Essay 1 options

English 101 - Fall 2007

Unit 1: Global Warming
Paper #1: Explaining a Concept

LENGTH: Minimum 2 full pages single-spaced, or four pages double-spaced, in 12 pt Times Roman font, with standard 1" margins, on MS-Word.

DUE DATE: 9/27 for best-effort early draft, and revision due a week later. For more details, see below.

BEST-EFFORT EARLY DRAFT AND REVISION AFTER FEEDBACK: Revise and make the first draft you post your best effort, not a lazy first draft. Post your draft on the due date.
- If you don't want to revise, you can be graded on that draft. If that's the case, add at the top of the first draft, "I'd like to be graded on this draft."
- If you plan to revise, you have to make major improvements: Not just spelling and grammar. If you are open to feedback and committed to making significant revision, the final draft is due a week later, but if you ask for feedback and make no significant revision except for grammar and spelling, your grade will go down instead of up.

WHAT TO INCLUDE: All essay options for the first paper will require that you quote and cite your sources, including some we’ve used in class (reading or film); that you summarize and paraphrase carefully, avoiding plagiarism; that you have a clear introduction and thesis statement, good transitions between ideas, a clear and effective conclusion, and a list of works cited.

CHOICES: You will have a choice of four options for your paper. Some will require more additional research than others. For all options, it will help if you consult SMGW chapter 5, especially the “Basic Features” section for the “Explaining a Concept” essay, and possibly the “guide to writing.”

Choose one of the following options for the first paper:

1. Imagine you are writing for an audience that has not seen any movies or read any articles on global warming, and they’re interested in learning some basics. A) Give an overview of the problem of global warming, and how burning coal, gas, oil and other fuels produce carbon that contributes to the greenhouse gasses, which hold heat in the atmosphere. B) Explain some of the obstacles the global warming movement faces in disinformation campaigns such as those funded by Exxon. C) Give an overview of some of the various economic positions regarding how a fight against global warming might affect national or world economies. You would rely on the movies and documentaries we’ve watched, and the readings we’ve read, for this unit, as well as many of the summaries you’ve written, which will prepare you well for this essay option. A main focus will be to synthesize materials, provide transitions between parts A, B and C, and have an effective introduction and conclusion. Consult SMGW chapter 5's “Basic Features” for the “Explaining a Concept” essay. The challenge of this option will be that you will have to grasp and deal with a large amount of material, being very clear and to-the-point, as well as synthesizing, writing a good introduction, and an effective conclusion.

2. Imagining you are writing for an audience that accepts the idea that human-caused global warming might be a problem, but doesn’t know for sure, and doesn’t know what to do about it. Focus more on the causes of global warming (especially C02 and greenhouse gasses), and what the average person can do to reduce their “carbon footprint.” Explain global warming in some detail, and explain some of the methods commonly suggested for reducing one’s carbon footprint, and how these might reduce the creation of C02 from burned coal, gasoline, oil, wood or natural gas. The challenge of this option will be that you will need to have a deeper and more thorough understanding of the science of global warming, and of the effects that certain measures to combat it might have. This will require some research beyond the sources we’ve encountered in class, but some of your primary sources, as a starting point, will be those we encountered in class (films, and text, in the Blair Reader, and online). You’ll have to do a bit of research to find at least three reputable sources, besides those we’ve read in class, regarding suggestions for reducing one’s carbon footprint.

3. Imagine you are writing for an audience that is confused about whether global warming is a real threat, because they hear many conflicting ideas on different TV and radio news programs, or read different, conflicting opinions in newspapers and magazines. Focus more on the disinformation campaign funded by Exxon, their internal memo that was leaked, and the Union of Concerned Scientists’ report regarding all the many organizations and “experts” funded to sow seeds of confusion and doubt about whether global warming is real or not. Explain how the media, perhaps in an effort to appear more “fair and balanced,” often presents conflicting opinions about global warning, when in fact there may be much more agreement among scientists. The challenge of this option will be to read and grasp the report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, and to be able to explain it clearly. It will also require some knowledge of the tobacco disinformation campaign and lawsuits, which will require some research.

4. Play the “devil’s advocate.” Research some of the literature produced by the Exxon-funded global warming skeptics, as listed in the report by the Union of Concerned Scientists. The UCS report will be a primary source. Relying on at least five major articles from five different Exxon-funded authors, argue against what seems to be the majority scientific consensus that global warming is a serious problem, and that human-produced C02 is a major cause of the problem. The challenge of this will be to do the extra research and reading, and to synthesize the resources into a convincing whole, unified by a clear, focused introduction, and a strong conclusion.