Okay maybe not completely, but it was requested by Alexis Marks that I put today's sample paragraph on the blog so here it is below. Remember this is just an example. The length, number of sources, number of citations, organization are all just examples of what you might want to try yourself. There are plenty of ways to successfully write this paper. Below is just one example. If you have questions this weekend on your paper, just email me, and I will try to respond to you as quickly as possible. You should have a complete rough draft typed and in class Monday. If you put a lot of thought and effort into it this weekend, then you'll have less to worry about Monday and Tuesday night.
Final copy Wednesday.
Then it's on to the presentation! More on that later.
There are several reasons
not to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR);
however, one of the most
convincing arguments details how the drilling would destroy this
“national treasure” (Defenders of Wildlife). People have been known to travel hundreds if not thousands of
miles to enjoy the wonders that nature holds, and the area where the drilling is to take place definitely
holds that allure. It has been called “one of the last pristine wilderness areas on earth” (Hurd). The
natural landscape is home to “beautiful majestic mountains” (Hurd) as well as being “one of the largest sanctuaries for Arctic animals” (Why Trash an American Treasure?) including polar bears, Arctic wolves, and caribou (Why Trash...). If the drilling were allowed, there would be “major effects” (Potential Impacts of Proposed Oil Drilling) on the caribou and muskoxen habitats which would include “widespread, long-term change in habitat availibility and quality” (Potential Impacts...). In addition, the connection between drilling for oil and global warming has long been established (Should We Drill in ANWR?) and “countless research studies show that global warming adversely affects ANWR” (Should We Drill in ANWR?). Finally, the threat of oil spills and the damages they bring have been documented often. Each year “an average of 450 oil and other toxic spills occur” throughout Alaska's other oil drilling sites (Should We...). The damage one spill would cause could be catastophic. These ideas all make for one strong argument supporting my initial claim. The articles effectively argue that drilling in ANWR to access the oil buried deep below the frozen tundra is akin to flooding a beautiful, old house to drown a pesky mouse: the framework is still there but the damage has been done. The articles drive home the point that this country was founded as a wild frontier, and we still celebrate our “purple mountains magesty” and “beautiful...spacious skies” every time we sing “America, the Beautiful”. Maintaining the unblemished beauty of the refuge would be “the greatest living reminder that conserving nature in its wild state is a core American value” (Why Trash...). As a lover of the outdoors, it will be a point that will weigh heavily as I shape my final position.
Destroying that beauty
for oil becomes even more damning when the potential gains—or lack
there of—are revealed.
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