Your term paper for the class will be about the geology of a Minnesota State Park. It could actually be a National, State or County park. Really any identifiable place in Minnesota with the exception of Quarry Hill Nature Center (that location is much overdone).
Organization of the paper
The paper will cover the topography, geology, geologic history and how the park is used by the public. It should be organized with an introduction, a body and a conclusion.
It must include maps and images. These add to the narrative. They should be referred to in the text. Ideally, you would create the maps and images.
The introduction will identify which park you are writing about. Discuss what things you are going to cover. Maybe talk a bit about why you chose it.
In the main part of the paper, you will discuss the geology of the park. What rocks and features are present? Lakes, rivers, landforms and rock formations should be discussed. Talk about the topography. Is it rugged? Flat? Include a topographic map.
Talk about the geologic history of the area. When and how were the rocks deposited? How did the landforms form? What Geologic time periods are represented here? What geolog
ic processes are or were in action? Include photos and diagrams of the rocks and landforms.
Then I want you to connect the land and geology to the people. How do people use the park? Fishing? Hiking? Camping? What is the history of the park? When was it founded? How has it changed over the last decades?
In the conclusion, wrap it all up by reviewing what you have said. Maybe explain what makes this place special to you. Talk about what you learned in doing the paper.
Technical Requirements.
For this paper we are shooting for around 1500 words. Please do not try to pad the paper by writing out the numbers or citing boring statistics. Don’t end in the middle of a sentence at 1500 words. Just write a good paper. Of course you must use correct grammar, spelling and punctuation. You must cite references for all the facts and theories you present in your paper. There is no set number of references you need to have, however most of the better papers I have read have more than one or two references.
As to the format of the references. I prefer to have them cited in the text, like (Anderson, 2017) and then at the end a list of them in alphabetical order so I can look it up.