A critical thinking essay is
not difficult to write but it is a very structured piece of writing so it’s
important that you read and follow the steps below in order.
1. We cannot take the time to fully
explore what is meant by critical thinking. You do, however, need to
have some general idea what critical thinking means in order to write a good
critical thinking essay. Read
WHAT IS CRITICAL
THINKING?
before you do any work on your essay.
2. A critical thinking essay is
very similar to an exploratory essay - a type of writing with which you may
be familiar. It has a specific focus and a specific structure. Read
WHAT IS A CRITICAL THINKING ESSAY? before you go any farther … Don’t try
to wing this assignment!
3. Look at your topic carefully
and make sure you understand it. Try rewriting it using your own words but
keeping the meaning the same.
TOPIC
Hurricane
intensity is influenced by sea surface temperature, wind currents and
atmospheric moisture levels. Though
the number of hurricanes year to year is relatively consistent, 2005
was a record-breaking hurricane season in terms of the number of powerful
hurricanes. Storms tend to be stronger
when the oceans are warmer. Between 1970 and 2005, global ocean temperatures increased 0.5° C — an enormous change in historic terms — and the
number of powerful hurricanes doubled.
QUESTION:
Do
those data offer enough evidence to make a connection between global warming and the
intensity of hurricanes?
[NOTE: There is no right or wrong answer to the
question posed by your topic. I'm not interested in what your answer is but
in your rationale. Go back to an example I used earlier. You start out in favor
of the death penalty because you believe it has a deterrent effect but all
of the research shows there is no deterrent effect. If you end your
essay still in favor of the death penalty, that's okay. If you end your
essay still in favor of the death penalty because it has a deterrent effect,
that's not okay since your rationale is not consistent with factual
information.]
4. Look at the information and
research about your topic in the margin notes & power point
presentations from your course and in the links below. Use the
information from these sources to write your essay. However, do NOT use any
direct quotes, citations or references from these
sources. The essay is too short for direct quotes ... use your
own words. As for references, I've given you the sources so I'll know where
the information came from. (I've tried to give you a wide
range of sources and opinions in the reference list below. Inclusion on the
list does not constitute an endorsement of either the sources or the
opinions.)
Has Global Warming Affected
Atlantic Hurricane Activity?
Anthropogenic Effects on
Tropical Cyclone Activity
Summary Statement on Tropical
Cyclones and Climate Change (PDF)
Real
Climate's
Hurricanes and Climate Change
section
Hurricane and Cyclone News
from
Science Daily
Recent Hurricanes Not Matched
Since Middle Ages
GFDL Visualization Gallery
Hurricane Visualizations
27 Storms: Arlene to Zeta
Towers in the Tempest
Real Climate: Hurricanes
and Global Warming - Is There a Connection?
Models Foresee More Intense
hurricanes
Hurricanes And Climate Change
Kerry Emanuel’s paper in Nature
(PDF)
Normalized Hurricane Damage in the United
States: 1900-2005
(PDF)
Effect of Remote Sea Surface Temperature Change
...
Has Global
Warming Affected Atlantic Hurricane Activity?
Natural or Anthropogenic Effects on Atlantic Hurricanes, Past,
Present, Future?
Hurricanes and Global Warming FAQs
Global Warming and Hurricanes
A Serious Business
Will Global Warming Make
Hurricanes Stronger?
Hurricane Modeling
National Center for Atmospheric Research
National Hurricane Center
National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
National Weather Service
Frank, William M., and Elizabeth A. Ritchie. "Effects of
Vertical Wind Shear on the Intensity and Structure of
Numerically Simulated Hurricanes." Monthly Weather
Review 129.9 (2001): 2249. Academic Search Complete.
EBSCO.
"HURRICANES
GROWING FIERCER." Current Science 94.8 (2008): 14.
Academic Search Complete. EBSCO.
Warren, Luke. "Global Warming and Hurricanes."
Mother Earth News
213 (2005): 22.
Academic Search Complete. EBSCO.
download
free Adobe PDF reader 9.3
download RESOURCE LIST - This is an Excel file of current articles from popular
magazines and anthologies that I update at least weekly. The
articles are sorted by course. If you would like to download the
file but do not have Excel, you can download
Excel Viewer 2003 free. It allows you to open, view and print Excel
workbooks, even if you don't have Excel installed.
ONLINE DATABASES - Some of the links above may take you to an article's
abstract rather than the complete article. If you want to see the entire
article but the site requires registration and/or payment, try your
college library's online database. Almost all articles can be accessed
through a database ... that's why colleges purchase databases for
student use. I've checked and all of your colleges have databases that
you can access online. Call your college librarian and ask for your
username & password and for directions.
I do not expect you to
use additional sources of
information on your topic. If you do, you MUST cite and reference any
additional sources using the following format.
Last, First. year. Book
Title. City: Publisher.
Last, First, and First Last.
year. Book Title. City: Publisher.
Last, First. year. "Article
Title." Journal Name volume (issue): pages.
For additional details, see
HOW DO YOUR
FORMAT YOUR REFERENCES USING THE APSA FORMAT?
5. You may use
any font and line spacing you wish when
formatting your
essay
but the content of your essay must be a minimum of 750 words.
You must also adequately cover your topic, though, and you may find it
difficult to completely cover your topic in 750 words unless you are
extremely concise. If you feel you need more length to cover your topic, you
are welcome to write a longer essay. However, you are only required to write
an essay the content of which is 750 (not 749) words in length. If the
content (that does not include your name, type of assignment, citations, etc ... only
the actual content of the paper itself) is not at least 750 words in length I will
return your paper to you unread.
Your critical thinking essay should follow a specific outline. Before you
begin the writing phase of your essay, read CRITICAL THINKING ESSAY FORMAT.
The outline given is the one you need to follow in your essay. Too, take
your time proofing your essay for spelling and grammar mistakes. If spelling
and grammar are not among your talents, ask a friend who is good with
spelling and grammar to proof your essay. “A” papers do not have spelling
and grammar mistakes!
Under the Optional Downloads section at
the top of this page, I have posted a copy of my grading rubric for the
critical thinking essay.
6. By the deadline shown in the Course Schedule on the
main page of the syllabus:
Send your Critical Thinking Essay in the
body of a new email to dramyglenn@earthlink.net.
Put only your name and Essay at
the beginning of your email.
Use the correct subject line.
Late essays will lose one point per day
late, including weekends and holidays.
READ THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS FROM THE MARGIN NOTES.
