# SS 321 Writing Assignment ## Context & goals Writing is a key skill for scientists and natural resource managers. Writing is both a tool to communicate scientific concepts to various audiences, but also a process by which we learn these concepts ourselves. The mini notes are designed to facilitate your writing-to-learn and show you how useful writing can be for exploring and connecting ideas. Writing-to-communicate is challenging for many (myself included!) and the only way to get better at writing is to practice. You are tasked with writing a one page essay on soil science topic related to the course and based on your mini notes. You can choose any topic that you are interested in. The more excited and curious you are about the topic, the more fun your essay will be to write, and the better it will likely turn out. The goal of the assignment is to - use writing as a tool to learn the concepts and ideas that are relevant and interesting to you - gain experience translating your writing-to-learn into an essay used to communicate an idea - practice writing for a a non-expert audience in a succinct format ## Relevant course learning outcomes The course learning outcomes that align with this assignment are: - understand soils as complex, dynamic, and integrated systems that develop over space and time - communicate how soils form within a landscape ![[mini-note-diagram]] ## Writing assignment prompt and requirements Review your first batch of mini notes to help you select a topic for your essay. You can use the graph view to look for links between notes, focus on the mini note that you were the most excited about writing, or use a future mini note to explore a new idea you are interested in. I expect your essay to stem from the writing you have built in your mini notes. I will ask you to explain how you used your mini notes to guide your writing process in the feedback memo (see below). Once you have selected a core idea around which to develop your essay, write a 700-1,000 word essay articulating and arguing for an idea. You have license to bring your creativity voice into the essay. You are welcome to weave in personal experiences into your essay. Your essay should make reference to course concepts and relevant literature as appropriate given your topic. You may includes images as appropriate. **Your goal is to write an interesting, unique essay that relates to course concepts by communicating some aspect about how soils form within a landscape.** Beyond that, you can take it in any direction you find most rewarding. ## Audience You are writing for your essay to be widely read in a popular science magazine. Your audience is composed of a diverse group of knowledgable and curious people who are interested in science and the environment, but do not necessarily have expertise with soils or soil formation. ## Some inspiration Here's a collection of short essays about soil that I have written (https://yaminapressler.com/Website/writing/!+essay+index). Perhaps it will give you some inspiration, though these essays should not meant to constrain your creativity, and they also do not serve as perfect examples for this assignment (as I wrote these prior to my formal mini note collection began). ## Assignment components | Component | Due date | Points | | | ------------- | -------- | ------ | --- | | essay draft | 03/01/24 | 20 | | | feedback memo | 03/01/24 | 5 | | | final essay | 03/22/24 | 20 | | | revision memo | 03/22/24 | 5 | | | total points | | 50 | | *Dr. Pressler will give you feedback on your essays by 03/08/2024, so you will have 2 weeks to revise it prior to final submission.* ## Essay draft & feedback memo You will first complete a draft of your paper that includes all components described in the writing assignment prompt and requirements section. In addition to your essay, you will submit a brief (half page) memo describing your writing experience and highlighting areas of your paper that you would like specific feedback on. Also include a brief reflection on how the mini notes helped shape your essay. The memo will allow me to give you better, more useful feedback and help me understand your writing process. ## Final essay & revision memo You will revise your first draft including all components of the writing assignment prompt and requirements. Your final essay must incorporate feedback you recieved on your draft. In addition to your essay, you will submit a memo describing your revisions and writing process. Use the memo as an opportunity to reflect on how the revisions made your essay better and where you can continue to improve as a scholar, thinker, and writer. > The essay and memos will be graded using the EMRN rubric described in the syllabus. I will evaluate the extent to which your essay and memos met the assignment prompt and requirements described above. ## Formatting & submission details - Essay must be 700 words minimum (excluding references and memo) and no longer than 1,000 words - Including images is optional. If you choose to include images, also provide a caption and source - Memo should be attached in front of your essay on a separate page - References should be included as footnotes (https://help.obsidian.md/How+to/Format+your+notes#Footnotes) in any citation format as long as it is consistent. You may include other footnotes too, as you see fit. - Export from Obsidian to pdf - Upload to canvas