Posted: September 16th, 2017

Earth Processes and plants

Earth Processes and plants

Order Description

Purpose
The purpose for the writing exercises is to provide feedback to you to improve (1) your ability to understand current science news reported in common news media, and (2) the precision of your writing. The exercises also replace the final examination for assessment.

General
Write a summary of the news item(s) the URL(s) of which appear at the end of this set of instructions. The summary should be in your own words(hence no quotes unless absolutely essential) and between 250 and 1000 words. Write a SINGLE summary, and not separate summaries of different items in different links.
Select another related but not the same news item from the web and write a précis of it in less than 100 words. The URL of your selection should be the heading of the précis.

Science Writing and Style
Identify the main theme of the assigned news item(s), which should be the main focus of your summary. The main theme usually is a discovery or the claim of a discovery worthy of public knowledge. If the news item discusses pros and cons of the “discovery”, briefly mention those. Break up the summary in about three or four paragraphs as necessary to keep the reader from having to jump from concept to concept or types of facts.
Consider the summary and the précis to be expository writing. Write precisely. Avoid flowery language – they only use up space without adding new content or new argument; treat this as a dry scientific presentation. For example, stay away from adjectives and adverbs for the sake of emphasis. Ask in class or send a message to Basu via Oncourse for further clarification.
I expect you to consider the objectives, methodology, key results, and major conclusions of the science project(s) that the news item(s) report

Here are the links to the website (sources)
Indian Subcontinent’s Quake-Causing Collision Course
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/19/science/indian-subcontinents-quake-causing-collision-course.html?_r=0

Mount Everest Drastically Moved During Recent Nepal Earthquake? [Video]
http://www.inquisitr.com/2179280/mount-everest-drastically-moved-during-recent-nepal-earthquake-video/

How strong was the earthquake in Nepal? Enough to actually shove Mount Everest.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/06/18/how-strong-was-the-earthquake-in-nepal-enough-to-actually-shove-mount-everest/