h: 0px; “>TERM PAPER
OVERVIEW
Pick any topic related to the environment or natual resources that is current, and for which
there are two competing sides of the argument or debate. Consider both sides from an
economic (and societal) point of view. Ask yourself the following:
 What externalities exist?
 Why do they exist?
 Are there private costs?
 Are there social costs? (who is paying the social costs?)
 Read through chapters 2‐4 to get more familiar with these concepts
Once you have evaluated both sides of the argument – pick a side and defend it.
Your paper should include an overview of the subject, a description of its relevence, a brief
summary of both sides, and a solid stance on which side you choose.
It is possible you may not agree with the side you choose. Which side you choose is entirely up
to you, and you will not be graded on what stance you take – but how you argue for that side.
Your paper must be between 1,500‐1600 words.
ADDITIONAL RESEARCH
Your paper should contain sufficient research and supportive analysis as necessary. Be very
careful with your sources. For example, climate change can be a very charged topic, and
therefore many sites exist that are not factual or cite facts without properly sourcing
themselves. Facts get lost. You should only rely on credible academic journals, government
websites, textbooks, newspapers, or association websites for your research. Always trace a
source to its origin.
For example, see a cite with the URL www.ilovetheplanet.org that states its own statistics about
climate change. You do some research and find that this site is really more of a blog site, and is
not backed by any recognizable organization or agency, nor does it source where it obtains its
data. This is not a credible source. However, if you found statistics on that website that source,
for example, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) then trace those stats back
to the IPCC itself, and use the IPCC as your source. In other words, sometimes sites can get you
started and point you in the right direction, but don’t take everything for face value without
doing proper due diligence.
When using any graphic/picture/chart in your paper, you must source it. Sometimes
pictures include a source. This is not sufficient! You must source where YOU got the
image/data/etc.
For example, suppose you obtained the following image from a website:
 Trace to Origin – go to the TransCanada website and find this image. Then you can
remove the National Post source and put TransCanada. Seem like you’re going in circles? What you are doing is verifying your information and relying on primary sources versus secondary (or more in some cases).
VARIETY OF RESEARCH
Be sure to include enough additional research to make sure you are getting a clear picture of
the issue before making your stance. Relying too heavily on a single source is likely to lead to
a bias in your decision. For example, if you are writing about the Energy East pipeline –
relying only on information on TransCanada’s website is likely going to give you a very biased
picture of the issue. Do your due diligence and make sure you are capturing both the sides of
your argument fairly.
SOURCING, PLAGIARISM
Please use APA style for sourcing and referencing your work. All papers will be submitted
to turnitin. Plagiarism will not be accepted. Plagiarism will result in a formal process with
the academic integrity office, a possible zero grade on the paper, and/or the course.
This was an image from
the Financial Post in
which they have sourced
TransCanada. However,
this is not sufficient, you
must source the website
you obtained it from (in
this case the Financial
Post).
EVALUATION
You will be graded on the following components:
 Introduction is well‐defined, briefly lays out problem and sides well
 Both sides of the argument are well presented with a good variety of research
and sources
 Chosen side is well argued given the research and facts presented
 Ties in material from the course: problem is evaluated from both a private and societal
perspective
 Use of additional research supports the arguments. Student is able to synthesize
thoughts and ideas
 Ideas/charts/etc. are well sourced
 Spelling/grammar/sentence structure
 Paper is within assigned length
SUBMISSIONS INSTRUCTIONS
The term paper is due on TurnItIn.