eddting or making a new research paper ( Nuclear Energy in the US )

CHM141 F16 FOX

RESEARCH ESSAY

As you learn chemistry one of the most important – and sometimes most challenging – aspects is

relating what you learn to the context of your life. This semester you will have the opportunity to

write about how chemistry relates to you in a meaningful way through your writing.

You will conduct independent research that relates to the material we are learning in class,

but also relates to your own experiences or interests. You will select a topic of particular interest

to you, or particular relevance to engineering and complete an expository essay. I have included

topic suggestions below, but you are encouraged to follow your own interests (with topic pre-

approval). Although I have chosen these topics to complement topics we will be learning about in

the class, and some of the topics may be familiar to you already, you will still need to do outside

research to learn more about the topic you choose.

As an expository essay, this essay should focus on the facts and data related to your selected

topic with some critical analysis. Because an expository essay is not about your opinion, this paper

should be written in the third person, with reference to a variety of external sources. This will give

you practice assimilating scientific information from a variety of sources into a single document.

Please remember that your job is to bring together many sources (with citation) in your own way,

which is an important skill for a scientist or engineer; simply copying large sections (even if you

change a few words) from another source is plagiarism.

Your target audience will be someone with a similar background to you who’s interested

in this topic but does not have a specialized science background. In other words, include some

science, but explain it simply (as needed.)

We will have one writing workshop, which will allow you to give and receive peer

feedback, and you will be required to make at least one trip to the Learning and Writing center for

editing. Your paper will be evaluated both on scientific content and the quality of writing.

Some Suggested Topics:

 Water-splitting as a source of hydrogen fuel.

 A comparison of aluminum recycling to extraction of raw ore by the hall process.

 Hydrogen fuel as an alternative for petroleum (challenges and strategies for overcoming them).

 Biodiesel as a realistic alternative for petroleum (challenges and strategies for overcoming them).

 Hydraulic fracturing as a way to extract petroleum for fuel use.

 Analysis of coal burning power plants for electricity generation.

 Nuclear power as a major source of energy in this country.

 Clean coal technologies.

 Green chemistry and its relevance to engineering.

 Allotropes of carbon and their application to engineering materials.

 Thermal pollution, the environmental consequences, and solutions.

 Biodegradable polymers (This could be an overview of the field or an analysis of the synthesis, composition, application and breakdown of a single polymer).

 Ocean acidification (the chemistry, history, significance, impact on marine life, potential solutions).

CHM141 F16 FOX

Deadlines:

Sept. 9 – Topic selected (hard copy in class or email before)

Sept. 26 – First draft due – bring two copies; be ready to workshop with your peers

Oct. 14 – Second draft due – bring one copy and give to Prof. Fox

10/17 – 10/28 – Required editing session in Learning and Writing Center

Nov. 2 – Final draft due

Format Guidelines:

 Your paper should be 750-1000 words in length.

 Please use a 12 point serifed font (such as Times New Roman, or Bookman); 1” page margins; double-spaced text.

 Pages should be numbered sequentially.

 Use ACS Style for literature references with all references at the end of the paper. They need not be on a separate page. A link to the relevant portion of the ACS Style Guide is

provided on moodle.

 References should be numbered sequentially based on the order they are included; repeated references to the same paper should use the same reference number each time.

 Appropriate references include peer-reviewed journal articles, text books, and reference books; internet references must be vetted for appropriateness.

 Properly use the English language and correct punctuation.

 Roman letter variables and constants should be presented in italics (e.g., c, H, m and not

c, H, m). Greek letters (, , ) are not italicized.

Grading:

 Essay idea – 5 pts

 Rough draft #1 (2 copies) / editing workshop – 10 pts

 3rd draft to Prof. Fox – 5 pts

 Editing session at LWC (attach editing sheet) – 5 pts

 Final draft – 40 pts

CHM141 F16 FOX

Grading Rubric:

Excellent Poor

Introduction

5 pts

Sufficient background is presented to

explain the situation/problem and

progresses from a broad to a narrow

perspective; clearly stated thesis

Background is insufficient to explain

the situation/problem; no clear

transition from broad to narrow focus;

thesis statement is unclear

Development

of Thesis

20 pts

Sufficient evidence is provided (with

citations) to support the thesis

Evidence is weak, missing, or not

sufficiently supporting of the thesis

statement; questionable source

credibility

Organization

and Clarity

5 pts

Information is presented in a clear,

logical way that results in a logical

progression from one idea to the next

Information is presented in a

haphazard or unclear way; order of

presentation obscures results, or

distracts from understanding

Format

(including

references)

5 pts

All formatting requirements are

followed; sufficient citations are

included; citations are presented in

an ACS style

Some or all of formatting

requirements were ignored; citations

are insufficient, or not included;

citation style inconsistent, or not in an

ACS style

Language

(Style,

grammar,

spelling,

punctuation)

5 pts

Professional writing style; good

grammar and punctuation; no

spelling errors; writing style is

engaging and easy to read

Writing style is choppy, unclear,

verbose, and/or distracts from the

content; poor grammar, punctuation,

and/or spelling – enough that it

distracts from the content