Wr2

Writing 2 McKercher

Essay 2: Analysis

Four pages minimum, at least three sources (two academic/scientific).

The purpose of this essay will be to understand and explain an environmental issue. We'll also start the process of finding credible sources and using high end heuristic prewriting, Tagmemic analysis. It will be assessed based on quality of sources, depth and clarity of analysis.

Choose ONE of the following options (it might be possible to combine some, but clear it with me first)

1) 81B explores the issue of global warming, including how it will affect rainfall, and air pollution. Apply the key concepts to a specific place or segment of the population that will be heavily affected (ideally people you know or have some connection to). Beware the dreaded high school "book report." We want specifics and analysis.

2) Discourse Analysis: Find a "text" that will give you an opportunity to assess how we think about some aspect of the environment. This could be a film, television program, an advertisement or a website. For film/TV, what assumptions are used? How does it account for why environmental problems exist? How are the good guys and bad guys portrayed? (any reality/nuance/balance?) What solutions does it offer? Are these some that the audience could employ? Can you point to any action generated by the film? In terms of ads and websites, it could be useful to explore the images and arguments used by a company to establish (or repair) its green reputation (often called greenwashing). You might also examine a website created by an "astroturf" group (a corporate-sponsored organization masquerading as a true grassroots organization). You might want to look at media criticism content

3) It's now clear that the fossil fuel industry has been able to heavily affect the way Americans have thought about global warming, possibly for several decades. How exactly have they managed this? Why was it possible to create and maintain doubt in the face of growing mountains of scientific evidence? What organizations have been prominent in the debate? How funded? Astroturf? Greenwashing? See Link. A recent poll shows Americans' concerns about global warming are actually going down. Does this indicate that climate skeptics are making a comeback? What happened at Copenhagen? Was it altered by "Climategate"? One approach to this would be to analyze articles and/or videos in the debate. Examples: video segments Russia Today Link
Fox News Link
We Are Change Link
Glen Beck/ Media Matters promo: Link

4) Wiki Surfin' Safari: This question will be helpful for those who don't have a strong background in environmental issues, or don't have a good idea for a topic. Go to the College Eight wiki and look for an entry point that appeals to you (a good one is Big Picture Link which gives you an quick overview different aspects of the current state of the planet. You can also browse through categories Link, search geographically Link, or author Link (though this is a very limited list; see also Linkfor others).

Extra Credit: It would be great if you kept track (in a separate informal document) of how you moved through the links. For example: "I started with [paste link] and found [paste link] , comment on the resource (liked this aspect, but not that), which led me to look at [paste link] add comment.... by now I knew I wanted to write about _________, so/but....”