Prompt: In this final version, you will propose a workable solution to an urgent problem facing humanity in the food web. Your final paper is the final iteration of thoughts and ideas for your research paper analysis and its written presentation. This assignment should reflect a complete concept through the solution. You should apply the approaches and skills that have been introduced and demonstrated to you throughout the course.
Directions: This assignment has two parts: Final Paper and Reference List. Each of the parts of this assignment is described in detail below. You DO NOT need a cover letter for this assignment.
Final Paper: You should develop your paper according to the specifications outlined below.
- Your final paper should consist of 2,500-3,000 words in the text of the draft. (Reference List is not included in the word count.) You should read the Background section below for context on the content and topical focus of your paper. Note: you MUST be able to clearly link the topic you identify to the HUMAN food web in your analysis, problem definition, and solution. That said, we do appreciate creativity and recognize there are many different aspects of society and nature that interlink with our food web. We are happy to offer advice and support as you work through your process.
- We encourage you to build on your previous drafts and revise based on your greater understanding, ideas development, and feedback from your instructors and peers.
- You may use writing from your first, second, and third drafts (and that is not plagiarism because you are revising a document that is a required draft leading up to the final submission of the assignment).
- You may use ideas and sources from your discussion board posts, but you may NOT copy/paste from those assignments (copy/paste would be plagiarism). If it helps your work toward your final paper, you may expand on those ideas and integrate them into your paper.
- You may use quotations in your final paper. Quotations DO NOT count toward your total word count for the final paper.
- The maximum length for your final research paper is 3,000 words. We will not grade beyond 3,000 for drafts or the final paper. Anything beyond that upper limit will not be considered for your grade for that assignment. The reference list does not count toward word count.
- Your final paper should consist of complete paragraphs with in-text citations. A final paper without in-text citations will receive a failing grade.
- The issue or challenge that you select must connect to the human food web. Paper topics that do not demonstrate a clear connection to the human food web will be considered incomplete and will not be accepted for a grade.
- Your paper should include complete reference details that match to your in-text citations, including active doi links or URLs where available (if you’re accessing it online, there is a link available!). A paper without proper citations including: 1) active doi links or URLs, where available, 2) correct links, that go to the article being referenced, and 3) correct citation and reference details (authors, year, title, link, etc), will receive a failing grade. If you need assistance with proper citations, please reach out to the helpdesk or visit TA office hours. Be sure to check all citations that utilized AI assistance for their generation.
- Your ideas should have developed since your drafts. Embrace the revision process. Be sure to incorporate the feedback you have received into your revisions.
- You may want to visit the page for FAQs for the final paper.
- And, you might find valuable as you give your paper a final review.
13. Include the phrase “solving this problem will change the trajectory of our future” somewhere in the paper.
Reference List: You must include a complete list of references that you have included in your paper. You may include as many reference as needed to support your work. You should include at least 10 scholarly/academic sources in your final paper. You may revise the references used and how they are used as you develop your paper further. You may also use non-academic sources in addition to the 10 scholarly sources minimum.
Your reference list at the end DOES NOT count toward your total word count.
When citing sources in the text as well as in your reference list, you should follow the . .
Purpose: Here’s where your research paper CULMINATES into a final, polished work.
Your research paper represents a semester full of research activity which you are now presenting for review. Documents like these research papers are literature reviews which include an aspect of critical thinking that elevates the entire presentation beyond just a summary of previous research activity (like an annotated bibliography). Your paper will highlight some of the key next steps individuals should take to continue to improve our food webs. Readers of your document would not only learn from what you have compiled, but have an idea regarding what the next steps are and what the potential risks are going forward.
Background: Your major assignment in ETMA 311 is to write a 2,500-3,000 word research paper proposing a workable solution to an urgent problem facing the food web. Drawing on your growing understanding of systems thinking, your paper’s solution should be justifiable and scholarly sound, integrating at least 10 academic sources. You will participate in one mandatory peer review and submit up to three drafts prior to the final, polished paper at the end of the course. You can read a full description of the research paper assignment on the syllabus. Pay attention to the distribution of points on the final paper, outlined in the grading rubric. Note that it includes engagement in the revision process. The completion of each building block assignment is part of this process and will be reflected in your final research paper grade.
How Does This Assignment Support Your Learning:
The assignments we have developed for you throughout ETMA 311 are designed to foster your exploration of our Humanity in the Food Web. It is through this exploration where you were given the opportunity to test your ideas, receive feedback, and revise, thus embracing the revision process. It is worthwhile for you to understand that this process should be useful for you outside of this class and in your practice in the future. Thus, each of these assignments has a real world purpose and a strategy regarding when and how to use documents in the future.
You can use a document like this in many ways. It demonstrates your willingness to grapple with complex ideas. As such, it can become a key piece of your professional portfolio, demonstrating capabilities to future employers. It can thus become the foundation for future research efforts. With such a document, you have now demonstrated some level of increasing expertise in the domain you selected. You are now in a strong position to continue this line of research, knowing the potential pitfalls you have identified through your analysis of the current state of the art.
YOU ARE TURNING IN TWO THINGS IN A SINGLE FILE FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT: FINAL PAPER AND REFERENCE LIST
The grading rubric is attached to this assignment.
Requirements: 2500-3000

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