Introduction: For this assignment, you will research and discuss a geologic even – graduate researcher

Introduction: For this assignment, you will research and discuss a geologic event and the impact it had on the environment, people, and/or society.
It can be a geologic event that occurred at any time in history (so, the 1906 earthquake, 79 C.E. eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, etc.)
Your Paper will be ~1200-1600 words, double-spaced, 12-pt Font, 1 ” margins.
It should include a brief introduction and conclusion as well as body paragraphs with headings. Include a title page and an abstract (see the APA guidelines link for more info on how to write an abstract). The word count does not include the abstract.
You will be discussing all important aspects of the event including geologic/tectonic setting, the event itself, hazards, damage, what was learned, etc.
What you write about will, of course, depend on the topic you choose, so what you write about will be dictated by what the research turns up.
You will need a minimum of 5 sources.
Your sources must be reliable and reputable.
Peer-reviewed Journal Articles are great as long as you understand them and can share the information in your own words, but appropriate websites (like USGS, NOAA, NSF, National Geographic, University Websites, etc.) are also acceptable.
Purpose: To investigate real-world geologic processes and the effects they have on humans and society. The secondary purpose is to familiarize you with scientific writing and the use of APA-style.
Choosing a topic:
For this assignment, you will research some type of geologic process that we have discussed or will discuss in this class e.g. An Earthquake, a volcanic eruption, Mudflow/Landslide, Effects of Climate Change, Formation of some geologic wonder like Yosemite, or any other topic of interest to you.
It just needs to be geology-related and impactful/important to humans/society. At this point, hopefully, you have an idea of what is considered a geologic process and what is not, but please ask for clarification if you are not sure.
Additional Guidelines:
The topic you choose should be impactful, meaning that it actually affected the lives of people in a significant way or contributed to greater understanding in a significant way. ( so a magnitude 3 earthquake in LA that had no damage and was barely felt would not be a good topic. A larger magnitude earthquake that triggered landslides in Northern India and affected thousands would be an impactful/important topic.) Feel free to ask me if you aren’t sure!
Be clear, concise, and organized. Your summary should be brief, but informative while demonstrating an understanding of your topic. Organize your paper into paragraphs each with a clear purpose. You will be using APA-style headings for your intro, conclusion, and body paragraphs.
Use Scientific Writing. You are reporting facts/information gathered from your sources but in your own words. Do not say refer to self or “you” E.g.; “I researched…” or “You will learn…”. Writing should be clear and concise and should avoid redundancy.
Minimize Direct Quotes In scientific writing it is usually, if not always, possible to put the information you are conveying into your own words so please do so. Points will be deducted for excessive/misuse of quotes. You still site the information you are sharing with APA-style in-text citations (see below).
***You need a minimum of 5 different sources for the assignment. Pretty Straightforward- 5 different media sources or Journal Articles, or reliable websites that describe the geologic setting (no Wikipedia). You will use APA in-text citations and include your references at the end. If you aren’t familiar with APA-style, visit one of the links below (or do a search on your own).
***It is required that you have both a reference page and in-text citations in your paper. Without them, the paper is considered plagiarized as you are not crediting your sources for the information.
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_the_basics.html
For any additional questions on formatting, defer to APA-style: https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format