The Tropical Cyclones Assignment

Writing Assignment #1 due October 11th at 11:59pm Topics To complete this assignment, you must write a short paper with a minimum of 600 words about one of three major weather/climate stories of 2020. The three topics to choose from are as follows:

1. Tropical Cyclones: The 2020 hurricane season has been one of the most active hurricane seasons in the historical record. Feel free to write about one particular storm in detail or an overview of certain storms of the 2020 hurricane season. Please address the processes/mechanisms of these tropical cyclones and the social/economic/environmental consequences they have.

2. Extreme heat and drought: The American west experienced record-breaking heat and drought throughout 2020; however, extreme heat and drought has occurred in other regions of the world. Please address the mechanisms that produced these temperature extremes and some of the social/economic/environmental consequences of these prolonged droughts. You can focus on one region in particular (e.g. USA or Australia) or an overview and linkages between all regions that experienced extreme heat and drought.

3. Wildfires: The 2020 Australia Brush Fires and the 2018 Camp Fire in California were some of the world’s

costliest fire disasters ever, and the deadliest to have occurred in their respective regions. This year has been an exceptional year for wildfires across the American West, leaving millions without resources and poor air-quality. Please address these (or other) extreme wildfires of 2020. In doing so, discuss their linkages to weather and climate as well as the social/economic/ environmental consequences of these disasters.

You must use at least five sources in your document. Your sources must come from news articles published within the last five years (2015 to present) that support your topic. For a list of possible sources see the left-hand column of the Chronicle of Education’s Arts and Letters Daily: www.aldaily.com (can be magazine, newspaper, or reputable website— no “here’s what I think” blogs). You will be graded on how well you: 1) Sufficiently put together a cohesive paper with a clear topic that stems from those listed above, 2) Cite at least five recent news articles, and 3) Use collegiate writing. A more compressive rubric is on page three. Citations All references must be cited! To cite a statement in your text please include the acronym for the source (ex. National Public Radio would be abbreviated to NPR) and the date of the published article. Here is an example on how to cite in text: In 2018, Washington D.C. recorded the wettest year ever since record keeping began in the 1880s (NPR, 12/15/2018). You must also include a references section at the end of your paper that includes the full name of the source, the date of the article, and the URL link to the article. Here is an example on how to write the citation in the reference section: National Public Radio, 12/15/2018, https://www.npr.org/2018/12/15/677063597/2018-is-now-the-wettest-year-on- record-for-washington-and-other-cities

Paper Requirements, Turn In, and Plagiarism Papers must be submitted through Canvas and will be scanned for plagiarism using Turnitin software. Similarity scores (plagiarism) must be less than or equal to 25%. Two points will be deducted for each additional percentage point that similarity scores exceed 25% (ex. A similarity score of 30% will result in 10 percentage points automatically deducted from your grade). Use of block quotes is discouraged and will quickly raise your similarity score, so please paraphrase rather than use direct quotes. Before submitting your paper make sure it contains all the required elements below:

 A cover page

 A minimum of 600 words not including the title page and reference section

 Have a reference section in the format listed above

 Double spaced

 Times new roman, 12-point font

 1 inch margins all around Late Policy Late submissions will be penalized ten points per day (beginning 12:00am on October 12, 2020).

Criteria 4-Exceptional 3-Proficient 2-Marginal 1- Unacceptable Score

Content

Clear and well defined topic, logical linkages between news sources and subtopics, thoughtful and expertly researched.

Somewhat clear topic, news sources and subtopics are linked, well researched.

Topic is difficult to understand, poor linkages between news sources and subtopics, not well researched.

No consistent topic, no linkages between new sources or subtopics, extremely under researched.

Assessment _____ Points (x8) _____

Organization Structure is evident in the paper. Each subtopic is sequenced in a logical manner and is easily followed. The entire paper is relevant and meaningful.

Structure is evident. Each subtopic is sequenced in a logical manner and is easily followed. However, the paper contains some irrelevant material.

Structure is evident but ineffective and inconsistent making the paper hard to follow in one or two places. And/or paper contains a significant amount of irrelevant material.

No structure is evident; most of the paper is hard to follow and contains irrelevant material.

Assessment _____ Points (x5) ______

Grammar Paper is free of errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage

Paper has 5 or less errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage.

Paper has 6-10 errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage.

Paper has more than 10 of these errors.

Assessment _____ Points (x5) ______

Format Paper has all of the following: cover page, at least 600 words of text, typed in Times New Roman, 12pt. font, double-spaced, and 1-inch margins all sides.

Paper has 600 words of text, but is missing one of the other required components.

Paper is 600 words of text, but is missing two of the other required components.

Paper is less than 600 words, or is missing three or more of the other required components.

Assessment _____ Points (x5) ______

Sources More than five news sources were used. No formatting errors in text or in references section

Five news sources were used. fewer than three formatting errors in text or in references section

Fewer than five news sources were used. Three or more formatting errors in text or in references section

New sources were not included. Major formatting errors in text and in reference section

Assessment _____ Points (x2) ______

Rubric for Writing Component