Link to the National Geographic magazine archives at http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/archives.
Browse through the available editions (2005-2014), and find a feature-length article that (1) piques
your interest and (2) is closely related to one or more topics we have examined in World
Geography.
Once you have read the article, you will write a paper of approximately 3 pages in which you
summarize the content of the article and discuss the article in the context of this course. Your
paper should be double-spaced with 12-point font and written in paragraph format. The margins
in your document should be no larger than one inch. Your paper should be printed out and handed
in on the due date. I do not accept emailed papers.
The summary portion of your paper should be 1-1.5 pages. Information presented in the summary
should be paraphrased as much as possible in order to avoid plagiarizing the words of the author. If
you include any direct quotes from the article in your summary, be sure they are used sparingly and
strategically. Remember, this is a brief summary of the article, so don’t get bogged down with too
many details.
After summarizing the article, you should transition directly into your response, which should be 1-2
pages. The purpose of the response is to relate the article to course material from World Geography
and, where applicable, to other background knowledge or opinions you have. The response must
address the following three questions:
Why did this article pique your interest?
On which of the twelve world regions is this article focused (or is it global in scope)?
To which topic(s) examined in World Geography does this article relate? Explain.
o This is a crucial component of this assignment. Make specific connections between
the article and course material and expand on these connections through
discussion/analysis.
Once you have addressed the three questions above, you might consider other points to address in your
response. Here are some suggestions:
Have you had any personal experiences related to the place(s) or topic(s) examined in the article?
If so, explain how these experiences relate to the article.
How is/are the place(s) examined in the article similar to and/or different from other places you are
familiar with or have been learning about in World Geography?
Does the author espouse a particular position with regard to one or more issues addressed in the
article? If so, do you agree or disagree with the author? Why?
Feel free to develop your own points for discussion that are relevant to the particular article at
hand. Depending on the article, you may want to discuss it with regard to: (a) causes and/or
effects, (b) pros and cons, (c) proposed solutions to a problem, etc.
At the end of the paper, provide a correct reference list citation for a magazine article accessed on
the internet in APA documentation style. If you are not familiar with APA documentation you can find examples here: http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/apa_examples.cfm. Follow the “Free Web”
example under “Monthly Magazines,” keeping in mind that you don’t have the volume number or
page numbers.
Your reference list citation does not need to be on a separate page. It is not necessary to include
footnotes or parenthetical references in the body of the paper. You do not need a separate title
page for this paper; just type your name and the title of the article at the top of the first page.
If you need further information on plagiarism and how to avoid it you can consult these links:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/1/
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/1/
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/1/
The grade for your paper will be based on: (1) content (2) organization (3) style (4) mechanics
