EL100 position paper. Due March 19 in class . 50points 4 page min. Select a Topic Topics Due Jan 26
Once a general area has been selected, you can narrow your topic further by selecting a more specific aspect to examine. Do Some Background Research
It would be helpful to do a little reading from secondary sources (textbooks, magazines or review articles from scientific journals) on this subject. I suggest doing some reading in other books on wildlife and fisheries management as well. Magazines like Bioscience, Scientific American and Discover may contain articles that provide insight into this field, as well as potential topic ideas.
Do a Literature Search
Performing such a search will enable you to gauge whether the breadth of your topic is appropriate. If you find 5000 applicable references, you might consider narrowing your approach. If you find 3 (all of which are in Japanese) you probably should broaden your approach or select a different topic. 6 citations min. Websites can only be cited if they have supporting citations within the cite.
Write Your First Draft Do not start writing your paper while reading references for the first time. You will end up sitting at your computer with articles scattered around you, lifting passages almost verbatim from one article, then another. Your first draft will be little more than a cut and paste version of various authors’ opinions and observations written in their own individual styles rather than your own. The reader (in this case, also the grader) will recognize this fact. Just citing an author does not mean you can use his or her words. This is plagiarism, and it is a no-no! To avoid slipping into this trap, and to write a smoother-flowing paper, try the following:
(a) Read all your articles before you begin.
Sit down with a blank sheet of paper, write the complete citation (as it would appear in a bibliography entry) on the top of the paper, then take notes from the article.
