GEOG 442

Biogeography

Guidelines for Interpretive Essay

For your interpretive essay, I'd like you to read The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinction by David Quammen.

I'd like you to write an essay report, roughly 3-5 pages long (typed or word-processed double-spaced). In it, I'd like you briefly to summarize the main theoretical points of the book and how the author gets around to making those points (rather differently than your textbook author or your professor would!). Identify the points you think he makes most effectively and what makes you think so. Then, identify the points he made least effectively and why you think them less strongly argued. Which class concepts did the book help you understand better than the textbook or the professor? Why?

Your writing mechanics will be assessed: They count for about a third of the points on this report. For the writing standards I use in my classes, please click here. A very helpful reference guide to writing mechanics can be found, courtesy of NASA at http://stipo.larc.nasa.gov/sp7084/sp7084cont.html.

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Last revision: 10/30/07