The paper will need to be 1800 words this is the equivalent of 3-4 single spaced or 6-8 double spaced pages (MLA format). I’m paying more attention to the word count than the number of pages.The use of AI technology like ChatGPT or Grammarly is not allowed and will result in a zero on any assignment it is detected on.
Paper will be on a topic covered in more detail than the lectures and must be approved by the instructor; note due dates on here. Examples of topics: dinosaur blood, tissue, poop, gastroliths and trackways; Mesozoic global warming; Mesozoic large igneous provinces; dinosaur fossil distribution as evidence for plate tectonics; and sedimentary records of meteorite impacts. Format for paper and sources is discussed below W1-6. This website will be helpful as well: https://www.geosociety.org/documents/gsa/pubs/GSA_RefGuide_Examples.pdLinks to an external site.
Writing Intensive (GE Designation WI) Part of being an upper division class is having this Intensive Writing Requirement.
Goal: Students will develop their abilities to express themselves and the knowledge they have obtained through practicing various forms of writing within different disciplinary contexts. Writing intensive courses will build upon the skills gained in the Analytical Reading and Expository Writing section of Basic Skills. In each WI course students will be required to complete writing assignments totaling a minimum of 2500 words (which I have reduced to 1800 because of our weekly dinosaur in the news assignments).
Goals for this course will take the form of formulating and writing elements of a term paper with a minimum of 2500 words (reduced because of the weekly writing assignment Dinosaurs in the News). Once a topic has been selected the steps will include creation of the following products: 1) annotated bibliography, 2) first draft, 3) final paper, and 4) presentation of a summary of the paper using Powerpoint slides with figures and text.
Student Learning Outcomes
All of these outcomes will be addressed.
Students will:
WI-1. Develop and clearly define their ideas through writing; This will be emphasized in stages as the term paper is developed, from topic to final draft.
WI-2. Ethically integrate sources of various kinds into their writing; Students will be encouraged to use various sources in collecting information for their term papers, including peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters. Non-peer-reviewed materials may be used only if the information is from a reliable and factual source.
WI-3. Compose texts through drafting, revising, and completing a finished product; This draft-revision-final product format is the process outlined in the syllabus.
WI-4. Express themselves through their writing by posing questions, making original claims, and coherently structuring complex ideas; This will be accomplished not only by writing associated with the term paper but also in their Powerpoint presentation, as well as answers to essay questions on exams.
WI-5. Revise their writing for greater cogency and clarity; An initial draft of the term paper will be reviewed and commented on, with the instructor providing constructive remarks on organization, content, and writing style in addition to spelling and grammar for the student to take into consideration as they continue to develop the
paper. The grading rubric will be used so that improvement can be documented in the final draft.
WI-6. Utilize adopted communication modes and documentation styles of specific disciplines (MLA, APA, Chicago, CBE, etc.) where appropriate. We will modify the following Style Manual for Writing in Geology (2006 edition) by Rossbacher and Rhodes for use by students in this class: http://www.public.asu.edu/~arrows/FIELDI/Rossbacher_Rhodes_Writing_Manual.pdf. Students will use the reference guidelines of the Geological Society of America Bulletin, the standard formatting used for in other undergraduate and graduate courses taught in the Department of Geological Sciences. These format guidelines are available online at http://www.geosociety.org/documents/gsa/pubs/GSA_RefGuide_Examples.pdLinks to an external site.
Requirements: 1800 words
