California state university, chico

You will write this review on The Lost City of Z. This is a non-fiction account of exploration of the Amazon in search of a mythical city by an early 20^th century explorer. The book is not a textbook, nor is it written by a geographer, but it is saturated with geographic themes. Pick one or two themes that stand out for you and write a well-crafted 3-4 page paper. The paper should have a clear and engaging introduction and a conclusion. You should use examples from the book, and quotes (when appropriate) to strengthen your argument. The paper should be typed in a font size of 12, with 1-inch margins all around. It should have page numbers. Include a cover page (see Turabian p. 378). Because you are writing on just one book, you do not need to provide a list of references. Write in complete sentences, in good grammar, and pay attention to the spelling and writing tips included in this handbook.

Students will work on these exercises in class, in the library, or in the lab. These exercises, when completed, will contribute to your 100 points for Weekly Activities and Class Participation. I will announce when we are going to do these activities, but please always bring your handbook to class just in case. We may not complete all the exercises, we may not complete them in order, and other exercises may be introduced. Some of these require that you go somewhere or do something outside of class.

1. 
   Make a list of 5-10 geographic questions about things that you’d like to learn more about. Be as specific as possible and avoid asking hard-to-answer rhetorical questions. For example, instead of writing “Is population growth on the planet sustainable?” you could ask “Where is population growth decreasing, and why?”
   

2. 
   Make a list of places you would like to visit, and explain what you’d like to learn from visiting them.
   

3. 
   Write a page on how you went about solving a personal geographical problem. For example, you could talk about how you went about deciding where you were going to live when you came to college, or which college you chose to attend. What were your sources of geographic information? Where they reliable?
   

4. 
   Write an essay on what kind of geographic education you received as a student in elementary, middle, and high school. Not all of your geographic education took place in a class called “geography,” of course, so think about how your experiences with geography might have taken place in other disciplines and activities outside the classroom.
   

5. 
   Describe a trip you took as a child.
   

6. 
   Did your family instill an appreciation of geography in you? Please explain and use examples.
   

7. 
   Describe the neighborhood you grew up in with as much detail as possible. You might close your eyes to conjure it up.
   

8. 
   Take a short 20 minute walk with a partner and come back to class. Do not collaborate except for deciding on where you will walk. Write quickly about what you saw. Compare your paper to your partner’s.
   

9. 
   After visiting the campus library, write a short “insider’s guide” that could help a new geography student to this university use the library more effectively.
   

10. 
    Find an archive of a newspaper that is published in or close to where you lived when you were born. For example, if you were born in Vacaville, you could choose the Vacaville Reporter, the San Francisco Chronicle, or the Sacramento Bee. Look at the issue of the day you were born and write an essay saying how the place has changed since that day based on the news you read.
    

11. 
    Go to Special Collections in the library. Find out about what they have that could help a geographer in his or her research. Describe this holding and say what makes it special for geographers.
    

12. 
    Return to Special Collections and look at one historical map. What is the map about? What is notable about the map? What can you say about the place shown in the map as a result of how it was depicted?
    

13. 
    Interview someone from class and find out something about him or her that is not obvious (such as that they are a geography major).
    
14. 
    Find four web pages on the same topic that differ in that one URL domain is a .com, one is a .edu, one is a .gov, and one is a .org. How does each of these websites differ from the other? Do the websites seem trustworthy? Why or why not?
    

15. 
    (Start work outside of class.) Read an academic article of your choice in geography that you will use for your paper. Write a paragraph on what makes the subject of the article geographic. See list of journals in the handbook for a place to start. Bring to class for discussion.
    
16. 
    (Start work outside of class.) Use the templates in this handbook on page xxx to analyze two articles in geography journals of your choice that you will use for your paper. Bring to class for discussion Write quickly about something that really interests you in geography. Can you pull a geography paper topic from this exercise?
    

17. 
    On separate note cards, write three direct quotes from one or more articles you are using for your paper. Paraphrase the quote on the corresponding note card. Exchange note cards with classmate. Use the check list in this handbook to access paraphrasing and completeness of information on note cards.
    

18. 
    Summarize a scholarly article in one page. Bring the article of your choice to class.
    
19. 
    Freewrite your first very rough draft of your paper in thirty minutes. I will be your timer.
    

20. 
    Write a draft of your first paragraph. Exchange with a classmate for a critique.
    
21. 
    Bring your reference list to class. Exchange with a classmate. The classmate will try to identify which kind of source each entry is (i.e. a co-authored journal article, a book, a single-authored journal article, a website, etc.). Peer review for formatting.
    

22. 
    Exchange drafts with a classmate. Circle words in the introduction that refer to key themes of the paper. Circle those words or words like them throughout the paper. Underline what seems to be the claim in the conclusion.
    

