Assignment 2: The Outline – Due Week 3 Project Overview: This exercise is design

Assignment 2: The Outline – Due Week 3
Project Overview: This exercise is designed to have each student conduct research, assess and summarize his or her research findings, and present it in PowerPoint format. This will be just like writing a research paper, except instead of presenting your research as a traditional paper, you’ll use PowerPoint or similar presentation software to create a narrated presentation. Your presentation will be structured like a paper, including a title, introduction to the topic, main body, summary and conclusions, and references. Creative use of properly cited graphics and photos from the Internet relevant to your topic is required.
First, choose an applied environmental geoscience topic that interests you. Some topics will have more information available about them than others, so it’s worth doing some investigation before you settle on one. If you’re not sure if your desired topic is appropriate, please feel free to ask! Investigate your selected topic question and create a presentation to report your findings.
Instructions: Investigate your selected topic question and create a presentation to report your findings.
Potential topics include:
Water pollution in the East river
Soil contamination in Gowanus Canal
Ecological restoration of Bronx River Island
Conservation of habitat for waterfowl on Staten Island
Management of NYC water supply (including Catskills watershed)
Management of NYC solid waste
These suggestions are deliberately general.
You will complete this project in 3 separate assignments: an annotated bibliography, an outline, and your final presentation. In this assignment, you will complete your outline.
Assignment Objective: Organize your thoughts and the main points of your research for your final presentation in outline format.
Assignment Instructions: To help you complete Assignment 3: The Presentation, you will first submit an outline to organize your thoughts and main points. Your outline should be formatted in a specific way and must contain the following elements as described below.
To prepare for this assignment, I recommend that you do the following:
Read these directions carefully.
Read the grading criteria below. The grading criteria is a detailed evaluation that I will use to assess your performance. It also will help you understand what is expected of you as you prepare your assignment.
Message me with any questions!
Be sure to add your name to your outline.
The outline format: Your outline must be formatted as described. Please note that this format will be assessed in your grade:
Use an alphanumeric sequence
Sections should be indented and aligned
Follow the suggested order of the required elements
Use brief but detailed and descriptive phrases.
The required elements: Your outline should contain the following elements in this order:
I. The Introduction: This section previews your topic and the details you will cover in the body of your presentation. It should be very brief, but include:
A. The applied environmental geoscience topic question that you are going to discuss.
B. Why you chose this topic and what is your question?
C. A preview of the background and results of the research on your topic question.
II. The Body (Content Sections): In the body, you must have a minimum of
A. Topic: What is your selected topic question? Why did you select the topic?
B. Background: Provide background and definition about your physical geography topic.
C. Answer: Write up the answer to your selected topic question.
III. The Conclusion Section: this section should contain four to six points that sum up the main points from the body of the outline.
Start your conclusion with one sentence summarizing some basic information about your topic question.
Continue with a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the important characteristics of the physical geography you selected.
Include a brief summary (1-2 sentences) about the answer to your selected topic question.
Wrap up the conclusion section with a closing note that provides brief information about why this topic was of interest to you, and a fact about your topic you found interesting.
IV. Reference section: This is not just the reference page; rather, referencing should occur throughout the outline as it will in your presentation. Therefore, your outline should include both a separate reference page containing a minimum of five sources listed in proper APA reference list format AND internal citations throughout the outline where appropriate. Please be sure to see the resources below for assistance regarding in-text citations and reference list formatting, and/or ask me if you have any additional questions.
Please make note of the following tips and tricks:
I understand that this is a rough draft and, as your research and writing continue over the next few weeks, details may be added or changed. Although you do not have to resubmit it to me, I recommend that you update this outline to help you best complete the Final Presentation.
Write your outline so that it has detailed bullets that you can easily then flesh out into sentences for the narration of your Final Presentation.
After your outline is complete, I recommend that you next draft your introductory and conclusion sections for your presentation. This will ensure that all the main points of the outline are incorporated in these two framing sections of your final presentation.
Please note that less than 10% of your outline or presentation should be direct quotes.
All internal citation references should be listed on the reference page, and vice versa.
Additional Resources:
You can use MS Word’s Outline Function to help create your outline.
Also, please see the resources below at The Owl at Purdue site for more information on how to develop an outline:
Types of Outlines and Samples
Four Main Components for Effective Outlines
Why and How to Create a Useful Outline
For more information on how to format in-text citations and references lists, the links below:
In-Text Citations: The Basics