Geography Article Response Essay

(5 points physical, 12 points human)

The object of this assignment is to illustrate how geography relates to your everyday lives. We often come across concepts covered in class in the popular press. Your assignment is to find an article in the popular press and to write an essay about it. Each essay and accompanying article is due on the day of each exam. No late essays will be accepted.

Choosing your article

1. Choose an article from the popular press, such as The Sacramento Bee, National Geographic, New Scientist, The Ecologist, The San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times, Scientific American, Time, etc. Do not go to specialized or technical journals. You should be choosing “lay-person’s” journals that anyone can read.
2. The article must be a full-length feature article: no short articles (no less than one page or 4 columns). Editorials or opinion essays will not be accepted.
3. The article must be recent, written since the beginning of the semester, unless you get prior approval from me.
4. The article must have significant content that relates to a topic/concept covered in class.
5. You must hand in the article with the assignment. In addition to printed publications, you may find articles in newspapers and magazines online. In fact, this might be easier for you since all you have to do is print the article out instead of having to cut it out of a printed journal. You will also have access to more magazines, such as e-zines and other online resources.

Writing the essay. The essay must be typed with a 12 point font and double-spaced. 2-3 pages is a good target length, though this is flexible. You should include the following in your essay:

1. (5/4 pts) Summary. Give a brief description of the article’s content.
2. (5/4 pts) Relation to class topic. Provide a detailed description of how the article related to a topic covered in class. Review the class topic and explain how the material in the article fits in with what you have learned about the topic. Describe what new information or discovery was revealed in the article.
3. (5/4 pts) Reaction. Give your opinion and critique of the article. Some questions you may want to consider: What did you like and dislike about the article? Did you find the article important? Do have any personal experience/connection to the content of the article? Was the science described well or were there mistakes in the article? Were there any inconsistencies with what you have learned in class? Are there any ethical considerations at play?
4. References. If you used sources other than the article, cite them. (-3/-2 pts for no references)

Note: Be very careful about plagiarism! A common mistake is to take sentences or phrases straight out of an article and put them in their essays without quotes. This is plagiarism! Also, facts or ideas coming from someone else must be referenced. Any sort of plagiarism will result in no credit for this assignment. If you are unsure whether you might be plagiarizing, ask me!