The assignment is to write a 3–4-page (approximately 750–1000-word) speech for this high school environmental studies class on the importance of including cities in environmental history.
In writing your talk, you must use at least four or five secondary sources, including any sources from our Course Outline.
I HAVE ALREADY GATHERED ALL 4 SOURCES NEEDED AND ATTATCHED THE PDF FILES BELOW
I HAVE ALSO ALREADY DONE ANALYSIS ON ALL THE SOURCES NEEDED FOR THIS ESSAY; THE ANALYSIS IS ATTATCHED BELOW IN WORD DOCUEMENTS
I ENCOURAGE YOU TO USE THE LECTURE 2 PDF AND WORD DOCUEMENT MATERIAL TO WRITE THE MAJORITY OF THE ESSAY
I HAVE ATTATCHED A WORD DOCUEMENT WITH IN DEPTH INSTRUCTIONS ON THE ASSIGNMENT
This is a twist on a standard essay. It is an essay in the sense that it should:
•
have a central argument (thesis)—that is, an analytical, debatable argument about the topic;
have a central argument (thesis)—that is, an analytical, debatable argument about the topic;
•
be constructed from careful reading and intelligent analysis of both primary and secondary sources;
be constructed from careful reading and intelligent analysis of both primary and secondary sources;
•
use evidence and information, gathered through careful research, to illustrate key claims and arguments;
use evidence and information, gathered through careful research, to illustrate key claims and arguments;
•
be written in full sentences and proper paragraphs;
be written in full sentences and proper paragraphs;
•
use proper referencing of all sources (Chicago-style footnotes).
use proper referencing of all sources (Chicago-style footnotes).
It is not a standard essay in that your primary audience is not your professor. This is a public talk, aimed at high school students, so you will need to think about your assignment a bit differently than you would for a straight-up research essay. Aim your talk at a group of Grade 12 students. How does the potential audience affect your tone, your approach,
etc.? How much background information do you have to provide? How can you make the
topic engaging and brief without losing complexity, nuance, and detail?
etc.? How much background information do you have to provide? How can you make the
topic engaging and brief without losing complexity, nuance, and detail?
You should write the talk as though you will read it to the students. By this, I mean, write
the text you would use in the actual talk. Don’t tell me what you might say; write what you
would actually say.
the text you would use in the actual talk. Don’t tell me what you might say; write what you
would actually say.
How to Begin:
This assignment is designed so that you can primarily rely on sources listed in Week 2 of
the Course Outline. You may need to do additional research of your own. One good way
to find relevant articles on the debate over the inclusion of cities in environmental history
is to search through the footnotes of some of the articles we read for Week 2.
the Course Outline. You may need to do additional research of your own. One good way
to find relevant articles on the debate over the inclusion of cities in environmental history
is to search through the footnotes of some of the articles we read for Week 2.
In researching and writing your talk, you should think about questions such as:
• How does the inclusion of the built environment of cities in environmental
history add to (or detract) from the field?
history add to (or detract) from the field?
• What does the inclusion of cities and the urban built environment add to
environmental history?
environmental history?
• Are there any good arguments against the inclusion of cities in
environmental history?
environmental history?
Note that your talk must not simply be an answer to this list of questions. Some of the
articles we read for our class directly addressed arguments made by Donald Worster and
others against including cities in environmental history, but you may want to read one of
those contrary articles yourself as part of your research for your talk.
articles we read for our class directly addressed arguments made by Donald Worster and
others against including cities in environmental history, but you may want to read one of
those contrary articles yourself as part of your research for your talk.
Although your assignment is to write a speech or talk, it should still have a clear thesis
(a succinct statement, preferably one sentence, of your overall argument); a wellorganized
body, including logically placed supporting arguments/points and paragraphs
with strong topic sentences; and a clear conclusion that briefly reviews the main points of
your talk and explains (briefly) why this incident is still relevant more than a century later.
(a succinct statement, preferably one sentence, of your overall argument); a wellorganized
body, including logically placed supporting arguments/points and paragraphs
with strong topic sentences; and a clear conclusion that briefly reviews the main points of
your talk and explains (briefly) why this incident is still relevant more than a century later.
Keep in mind that a thesis is always a debatable statement about the topic rather than
just a description of the facts. It is your interpretation of the facts (as you understand them).
A thesis statement should always, therefore, be a statement with which others (based on
the same facts, evidence, and/or sources) might reasonably disagree.
just a description of the facts. It is your interpretation of the facts (as you understand them).
A thesis statement should always, therefore, be a statement with which others (based on
the same facts, evidence, and/or sources) might reasonably disagree.