Are you ready for the second essay? The novel we have been reading takes us into the life of a young man who is experiencing nature firsthand. Nature is all around us. Take a look out your window this week, or better yet, go outside if you can and just sit in it for 30 minutes. What do you see? What do you smell? What do you hear? How do you feel just sitting there observing your surroundings?
The prompt: What plants or trees do you see from a window or pass by in your daily routine? Whether it’s a scraggly mullein pushing up from a sidewalk crack, a dusty cactus by the side of the road, or a lovingly pruned shrub in a neighbor’s yard, there are surely some living plants whose decisions and struggles you’ve never considered. Identify one such plant and do some research about it. (Just finding its name may be quite a project but be persistent.) Where does it usually grow? How long does it usually live? How does it propagate? Is it indigenous to your area? What environmental challenges does it face? Then, write a report about what you learn, addressing some or all of these questions plus any other questions that you find relevant.
You need to conduct a little research and find an article or two to use in your report. You can also use the article from our reading this week.
Below are the requirements for this assignment. (If you forgot or need help on how to write a report, look at Chapter 10 again. (This was assigned in week five.)
1. The essay needs to be between 3-5 pages long, double-spaced, and written in standard English.
2. Use quotes, paraphrases, and summaries from your research and cite them. (Either use MLA or APA. Do not combine these two styles.)
3. Include either a Works Cited (MLA) page or a Reference (APA) page and make sure it is correctly formatted.
4. Include a header and page numbers. The header is only on page one and includes your name, my name, the course name, and the due date.
5. Use the Turnitin website to check for similarities. Try to keep the percentage between 0% – 25%.
6. If you need to, download the free edition of grammarly.com and run your essay through this program to check your grammar and sentence structure.
