Short Paper Assignment

GEOGRAPHY 130: INTRODUCTION TO PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

SHORT PAPER ASSIGNMENT

Due Date: At the beginning of lecture on Monday, November 9. Late papers will be penalized 10 points (out of 45) per day. If you have to hand in a late paper, bring it to Dr. Benedetti in lecture, or to his office, or the Geography & Geology office, or to your TA. Papers cannot be accepted via email in this class because of formatting, printing, file management, and climograph issues.

Assignment: Choose a place in the United States, draw a climograph for it, and then describe its climate, vegetation, and soils. You could choose a place you have visited, or someplace you have read about, or someplace close to home. The written body of the paper should be 2-3 pages long, following the outline below.

1) Draw the climograph and determine the climate type.

a. Begin at the U.S. Department of Agriculture web site for climate data retrieval: http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/climate/climate-map.html.

The front page has a U.S. map like the one shown above. Be sure to collect the data well in advance of the paper due date. The web site sometimes goes down if there are too many users, and you need to give yourself time to research and write the rest of the paper as well. If necessary, you can find this climate data elsewhere on the internet - try searching for "climatic normals."

b. Choose a state from the U.S. map, then choose a county from the state map. You will see a page listing the climate information available in your chosen county (wetlands, taps, frost, and growth).

c. Select the “OK” button under TAPS - Temperature and Precipitation Summary. (Do not click on the word "TAPS" - this will take you to a sample data sheet for Decorah, Illinois.) The next page lists the climatic normals: temperature and precipitation information for all weather stations in the county. Choose any weather station.

d. Record the data you need to make a climograph. Use the data worksheet on the last page of your lab manual to record:
          - name of the place you selected (TAPS station), and years of climate record (starting/ending years)
          - the average monthly temperature for each month (values in 3rd column)
          - average annual temperature (value at bottom of 3rd column)
          - average monthly precipitation for each month (values in 7th column)
          - average annual precipitation (value at bottom of 7th column - total for the year)

e. Draw the climograph for your city, using the data worksheet in your lab manual. (Click for a printable PDF of the climograph page.) Use the Köppen classification charts from Lab 3 to determine the climate type. Record the letter code and descriptive name of the climate.

f. Attach the data worksheet and climograph to the end of your paper when you turn it in.

2) Write the paper.   Follow the outline below. Your paper will be graded mainly on the quality and clarity of your explanations. In addition to describing the physical geography of your place, try to explain why it is the way it is. Be sure to edit your paper for spelling and grammatical errors that make it hard to read and understand.

I) Introduction (1 short paragraph). Briefly introduce the place you have chosen. Describe where it is: what state is it in, what is its approximate latitude & longitude, where is it in relationship to major features like lakes and mountains. In one sentence, explain why you chose to write about this place.

II) Climate (1 longer paragraph).   Name the climate type and explain how you determined what it is. Describe the main characteristics of the climate (temperature, precipitation, seasonality, etc.). What determines those characteristics? Consult the textbook (Chapter 8) or other sources to support your explanation.

III) Vegetation (1 longer paragraph). Use the world vegetation map in your textbook (Fig 11-27) to name the biome for your place. Describe the vegetation structure for this biome. Why does this type of vegetation exist here? Consult your textbook (Chapter 11) or other sources to support your explanation.

IV) Soil (1 medium paragraph).   Use the soil map in your textbook (Fig 12-50) to name the soil order for your place. What soil processes (pedogenic regime) produce this type of soil? Briefly describe the soils of this order, using the information in the textbook (Chapter 12) or other sources to support your explanation.

V) Conclusion (1 short paragraph). Give a brief summary of the natural environment in your place. Putting the climate, vegetation, and soils together, what kind of place does it seem to be? What sort of environmental restrictions or economic opportunities does it offer to human inhabitants?

VI) List of Sources Cited. The only sources you are required to use are the web site, textbook, and lab manual for this class. However, the best papers will probably include additional information from other sources: books, journal articles, atlases, encyclopedias, websites, etc. You may also want to include maps and/or photographs to enhance your paper. You must use parenthetical notes to credit the source of any data, photographs, or ideas that you have used in your paper. (This is not optional!) When using another person's information, put the author(s) name and year of publication in parentheses at the end of the sentence. This is true whether you are using a direct quote or simply paraphrasing an idea or fact from the source. For example, a sentence in your paper might refer to information from an atlas in this way:

According to Goode's World Atlas, the Blue Ridge area of Virginia has a deciduous broadleaf forest with oak, beech, and maple trees (Epinshade 1995).

At the end of your paper, include an alphabetical listing of all the sources you have cited, giving the full publication information for each source. (See the example listing for Epinshade below.) Your paper is not complete unless the sources are cited correctly. For help with citing sources, consult a style manual or contact your lab instructor, or Dr. Benedetti, or the Writing/Reading Place in Randall Library.

A proper list of sources gives the full title, names of all authors, and year of publication. For journals or magazines, include the title of the journal, volume number, and page numbers. For books, include the name of the publisher and the city where it is located. If you are using online sources, some information may not be available. However, simply listing the URL (web address) of a web site is not sufficient as a citation. Be sure to at least list the title of the page, the agency or group that posted the page, the full web address, and the date that you accessed it. Use the list of sources cited below for examples of how to cite different types of materials:

Sources Cited

Benedetti, Michael, 2003. Student Workbook for Physical Geography. Kendall/Hunt, Dubuque, IA.

Deford, Frank., 1999. Florida keys: paradise with attitude. National Geographic, Dec. 1999, p. 67-82.

Epinshade, Edward B. (editor), 1995. Goode’s World Atlas. 19th Edition. Rand McNally, Chicago, IL.

McKnight, Tom L., and Hess, Darrell, 2004. Physical Geography: A Landscape Appreciation. 7th Edition. Prentice-Hall, Saddle River, NJ.

Rockwell, David, 1998. The Nature of North America. Berkeley Books, New York, NY.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Water and Climate Center. Climate Products: Map Based Climate Information Retrieval. On-line document accessed March 17, 2004. Internet address: http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/climate/climate-map.html.

Resources. Feel free to contact your lab instructor or Dr. Benedetti during office hours to organize your ideas. The reference desk at Randall Library can help you find atlases, encyclopedias, and other helpful materials to get started. You may also want to contact Writing Services at the University Learning Center (WE 1056, first floor in Westside Hall). They have writing tutors who can critique your paper and provide helpful editorial advice. To make an appointment, call 962-7857, or email them at ulc@uncw.edu, or find them on the web at http://www.uncw.edu/writing/ .