1. The report must have the following format:
– 1-inch margins all around
– Times New Roman font
– 12-point font
– double spacing
– left and right justification
– be at least 5 pages in length
– name the book report file like this “Smith book report”
2. The report will be submitted both via electronic form to the class Canvas website and email.
3. No cover page or reference page is necessary.
4. No title or name at the beginning of the paper are needed. Start to write your report on
the first line of the first page and finish on the last line of the last page. Shoot for the
6th page to be sure, so you get the 5 full pages.
5. The report is not a summary. It is an opportunity for students to react to what they have
read and how it ties in with what they have learned in class. It is a reaction and synthesis paper, so it is fine to use the first person.
6. There is to be absolutely no quotation from the book or any other source. If there is anything in particular that students wish to bring to my attention, they can do so by referring me to
the page(s) in question, e.g., “… lines 34-37 on page 67 made me think of …”
7. Reports will be analysed for plagiarism using software available to faculty. If there is
any plagiarism at all, the course grade will be an automatic F.
8. I am more than happy to review drafts. Students should take advantage of this and should send their drafts well in advance of the due date. Drafts will be accepted until 5 days before the report is due
Detailed guide:
1. Do not write a book summary. What we want is your reaction to the book.
2. Stay on topic – the environment.
3. Do not use contractions (I’m, you’ve, we’ve). Spell them out.
4. Be careful with your usage of commas, semicolons and above all, apostrophes. 5. Do not say “I feel.” Use better terms of expression such as “I think” or “I believe.” 6. Proofread, proofread, proofread.
Include thoughts on the following in your report:
1. Has what you have read made an impact on you?
2. What has it made you think of?
3. Has the book changed the way you look at yourself, your family and your impact on the environment in general?
4. Has the book changed the way you look at your fossil fuel consumption, your lifestyle and your contribution to global warming and climate change?
5. Has the book changed the way you look at fossil fuel consumption here in the US a s well as for the world at large?
6. Can you draw parallels between your life and things that are presented in the book?
7. What do you think about the future in terms of global warming and climate change?
8. What do you think about the last chapter of the book (about what Bill McKibben proposes for the future)? Comment on it in detail.
9. Overall, what do you think of this book?
10. With your much better and broader understanding of global warming and climate change now having read the book to tie things together, how will you share this newly -found knowledge with those around you so a bigger impact can be made?
11. Feel free to react to specific content in the book.
