thoroughly addresses all categories and questions above
Topic-related vocabulary is used properly
Information presented is relevant, current and accurate
30
Portions of this assignment have been modeled after the University of Evansville “Parts of the Essay” document.
