HANK STEVENS INTRODUCTION FOR FACULTY TO THIS LONG WRITING ASSIGNMENT Ecology of North America (BOT 171) is a Miami Plan Foundation course in natural science, and will satisfy one requirement for Botany’s thematic sequence. I have recently revised several assignments in this course based on material from an intensive Workshop on Improving Student Writing in Content Courses offered by the Center for Writing Excellence/CELT at Miami University. In particular, I have made fairly large changes in the Natural Area Report, a 3-5 page paper that serves to help students synthesize and apply much of what they learn in the course. The original formulation of the Natural Area Report required students to visit a natural area and write a description of that area. There was no standard organization, but they had to include both description and analysis based on their observations. Students were told that grades would be based on a roughly equal weighting of (1) personal observations, (2) development of relationships to the course, and (3) writing quality. This report was due at the end of the course, at such time when students would have learned enough to accomplish such a task. No preliminary documentation (e.g., rough drafts, outlines) was seen by the faculty or TA (the course has a half-time TA). I have incorporated many changes of different sizes and import. The first change is that I require students to visit the natural area several times, each time performing a different task, and taking a photograph as evidence of their visit. Because this course occurs in the autumn, the photos will record the change of seasons. The tasks will increase in their scientific complexity, beginning with personal reflections (e.g., poetry, memories, and observations of personal interest) to scientific analysis and prediction of future states of their natural area. For each visit, students turn in different kinds of assignments which are graded, but which eventually are pulled together to form the final paper. This sequential approach to this paper provides…. HANK STEVENS LONG WRITING ASSIGNMENT FOR STUDENTS BOT 171, Ecology of North America Natural Area Report Dr. Hank Stevens The natural area report requires you to apply information, critical thinking skills, and observational skills acquired in this course. The report is due on Tuesday, December 9. You must turn in a hard copy. Throughout the semester, you will repeatedly visit a natural area of your choosing. You will need to visit this area several times (3-6?), so keep accessibility in mind as you select an area. You can locate natural areas associated with Miami University by searching the Miami website for “natural areas”, and several are within walking distance of campus. If you visit a large area such as a state park, be certain to restrict your report to a specific, relatively small, relatively homogeneous area of 1 to 2 hectares. Acquire through personal observations and published information the knowledge to write a report on your natural area. The report must include a title and approximately 3-5 pages of text (double-spaced, Times or Times New Roman 12 point font and typed); your name must be on every page. Do not put the report in a binder (unless one is essential to hold supplemental materials), and do not include blank pages. Use 1" margins and Times or Times New Roman 12 point font. Cite your 3+ sources of information following the format provided below. You may not include information derived from web sites or formal reference texts (e.g., encyclopedias) as one of your 3 required sources. I assume you will use the Vankat text as one reference but you do not have to. There is no specific required outline for the content of the paper. In your coherent description of the selected natural area you should, however, the name, general location, and brief description of the physical setting of the natural area, a description of the vegetation and other notable biota, and discussion relating the vegetation of the natural area to some of the topics covered in class. You must also include at least three photographs showing the appearance of the natural area. This discussion section is a articulated connection between your observations and general ecology and evolution. You might, for instance, address questions such as, what stage of succession is this area in? Do herbivores have obvious ecological impacts on the vegetation? Do any species possess obvious adaptations to the macro- or microclimate or might you anticipate specific adaptations? Does the vegetation provide obvious habitat for animals, or what type of habitat do you speculate the vegetation provides. Do not address these or other questions to merely include discussion! Come up with a question which allows you to connect your observations to something you cannot directly observe! Let your observations guide your speculation and discussion. Throughout the paper, please adhere to the topic sentence/supporting evidence format discussed in class and in our writing handouts. This makes us much happier and usually makes your writing much more clear than without it. The only exception is the introductory paragraph that includes your thesis for this descriptive study (see writing handouts.) Other material may be included (for example, brief explanations of how the area is being used, what management problems exist, what you gained from visiting the area, etc.); however, your report must focus on the vegetation of the area and factors (including history) that appear influence it. *Cite sources as follows, noting order of elements, order of first and last name, where to insert periods, commas, colons and spaces. JournalsThompson, S., D. Mackay, and M. MacLeod. 1999. A modeling strategy for planning the virtual elimination of persistent toxic chemicals from the Great Lakes: An illustration of four contaminants in Lake Ontario. Journal of Great Lakes Research 25:814-827. Book SectionsTilman, D., and S. W. Pacala. 1993. The maintenance of species richness in plant communities. Pages 13-25 in R. E. Ricklefs and D. Schluter, editors. Species Diversity in Ecological Communities: Historical and Geographical Perspectives. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. BookTilman, D. 1982. Resource Competition and Community Structure. Princeton University Press, Princeton.
Natural Areas Rubric – This is what I will use to grade the final report.
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