The instructor will grade these papers on content, format, clarity, grammar, and spelling according to rubrics provided in this course handbook. Use same format as in your other paper: 12-inch font, 1-inch margins, double-spaced, page numbers, and a cover page. You will include a reference page in these papers.

• 
  What part of Chico or Butte County is involved?
  
• 
  What are the development and environmental issues?
  
• 
  What groups have expressed concerns, and why?
  
• 
  Who are the key players in this controversy?
  
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  What conclusion do you draw about this geographic problem?
  

A 2-3 page paper is about eight paragraphs. Write in well-developed paragraphs that relate to one another. A paragraph should have at least three sentences. One of these paragraphs should be an introduction, and the last paragraph should be a conclusion.

See these websites for help in putting together a poster:

A great 10-minute introduction using PP to make a poster

Provides examples of geography posters

To acquire the CSU, Chico logo for public presentations of posters

1. 
   Click File then Print to bring up the Print dialog box.
   

2. 
   For Printer Name, choose HP800 in the pull down menu.
   

3. 
   Click on the Properties tab to bring up the HP800 on Zenith Properties dialog box.
   

4. 
   Under Paper Options, click the Custom tab to set a page size. Use 36" as the width (the max for our paper rolls), and a height that will allow the entire file to be printed with a one-inch margin on each side (e.g., 24" wide x 36" high print would need a paper size 36" width and 24+1+1=26" height in landscape mode, and a 36" wide x 48" high print would need a paper size of 36" width and 50" height in portrait mode). The idea is to choose a measurement that will accommodate the final print in the most efficient manner.
   

5. 
   In the same dialog box, click Autorotate and for Roll Size choose the 36 inch roll.
   

6. 
   In the Effects tab, under Resizing Options choose Actual Size if your document is indeed appropriately sized, or Print Document On with Scale to Fit.
   

7. 
   In the Finishing tab, under Orientation choose Portrait or Landscape.
   

8. 
   In the Color tab, under Color Management choose the following:
   

9. 
   Do a Print Preview if possible to make sure that it will be printed correctly.
   

10. 
    When the plotter begins printing, check to be sure that the file is being printed in large scale. If you see a problem, press the cancel button on the plotter.
    

Part I—Census Analysis

• 
  Select a census tract in Chico by using American FactFinder at www.census.gov. Once at American FactFinder, go to Reference Maps, click on 2000 Census Tracts and Blocks, and select a zip code. There will be more than one census tract per zip code in Chico. Look around the map until you find a census tract to work with. Write it down. Consider studying a census tract that is NOT the same as the one you live in.
  
• 
  Once you have found a census tract, go back to the www.census.gov again and go to American FactFinder again.
  
• 
  Click on Data Sets and then click on Decennial Census. You will first get demographic statistics from Census 2000 Summary File 1. For social, economic, and housing information, you will go to Census 2000 Summary File 3.
  
• 
  Click on Quick Tables. Your Selection Method will be Lists. Choose Census Tract from drop-down list in Select Geographic Type. You will have to choose your state and then the county before you see a list of census tracts. Scroll to your chosen tract. Click the Add button to list the selection in the box below, and click on Next button.
  
• 
  In the Select One or More Tables box, pick Profile of General Demographic Data, and 1-2 other variables that seem interesting to you, and Add them. (Keep note of what you are selecting as you will need to repeat these steps for Chico.) Read the list carefully before selecting, and make sure you understand what you are selecting. Many of them sound alike but have subtle differences.
  
• 
  Click Show Results button.
  
• 
  At the top of the page, choose Print/Download and pick Download. Choose Microsoft Excel .xls, and press OK. It will take some time to load. Save the tables as your own files on your computer or thumb drive. You will want to edit them and clean them up before you include them in your assignment.
  
• 
  Scroll to the top of the page and select Data Set. Go to Summary File 3. Choose Profile of Selected Social Characteristics and 1-2 other variables that seem interesting to you.
  
• 
  By now you will have two sets of profile data and 2-4 tables with variables of your choice.
  
• 
  Repeat the entire process for the Chico, CA Urbanized Area (choose this under Geographic Type).
  
• 
  Compare selected data from your census tract with that of Chico. Only select data for which meaningful comparisons can be made (for example, do not try to compare population size because Chico’s population will always be larger than that of your census tract). Use data in percentages instead, so that they can be compared across populations of different sizes. For instance, instead of reporting on the actual number of Hispanics in the census tract and in Chico, you would report on the percentage of Hispanics relative to the total population for both geographic areas. Please be aware that Hispanic is not a racial category. There can be white, black, and Asian Hispanics.
  

