Laboratory
of
Tree-Ring Research

Southwest Fire Outline and Essay

2009 Due Dates

Start the fire management outline on Thursday, November 5.
Turn in fire management outline on Thursday, November 12.
Graded outlines will be returned on Thursday, November 19.
Start the fire management essay on Thursday, November 19.
Turn in fire management essay on Tuesday, December 1.
 

Essay Assignment for Geosciences 220 Students

The assignment is to write an essay on the topic of forest fire management in the Southwest. For example:

• What is the current problem? Give examples.
• Is current fire different from past fire? How is past fire known?
• Of the couple fire management options available, choose one to recommend.
• Give its advantages.
• Give its disadvantages (nothing is perfect, it seems).
• Make a conclusion.

Your essay report should:

• Be about 1000 words, or about 3 pages of text (double-spaced text, normal margins).
   
• Include at least one data graphic (actual data, not just a pretty picture of fire), printed on an extra page of figures and referred to in the text. For this, any image from this web site may be downloaded and then inserted into a word document. You can then refer to the figure in the text in this fashion:

  In spite of fire suppression efforts, total forest area burned in the Southwest has been increasing over the last 20 years (Fig. 1).

  You must also give the figure itself a caption, usually added just below the figure. A caption is like a title, and it may include a bit of description, like this:

  Figure 1. Total area burned in the Southwest from 1910 to present. Notice the increase in area burned since 1980. From Source (1999) [if source is known].

Don't even think of simply copying an existing caption for the figure you've chosen.
• Cite an effective mixture of reference material, including science articles and news clippings, and web sites if pertinent. The following Babbitt essay is an excellent start and is hereby REQUIRED:
   
  1. Babbitt, Bruce. 1995. Return fire to its place in the West. Fire Management Notes 55(4):6-8. This editorial discusses a policy of returning fire as a process of forest ecosystems. (3-page, 482-Kb pdf file, password protected)
      
  2. You may decide for yourself how many other reference sources to cite in your essay, but suffice it to say from experience that a mere three or four references is simply not enough to be effective.
      
  3. On the other hand, it is not necessary to read and cite all of the materials included in this web presentation. Pick and choose for yourself, but try to provide a range of cited references.
      
  4. Include a separate list of "References Cited," as always.
• The structure of your essay MIGHT be like this (with these section headings):
  
  
1. Introduction (~0.5 page): What is the current nature of wildfire in the Southwest?
    
2. Past Fire Patterns (1 page): Contrast the current nature of wildfire with that of the prehistoric past. How has frequency and intensity of fire changed from pre-settlement period to now? Describe briefly the role of dendrochronology in studies of past fire. This would be a good place to refer to a data graphic.
    
3. Forest Fire Management Strategy (1 page): Assuming a national policy of returning wildfire to a more natural role in forests as interpreted from dendrochronological fire history studies, describe one strategy for doing so. Mention both advantages and disadvantages of your chosen strategy.
    
4. Conclusion (~0.5 pages): Conclude something here. Don't just summarize, or rehash, the essay.

Start With a Topic Sentence Outline

We will start this assignment with an outline. Click here for instructions and an example. Note: Still include a data graphic and a list of references with the outline.

Continue With the Essay Itself

Staple your graded fire outline to the back of your essay

1000 words (about 3 pages)

Include a list of sources in the back, not part of the 1000 words

Include data figure, with caption

Italicize each paragraph's topic sentence

Click here for an example essay on the topic of the US in the UN.

Yet More Writing Help

Check out this compilation document for yet more suggestions on writing effective essays. It covers such things as:

• arguing (academically, that is)
• paragraphs
• transitions
• empty words and phrases
• conclusions
• referencing (but don't forget: in this course, NO QUOTING)
• listing sources in the back
• proofreading
• topic sentences
• figure captions

Southwest Fire Home

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Copyright © 2001-2009, Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona
Revised — November, 2009
URL: http://www.ltrr.arizona.edu/~sheppard/swland/geos220.html