UHC110 ASSIGNMENTS

Written Reports on Speaker Evaluations:

Three (3) of these reports are due (see syllabus for due dates), and are worth 5 points each. These are on the guest speakers that we have in our class or on the video. They should be well written, but no more than one page (single spaced). Each should include a summary of the content of the presentation (about 50%), and your personal feelings about what your heard/saw (about 50%). You do not have to critique the presentation style.

At least once during the semester, you must make an oral report on something that you have found in the recent popular press (magazines, newspaper, TV, etc). The subject has to be something that fits into the Man & the Environment theme. Basically, explain to us in your own words what your learned in the article/show. You only have 5 minutes, so be clear but concise. Practice your timing, and think about how to present the material (board, overhead, handouts, etc.) There are 5 points for this. Let me know as soon as you are ready to do this. Usually, we will have no more than two presentation per day, so if you wait too long, you may not get a chance before the semester runs out (and will get no points).

Student Organizations Reports:

Each student will prepare a report on two student organizations. Each will be about 1/2 page.  The content for each report should include the faculty sponsor for the organization, contact person and phone/email/webpage, the purpose of the organization, the activities and/or meeting times, and who can join the organization. These should be single spaced typed, with 1" margins.  Format these in the manner shown in the sample on the Student Organizations page of this class website. Then send them electronically to Dr. Tomasi.

In your oral report (5 minutes), you will describe a meeting that you attended for one of these student organizations.

Theme Papers:

Theme papers should be 5-10 pages (double-spaced) of carefully worded text (YES, writing skills are important). However, quality is more important that quantity. Photos, charts, and graphs often express things better than a whole paragraph, and are welcome as well. In scientific writing, text should be void of superfluous verbiage, and wording should be clear and unambiguous. The typical organization will include: 1) a historical perspective of the environmental problem being examined; 2) a summary of attempts to rectify the problem; 3) the pro’s and con’s to the problem and solutions; and 4) your personal opinion & recommendations. Any data or ideas derived from one of your sources must naturally be cited. The selection of these sources must be made critically. Some sources are biased rather than objective. Peer-reviewed publications make the best references. Most of the time, a paper can be written with 5-10 of these sources, listed in a separate section at the back. The style to be used for citations is not critical, but be consistent for all of them.  NOTE: there must be a minimum of five (5) references that are not internet sites (I do not consider sites that are on-line versions of legitimate paper publications as internet sites, but reference them by the volume and page numbers rather than the web address).

The oral presentation of your theme paper should be 8-12 minutes.  Follow a format similar to that in the written report.  You may use notes, but may not use your written report during this presentation.