Part II—Field Observation

You will visit the census tract you chose and observe how the census data you have compiled “fits” what you see. For example, how does information on income, the prevalence of young college-age students, or the high proportion of rental properties seem to “show up” on the ground? Do field observations support what you found in your census analysis of the tract? If you don’t see a “match,” you might comment on whether the tract appears to have changed since 2000—maybe you see a mixture of housing that might not have been there ten years ago. Don’t just describe everything you see in the tract in great detail. Instead, focus on the elements of your analysis and describe these in detail.
To find the boundaries of the tract, return to the census website and look at the map you used to determine your census tract. Your walk does not have to cover the entire tract, but you should try to stay within the tract as much as possible as you walk through it. Take field notes (these should be handed in with your paper) and take photographs. These should be included in the paper as “figures.” Your notes should include the time of day you went to the neighborhood and how long you stayed there.

Writing it up: Write a paper that includes an introduction, method of data collection, and a summary of your findings, starting with your census analysis and ending with the field observations section. Your total text should add up to 3-4 pages, not including tables, graphs, or photographs. Put your data in tables and graphs, and incorporate these and photographs in the paper. Use at least one of each: A table, graph, map, and photograph. These must be properly formatted and you should reference them in your narrative. Maps, graphs, and photographs will be called “figures,” and tables are just called “tables.” These should be integrated into your paper, and not located at the end of the paper in an appendix. See Turabian Ch. 8 on conventions.
Provide a reference list (we will go over this in more detail, but see Turabian Ch. 18 and 19, and the quick guide link).
Research Paper
There are several steps to completing this assignment. Please note that I will not accept the final paper without the completion of # 8-10.

1. 
   Choosing a geographic topic I and II
   
2. 
   Compiling a bibliography
   
3. 
   Organizing you research
   
4. 
   Using sources
   
5. 
   Analysis of articles
   
6. 
   Starting to write
   
7. 
   Citing and formatting
   
8. 
   Statement of proposed research
   
9. 
   Outline of research
   
10. 
    Complete draft of research paper/note cards
    
11. 
    Final research paper
    

Information on what is expected for other steps is in the grading rubrics for the assignments, below. What follows in this section are general guidelines for the whole paper, as well as formatting requirements. Under most circumstances you may NOT change your topic after you have handed in your statement of proposed research.

The paper should be well organized: The reader knows from the first introductory paragraph what the paper is about and what question you are asking. It is clear why the question is geographic, and why it’s important. The paragraphs express development of your ideas and there are clear transitions between ideas. You should write a conclusion that sums up your findings, and that takes the reader back to your original question. Your conclusion should include the most important points of your paper. It should mention the important variations in the literature you have reviewed. Note possible future directions in your research, but do not simply say “Much more needs to be done…” Be specific.

You should be able to provide at least one map to illustrate your topic. These materials should not be put at the end in an appendix; they should be integrated throughout the paper.

• 
  Paper should be 7-10 pages long.
  
• 
  Provide a cover sheet with the title, your name, and course information. The information should be centered horizontally and vertically. See Figure A.1 in Turabian for an example and page 386 for more information.
  
• 
  Cover sheet should be followed by an abstract on its own page
  
• 
  In a short paper such as this, you do NOT need a table of contents.
  
• 
  Number all pages except your cover sheet and abstract page. Do not use roman numerals.
  
• 
  Use Times Roman font 12.
  
• 
  Use 1-inch margins all around.
  
• 
  Use headings or sub-headings.
  
• 
  Your reference list should be on a separate page at the very end.
  
• 
  See Turabian Appendix: Paper Format and Submissions.
  
• 
  Write with correct grammar, spelling, and style (see Turabian Chapters 20-21).
  
  • 
    Use paragraphs to express main ideas. Paragraphs should have at least three sentences.
    
  • 
    Use transitions and “sign posts” about where you are headed.
    
  • 
    Use complete sentences (no fragments or run-ons).
    
  • 
    Spell correctly (see my list of common confusions)
    
  • 
    Avoid jargon, clichés, wishful thinking, general ideas that cannot be proven, personal opinions, etc. Jargon can be ok if you take the time to thoughtfully define and discuss words such as “globalization” or “sustainability” that people too often use as shortcuts (see section on writing and speaking clearly, in this handbook)
    
  • 
    Because this is a formal paper that follows scientific research guidelines, avoid use of “I” or “We.” However, this “rule” is not steadfast and there are times when it makes sense to use the first person singular, especially if it means you can avoid using too much passive voice that way.
    
  • 
    Do not use contractions (they’re, isn’t, it’s, aren’t, can’t, etc.).
    
  • 
    Write concisely. You use the fewest words possible to express an idea. (See section of this course handbook on writing and speaking clearly.)
    

You will turn your paper into Vista electronically and in hard copy format.