Paper #1 - Fossil Fuels' Future - ENC 1102 - Current Issues Research: Prof. Siler

Paper #1 Fossil Fuels' Future

Paper Guidelines

Write a 5 paragraph essay arguing for either the continued use of fossil fuels OR discontinuing the use of fossil fuels. Use the essay prompt from EXERCISE 14.7 on page 512 of your textbook as your prompt for your essay.

This paper should be a synthesis of your research supporting your thesis.
You will need to cite at least 2 sources from CH 14 within your paper.
Include proper in-text citations and a correct Works Cited page.
Each body paragraph MUST cite at least one source.

Papers that do not include both parenthetical and bibliographic references to at least 2 sources will be returned to the writer for revision and assessed the standard late-penalty.

Exercise 14.7 - Writing an Evaluation Essay

Do the benefits of fossil fuels outweigh the risks?

First, establish the criteria by which you will evaluate both benefits and risks.

Then, consider how fossil fuels meet the criteria. (You may incorporate the material you developed in the template and exercise 14.6 into your essay.)

Cite the sources from reading and writing about the issue earlier in this chapter, and be sure to document the sources you use on a "works cited" page. (See chapter 10 for information on documenting sources.)

See the full instructions in your class in Canvas for additional details and tips.

Almost done? Time for a fresh look at your paper.

Before you turn in your paper, take a moment to verify your paper meets these requirements from the grading rubric.

Does your essay:

Discuss why we should or should not continue using fossil fuels
- Insight into the details of using fossil or renewable energy
- Understanding of the complexities of energy consumption
- Present specific details
Follow MLA guideline
Reference at least two sources to support the discussion points
Include in-text/parenthetical citations
Use quotations where appropriate

Consult the full rubric in Canvas for additional guidance.

Writing & Citing Tutors

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Enroll in the Canvas tutoring course (this is a service NOT a graded class) by going to https://canvas.polk.edu/enroll/ENYJRB

Writing tutors are available to work with students on the writing process for Polk State College course assignments. During the interactive session, the tutors can assist with specific questions about the writing process, including brainstorming and planning, revising rough drafts, preparing citations, and formatting a document.

Tutoring is available to currently enrolled Polk State College students at no cost.

In person tutoring is also available. Find the current on campus tutoring schedules here: https://www.polk.edu/teaching-learning-computing-center-tlcc/tutoring/tutoring-schedules/

AskALibrarian

Recommended Websites

Although you are not required to use sources other than your textbook for this assignment, these websites might come in handy when researching your topic. When using additional sources, be sure to include a full MLA citation and a proper in-text citation for each.

Department of Energy - Fossil Energy Sources In depth look at natural gas, oil, coal and more.
NIST - Fossil Fuel Standard Reference Materials National Institute of Standards and Technology - Technical publications related to fossil fuels
EPA - The Sources and Solutions: Fossil Fuels US Environmental Protection Agency - Reducing the nutrient pollution caused by fossil fuels.
Brookings Institution - Fossil Fuels Search results for fossil fuels on the Brookings Institution (nonprofit public policy organization) site.
Our Energy Sources Fossil Fuels National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine - What you need to know about energy.
Global Registry of Fossil Fuel Emissions and Reserves Launched in Fall 2022 - "Open-source database of oil, gas and coal production and reserves globally, expressed in CO2-equivalent."

Note: Refer to the websites tab in this library guide for guidance on selecting a reputable website.

Recommended Databases

The databases below are the most likely to have information related to the future of fossil fuels. The top two are very eclectic databases. They have information on a wide variety of topics. The remainder have a narrower scientific focus.

Sign in using your Passport credentials:

Your Student ID number & Password (default password = two-digit month and two-digit year of your birth).

Hover over the "i" to learn more about a particular database.

Academic OneFile (Gale) This link opens in a new window The premier source for peer-reviewed, full-text articles for academic libraries from the world's leading journals, this comprehensive resource covers the physical and social sciences, technology, medicine, engineering, the arts, technology, literature, and many other subjects.
Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window Academic Search Complete, designed specifically for academic institutions, is the world's most valuable and comprehensive scholarly, multi-disciplinary full-text database, with more than 5,300 full-text periodicals, including 4,400 peer-reviewed journals. In addition to full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for more than 9,300 journals and a total of 10,900 publications including monographs, reports, conference proceedings, etc. The database features PDF content going back as far as 1865, with the majority of full text titles in native (searchable) PDF format.
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You might also want to try one or more of these:

CQ Researcher Plus Archive This link opens in a new window
Provides award winning in-depth coverage of the most important issues of the day. Reports are written by experienced journalists, footnoted and professionally fact-checked. Full-length articles include an overview, historical background, chronology, pro/con feature, plus resources for additional research.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context (Gale) This link opens in a new window The premier online resource covering todays hottest social issues, from capital punishment to immigration, to marijuana. This cross-curricular research tool supports science, social studies, current events, and language arts classes. Its informed differing views present each side of an issue, allowing you to draw your own valid conclusions.
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Applied Science and Technology (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window Offers a diverse array of full-text and indexed content that covers the full spectrum of the applied sciences and computing disciplinesfrom acoustics to aeronautics, and neural networks to nuclear engineering. Focuses on traditional engineering challenges and research, as well as research concerning the business and social implications of new technology.
Environmental Studies in Context (Gale) This link opens in a new window A new online resource that offers authoritative content on the development of emerging green technologies and discusses issues on the environment, sustainability and more.
Gale eBooks This link opens in a new window Virtual Reference Library. Gale eBooks offers reference sources including encyclopedias, series and more. Numerous subject areas include the arts, business, education, history, law, literature, multicultural studies, the sciences and world religion.
GreenFILE (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window This comprehensive resource draws on the connections between the environment and a variety of disciplines such as agriculture, education, law, health and technology. Topics covered include global climate change, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling and more.
Science in Context (Gale) This link opens in a new window Science In Context features authoritative information covering all major science topics. Includes topic overviews, biographies, periodical articles from noted publications, images and videos, detailed experiments from Experiment Central, biographies, and dictionaries.

You will notice many of our databases say Gale or Ebsco at the end of their names. Most of those databases have similar search features and tool boxes.

In your ENC1101 classes you learned how to search in Academic OneFile (Gale) and Academic Search Complete (EBSCO). For a quick refresher on searching in Gale, select the link below.

For tips & tricks on using the Gale databases Click Here!