Geography Project

1

Department of Geography and City and Regional Planning

GEOG 115 Term Paper Topic and Guideline

Air Pollution in San Joaquin Valley – Causes, Impacts and Mitigation Strategies

Guidelines

1. The paper should be at least 2000 words. The word count does not include the title page, table of

content and the bibliography. Any paper not meeting this requirement won’t be graded. To

avoid any doubt, use the Microsoft Word count feature to check the number of words in your

document and indicate it in the space provided at the lower right corner of your cover page (see

below).

2. You are allowed to use figures for illustrations, but they only have to be referenced in the body

of the document. All supporting figures and tables should be adequately labeled and must be

attached to the document as appendix

3. The emphasis should be on ozone (O3) and particulate matters (PM), two of the air pollutants

regulated by various local, state and federal rules that are of most concerns to the region.

4. The discussion should address, at minimum, the following issues

- sources and variation (diurnal and seasonal) of the pollutants

- why the region ranks poorly in air quality, stressing the roles of geography, meteorology and

agricultural activities in the region

- likely impacts of climate change on the pollution level

- economic, social and health impacts of air pollution in the region

- existing policies in place to address the pollution problem.

5. The discussion should be substantive, coherent and based on accurate presentation of facts and

logic supported by appropriate and adequate references. This requires reading widely and

analyzing the work of others, using as many sources as you can, synthesizing information from

all the source materials and presenting it in your own words. This means quotes are not allowed.

6. Your sources should, at minimum, include five journal articles. This means you can have as

many references as you could get and from various sources but at least five of them have to be

journal articles. You will incur ten points deduction for each journal source less than the

2

minimum required number. This will be strictly enforced. Watch the video clip at this link

http://guides.library.cornell.edu/c.php?g=31233&p=199353 if you don’t know what a scholarly

journal article is, and should you have problem finding relevant journals, use appropriate

keywords in the Fresno State Library Database Search, Google or Google Scholar search

7. Remember this is a science term paper so a scientific paper style is expected. Use APA format for

in-text citations, reference section (“Works Cited” at the end of the paper) and

headings/subheadings. You do NOT need to include an abstract.

8. An electronic copy of the paper in a Microsoft Word format is to be submitted using the

submission link in the Term Paper Module by 11:59 PM on June 5, 2020

9. Please note that only papers turned in as instructed and before the due date will be graded. There

will be no exceptions.

10. The paper will be assessed on organization, coverage of the materials, clarity and accuracy of

content, consistency of style and format, ability to synthesize information from various sources

and present it in a logical manner.

11. A template for the cover page is provided on the next page

3

DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND CITY AND REGIONAL PLANNING,

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, FRESNO

Air Pollution in San Joaquin Valley – Causes, Impacts and Mitigation Strategies

BY

STUDENT NAME (Your Name Here)

A TERM PAPER SUBMITTED TO

DR SEGUN OGUNJEMIYO

IN FULFILLMENT OF THE WRITING REQUIREMENT FOR AREA IB GENERAL

EDUCATION COURSE (GEOG 115)

Summer 2020

Word Count: