At the beginning of this unit, you engaged in an active discussion of interests you might bring to bear on environmental writing. If you dont already have a topic in mind for this first paper, return to this unit’s readings. What areas of interest might yield interesting and meaningful writing?

At the beginning of this unit, you engaged in an active discussion of interests you might bring to bear on environmental writing. If you dont already have a topic in mind for this first paper, return to this unit’s readings. What areas of interest might yield interesting and meaningful writing?

Once you have chosen a topic, begin crafting an essay that argues effectively for your stance on the issue. First, introduce the issue, providing relevant facts and a narrative or summary detailing the history and current state of the problem. Then work to establish exactly why we should care about this issue and what we should do about it, using specific examples and detailed language to illustrate your points. Anecdotes from personal experience and scholarly or other reliable sources should be engaged throughout this discussionquotes, paraphrases, and references should be accurately used to substantiate your claims.

For this assignment, Id like you to address a clear and specific audience. An awareness of your audience will be one of many useful tools in crafting what I expect to be an engaging paper, one that makes a persuasive argument for why I should pay attention to your issue, and how I should behave or what I should change after reading your work. Bear in mind the standard components of essay-writing as well: an introductory hook that draws readers into the story; a clear structure that relates each sentence and passage clearly to a core statement using supporting language and linked paragraphs; a sensible balance between abstract and concrete language, so that readers can see your ideas and then illustrations of those ideas; a sense of storytelling, or narrative, that pulls us forward toward the end of the piece; and a conclusion that reinforces the things weve already learned.

When complete, the paper should reach at least 1,500 words (about 6 pages). Please use standard formatting: double-spaced lines, 12-point serif font (Times New Roman, Cambria, Palatino, Garamond) and 1-inch margins. Also include a Works Cited page. You must use at least three reliable sources to provide substantiating evidence and connect your paper to a larger conversation. Reliable sources should be scholarly and peer-reviewed or come from identifiable and authoritative writers. Sources used only to define a term will not count toward this requirement (though you may include such sources if necessary).

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