ENGL132.A – Ecology of the Text

Assignment for Oral Presentation

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

Due:                            in class, March 22 and 24

(I’ll hand out a schedule next class according to topic)

Length:                       8 minutes exactly

Overview of Requirements:

● use handout, overhead projection, or other visual aid (please talk to me ahead of time if you think you might need a computer projection setup)

● employ a minimum three non-internet sources that you did not use for a previous paper

● offer a particular recommendation for environmental action, directed to a specific audience

Your third essay assignment will begin with an oral presentation.  You’ll talk to the class on the day assigned below, in panels of four.  Each presentation should be eight minutes long; please time yourself beforehand so you’re coming in within a minute of this requirement--no more, no less.  (If you’re reading from a script—which you probably shouldn’t do, though I’d encourage you to have such a script before you—you’d want your text to be four double spaced pages).

Special Requirements:  This assignment asks you to provide the class with an assessment of the health of the environment you’ve selected.  Each presentation should address each of the following three issues:

1) Establishing Your Locale and Defining Important Concepts

How, for the purposes of this assignment, are you defining your chosen environment?  (i.e. is your focus strictly on Commencement Bay, or are you interested in the entire Puget Sound?)  What are the important environmental concepts that will inform your argument, and how will you be using them in your presentation?

2) Assessment of Current Environmental Status

What past changes (industrial, recreational, geological, climatological, etc.) have contributed to the current status of your environment?  What threats does your environment currently face?  I strongly encourage you to address both global threats (global warming, acid rain, ozone depletion, depletion of migrating species, etc.) and local threats (point source pollution, local development, etc.).  Finally, what dangers, both global and local, is your environment likely to face in the future? 

3) Recommendations for Action

Finally, what recommendations would you offer to those in the position of implementing them (government agencies, private landowners, CEOs of corporations, etc.)?  This step is especially important, as it will be the thesis of your presentation and, eventually, your written paper.  Finally, what arguments do you think your opponents might raise? 

Feedback:  After each panel of four presents, we’ll take ten minutes for a question and answer session.  This will provide you with important feedback that you can use when writing your final paper, so by all means, be prepared to take notes on your presentation day (and on the other presentation days for that matter).  I’ll be especially attentive to your level of participation during the question and answer component.

Please note that on the two presentation days, we will meet until 4:30, the time our class officially ends according to the university registrar.  Normal schedule will resume immediately after the week of March 22-24.