I have a letter assignment due tonight. Has anyone tyaken this course
Letter Assignment (20 percent)
Addresses Course Outcomes 1-2:
- distinguish among different factors that influence wildlife population levels, including reproductive strategy of the species, history of exploitation, quality of habitat, and climate trends.
- apply knowledge of fundamental ecological and biological principles to analyze critically the impact of human activities including pollution, introduced species, harvesting, and development on wildlife populations and communities.
Your assignment is to write a formal letter about a wildlife conservation or management issue. The letter may deal with either a real or fictional situation, but it should be a significant concern and should be handled in a serious (not humorous) way, demonstrating your understanding of the ecological and policy issues involved and reflecting your understanding as developed in your assigned readings. You will need to get my approval of your topic because I want to be sure that you will be able to find adequate source information. Please send me a pager message to check your topic before you write the letter. Checking with me is worth 10 points out of the possible 100 total points for Part 1 of this assignment. Note, too, that you will need to allow time for me to receive your message and reply, so don’t wait until Saturday to ask about a possible topic for a letter you need to turn in on Sunday.
Any number of topics may be used for your letter, for instance:
- managed deer hunt in local park
- purported effects of endocrine disrupting pesticides on aquatic wildlife
- feral cats’ impacts on songbirds
- construction of highway through wetland
- allocation of resources for wilderness land purchase
- impacts of ecotourism on coral reef
- climate change and polar bear protection
- environmental literacy programs in public schools
- captive breeding program in local zoo
The letter should be 1 – 3 pages long, letter format—with at least three references in APA style (even though you would not ordinarily include references in a letter). The references will not count toward the page length requirement.
Note: Turn in Letter through Assignment Folder, with your last name as part of filename, plus Letter (e.g., DunlapLetter.doc).
Part 1: Letter Grading (15 %)
Letter grading rubric will be provided in the classroom under Assignments.
Part 2: Letter Discussion (5 %)
The discussion component of your letter assignment will ask you to explain why you chose the topic of your letter. Why is it important to speak out on this issue? You will need to explain the nature of your letter and the controversy you are addressing in light of the scientific understanding you are developing about wildlife ecology and human relationships with nature. Your main discussion posting to the letter discussion is due by 11:59 p.m ET on the due date listed in the course schedule. However, please make every effort to post by Thursday that week to allow a few days for others to read and respond to your letter comments by the end of the week. Note that I expect a well-developed reply, which usually means a few paragraphs.
Points for letter discussion comments will be awarded based on the criteria established for discussion comment evaluation.
0 comments