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Guidelines and Format for the Writing Assignment for
Geography 115 – Violent Weather / Climatic Hazards

(Revised 8/18/23)

Writing Requirement Format

1) The length of the assignment should be at least 1,000 words, however students may write
more if they wish to, but the length should not exceed 1,500 words.

2) The paper will be graded as if it were worth 100 points, and will be scaled to be worth 50
points.

3) Students are to write an essay that expresses their response to the video “An Inconvenient
Sequel: Truth to Power”. The essay is not to be a review of the video. Students who quote
statements made in the video must properly cite the person who made the statement.

4) Students will use the MLA format for their submission. Students should consult a source to
determine the specific details regarding the writing of an essay using the MLA format.

5) Standard American English must be used throughout the text.

6) Students may not quote me in their papers, and students may not use class notes as a
reference in their paper.

7) Students are not required to reference outside sources, but they may do so.

8) Students are to paraphrase statements from outside sources as much as possible. The use
of exact quotations should be minimized as much as possible. I am much more concerned
with being able to properly assess your writing skills than I am about the writing skills of
others.

9) Students WILL BE PENALIZED for what I consider to be the EXCESSIVE USE OF
QUOTES FROM SOURCES, INCLUDING THE VIDEO. It is possible for points that are lost
due to the use of excessive quotes may be earned back upon revision of the paper to
correct the use of excessive quotes.

10)Read these instructions before watching the video.

11) Before viewing the video, students should respond to the following elements in their paper:

a) Whether or not they believe that climate change is presently happening, and why.

b) If they do believe that it is occurring, whether, or not, they believe that humans are causing it
to happen.

12)After viewing the video, students should respond to the following elements in their paper:

a) Whether or not their position regarding climate change as presently happening has changed
after viewing the video

b) Identify three to five of the consequences of climate change that you saw in the video, from
a global perspective, that you found to be most disturbing, and why.

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c) Identify three to five consequences of climate change that you believe might affect your life,
personally and not the world, within thirty years after you graduate from your baccalaureate
program. This is different from those identified in 8b.

13) The due date for submission is given in the syllabus.

Document Format

1) The document must be submitted, as currently formatted, with a 12-point font size, on 8.5 x
11-inch sized paper with one-inch side, bottom, and top margins.

2) When students have completed their assignment they are to upload their completed
assignment onto Canvas using the link in the Writing Assignment Module.

3) In addition to the points that could be lost due to the scoring rubric, additional points may be
lost according to the following:

Insufficient word count point loss between:
975 – 1000 words, -0 points
950 – 974 words, -10 points
925 – 949 words, -25 points
Fewer than 925 words, -50 points
Submitted Late – five (5) points per calendar day.

No, or incomplete, electronic submission point loss: up to -50

It is possible for a student to earn zero (0) points for the assignment.

Special Note
4) The writing style that is used should represent the students’ best efforts. The writing requirement

will be graded on spelling, grammar, clarity and coherence, and whether, or not, the overall
objective of the assignment was achieved (see scoring rubric).

a) Students may not use the following words, or phrases, under any circumstances.
“Like”, “you know”, “really”, “thing”, or any words, phrases, or abbreviations that
might otherwise be used in cellular telephone text messages. For example, LOL,
OMG, I c u ltr, how r u? would not be allowed. Examples of the aforementioned text
would count for twice the penalty points according to the scoring rubric.

The goal of the student should be to write the assignment as if it were being submitted to a
potential employer for review. Each of you is a university student, and you should strive to
write as well as possible.

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Suggestions To Students For The Writing Of Better Papers

The following are notes that I took as I have graded student papers. Many of the errors that are presented
below are errors that I saw all too often in student papers.

It is better to write the abstract after the rest of the paper is written first. The abstract should summarize what
the paper is about, and include any relevant conclusions. A person reading the abstract may then decide to
spend the time to read the entire paper, or not.

Proper hyphenation of words. Example no-no.

Proper capitalization. Powerpoint is a proper name, and should be capitalized.

Sentences should not begin with numerals. When numbers are the first word of a sentence, they should be
spelled out.
Not permitted: “3 consequences of climate change …”
Permitted: “Three consequences of climate change …”

When the number of a thing in a sentence is fewer than 10, then the number should be spelled out, otherwise,
a numeral may be used.

People are who, things are that. “This is bad news for cities located on the coast who are now facing mass
floods.” Cities are things and cannot be a who, but must be a that.
Corrected: “This is bad news for residents, in cities located on the coast, who are now facing increasingly
numerous, or extensive, flooding.”

Students should not reference the class, nor the instructor; the paper is just about the student’s perspective, the
video, and what the student believes to be the future.

Everyday is an adjective that is used to describe something that is ordinary or typical. Every day simply
means each day. So, please note the difference between the two.

Affect is usually a verb, and it means to impact or change. Effect is usually a noun, an effect is the result of a
change.

A lot, means many. Alot, means to be given, or to give, a portion of something.

To, too, or two, which should be used?

Climate change may affect cities by their having higher temperatures.

The effects of climate change on cities may include the cities experiencing higher temperatures.

The phrase “us as humans” occurred several times in various papers. This is not proper. It would, however, be
correct to write “Humanity”, or “We humans” in a sentence.

Great care should be exercised when using gender-specific words. Man-made machinery is gender-specific.
There are no organisms on the earth, except for humans, who make machinery, so just write ‘machinery’.

https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/sub-verb.htm#:~:text=Subjects%20and%20verbs%20must%20AGREE,verb
%20must%20also%20be%20plural.