Your task is to research and write about a topic relevant to the content of the course. Your general aim is to investigate the topic fairly thoroughly, identify an interesting and genuine question, and then develop a well-supported response to that question

NSP4553 –Science of the Anthropocene
Findling &Huschka
Research Paper Instructions

Basic Requirements
The successful research paper will have the following:
• 10-15 pages (typed, numbered, double-spaced, standardfont, 1 inch margins; formatting should consistently follow either theTurabianor MLA style guide)
• 8 (or more) scholarly outside sources
o “Outside” = not required for this course. We encourage you to use relevant sources that have been assigned, but as you research your particular topic, it will be necessary to go beyond the materials we have covered in class.
o “Scholarly” = includes peer-reviewed journal articles, whether printed on paper or in pixels; published books or book chapters; substantive articles from serious general readership magazines, such as feature stories fromThe New Yorker or The Economist (but don’t rely on them exclusively).
o Westrongly encourage you to use the LibGuidecreated for this course and to consult with Jeanette Parker about finding high-quality sources.
o You may consult non-scholarly sources such as Wikipedia, websites, and blogs as part of your preliminary research, but they may not be counted towards your required minimum.
o Check with one of us if uncertain about a source.
• a clearly articulated thesis statement
• a coherent, sustained, effective, and original argument thatpresents evidence and reasoning in support of the thesis while anticipating and responding to possible objections
• clear and explicit consideration of the topic from both a scientific and a philosophical perspective and a stated awareness of the difference between these
• few, if any, mechanical errors (proofread carefully for spelling, grammar, typos, formatting, etc.)
• absolutely no plagiarized content

Topic
Your task is to research and write about a topic relevant to the content of the course. Your general aim is to investigate the topic fairly thoroughly, identify an interesting and genuine question, and then develop a well-supported response to that question. Potential topics include:
• Stratigraphy and the geological debate about modifying the Geologic Time Scale: when did it start?; how should it be defined?; is it scientifically justified?
• The emergence of the “Anthropocene” as an important interdisciplinary concept
• The Anthropocene as an “argument wrapped in a word” (from the Voosen article)
• Global warming/climate change are too broad in themselves, but there are many ways of focusing your paper within these topics. For example: the limits of climate forecasting; climate change as a problem of risk management; the US military’s response to climate change; global warming and the prisoner’s dilemma; the planet’s shrinking icecaps and glaciers; solar geoengineering; etc.
• Water scarcity is likewise too broad, but can be approached from many more specific angles. For example: water desalination; urban water shortages; agricultural/industrial water use; are our aquifers endangered?; etc.
• The debate over renewable energy (or nuclear energy)
• Other ideas… (come talk to us)

Other Requirements and Timeline
• Proposalwith Preliminary Bibliography (counts for 5% of assignment): Due March 18
• Your Proposal should set forth, in roughly 200-400 words, (i) what your topic is, (ii) what your paper will argue (your provisional thesis), and (iii) how you plan to organize and present your argument.
• Your Preliminary Bibliography should include a minimum of 5 scholarly outside sources (as defined above) formatted appropriately.

• Rough Draft (optional): Due no later thanApril 15
• At your option, we will review a rough draft of your paper. Bear in mind that the more work you put into the rough draft, the more likely we are to be able to give you feedback that is actually helpful.
• While submitting a rough draft may indirectly help your grade by giving you some ideas for revising your paper, submitting (or not submitting) a rough draft will not directly impact your grade in any way.

• Final Draft:Due April 29 (submit an electronic copy via Blackboard AND submit two hard copies in class).

Other Thoughts
• Pay attention to details. They are typically what separates a good paper from an excellent one.
• Put serious work into the early stages of this project. It will make the end result much better, and likely less stressful as well.
• You may use the Writing Center (SHH 309, ext. 2235), but if you work hard on proofreading and editing your paper, you may not need to. Ask a friend or two to look over your paper as well.
• Think of your audience as your college peers who are not in this course. They are smart, so you don’t need to belabor the obvious, but they will need you to explain technical terms and provide some basic background (just a bit!) about the texts, concepts, etc. that you discuss.
• Your style should be appropriate for an academic paper (i.e., not too informal), but be careful not to wander into “academese” (using unnecessarily big words and overly formal phrasing), which often sounds awkward and forced.
• Remember, and apply, what you’ve learned in other courses about writing: organization, transitions, varying your sentence structure, using quotes, and so on. This is not a writing course, so you will not be gradedspecifically on your writing. But this is a course that involves writing, and the effectiveness of your paper and the cogency of your thought are inseparable from the quality of your writing: good ideas, poorly expressed, are no better than bad ideas expressed well.
• Proofread, proofread, proofread!

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