20 Mar Annotated Bibliography

ESSAY 3 "The Oceans are in Trouble! We Must Act!"

Include an ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY citing THREE (3) articles.

STEP ONE: START by reading the thesis carefully several times. COPY AND PASTE the whole PROVIDED THESIS INTO YOUR ESSAY THREE Rough DRAFT.

USE THIS ENTIRE THESIS PARAGRAPH to start your essay; copy and paste into your own essay and design a creative title. Address your three BODY paragraphs and your essay’s CONCLUSION to the focal points,  directions, and arguments outlined in the thesis and address the tasks (problem, cause, effect, solution) in your instructions: 

                                                       Oceans at Risk

            As we move into the 21st century we see a number of startling problems come to the forefront, one of which is ocean pollution. Modern humans are causing havoc in the seas. And these behaviors of neglect may cost us not only our oceans, but our lives. Many of our current lifestyles and habits, as humans include excess, ignorance, and disregard for the natural world. However, many humans fail to realize that our lives depend on the oceans! The oceans are known as the "lungs" of the planet and without clean oceans, we will not have enough oxygen to survive on planet Earth. Perhaps, if we wake up soon, make some drastic changes, do the right "thing" in caring for our environment, and take drastic action now, there still may be time to turn the devastation around. Included in the larger picture, are specific problems, having to do with our oceans, caused by humans. Oil spills cause massive destruction around the globe; humans need and use oil that must often be transported for long distances on ships. Cruise ships spill and dump waste, too…and toxic waste at that, in alarming amounts. Humans view cruising as a "vacation," and a fun time, but the waste dumped by consumers on these ships damages marine animals and eco systems near and in the oceans. Just look around! Plastics are ubiquitous! Scientists find plastics in every area of the oceans around the world; sea animals get sick and often die when they mistake these bits of toxic petroleum products as food. All three of these problems are causing irreversible destruction in our ocean environments, for example in our coral reefs which are home to thousands of species of plants and animals. If the reefs die, the oceans die. We must stop the madness immediately. If we don’t get educated now, stop polluting our oceans, change are ways, raise awareness, and put in place viable solutions, it may be too late for our offspring to enjoy the oceans and live out their lives. There are many doable solutions that we must adopt. We must pass laws that require oil tanker companies to be responsible, safe, and accountable for any issues that cause destruction. We have to demand that cruise ship lines stop dumping toxins into the seas; as consumers, we can demand green ships to vacation on!  We also have to demand that manufacturing giants get inventive and "go green" too; also holding accountable those companies that create non-biodegradable plastic waste by the millions of tons and stop these deadly practices! The first step is to raise awareness. To get educated. To become wise. To become engaged. Then we must take action. With the Twenty First Century comes new hope, new ideas, and new starts; however, if we do not act now, enact strict laws, and abide by helpful healthy rules to save our planet as well as spread the word about the growing problem of ocean pollution we may not see the next thousand years. The time is NOW, to act!

BODY PARAGRAPH # 1 goes next…(Now, plan your three body paragraphs, one each on oil spills, cruise ship dumping, and plastic pollution in the oceans).

STEP TWO: Find ,as you research, THREE ARTICLES (one each on oil spills, one on cruise ship dumping, and one on plastic pollution). Check to make sure all three articles on ocean pollution HAVE AUTHORS, experts, scientists, humans. You may change or add articles as you progress through the writing process. (Avoid "generic" sites; avoid "FUN FACTS" sites and only wiki’s. Look for scholarly, college-level articles with AUTHORS, experts, oceanographers, scientists, sea captains; find reputable sources). Ask your SRJC Librarian to help you find AUTHORED articles in the SRJC data bases. Articles should be short and at your level (3-5 pages). Each source must have an AUTHOR, a human, an expert, a person. (not ABC or WWF or Surfriders; find articles with PEOPLE AUTHORS. 

STEP THREE: Highlight your articles; pick out at least THREE QUOTES for each article. LOOK FOR facts, statistics, details that support your argument (BE SURE TO cover the "problem," the "cause/s," the "effects," and think about SOLUTIONS to the problems) 

USE 3 quotes from each article (3 quotes per article/9total for the essay; you may use more if you wish)
1. Oil spills in the oceans, (article must have an author; select, cite, and make a quote sandwich for THREE EXCERPTS)

2. Cruise ship dumping in the oceans (article must have author; select, cite, and make a quote sandwich for THREE EXCERPTS)

3. Plastics in the oceans, (article must have an author; select, cite, and make a quote sandwich for THREE EXCERPTS)

STEP FOUR Keep good notes on documentation for your Annotated Bibliography. Use a citation machine to help you cite authored articles. 

STEP FIVE: Check to make sure each of your body paragraphs is clear; design focused paragraphs using articles to find helpful quotes, excerpts, facts, and statistics to drive home and support your argument, your points. Follow this pattern: tell the problem, tell the causes of the problem, tell the effects of the problem, offer solutions in each body paragraph. (See example below).

STEP SIX: Check to make sure you have a strong CONCLUSION! Echo the PROVIDED THESIS. PROPOSE ample solutions to issues. See student sample of Oceans Essay. LOOK at the student’s conclusion. It’s really good. 

STEP SEVEN: JOIN each and every paragraph to the next with SENTENCE-TYPE TRANSITIONS. Look at student examples of ties. I can help!

STEP EIGHT: CHECK and CORRECT your ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Your ANNOTATIONS should be approximately 10-12 sentences long in paragraph form; each annotation should SUMMARIZE the articles. Include in the annotation, the way the articles will help you prove your points. Make sure you tell the reliability of the authors and the ways you will use the article. No quotes are needed in the ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY.

TITLE your bibliography in one of these formats.  Your essay title is your own choice.  

Oceans in Peril: An Annotated Bibliography OR 

An Annotated Bibliography on Ocean Pollution. 

Here is some HELP WITH BODY PARAGRAPH FORMATTING!

PROBLEM: In each paragraph think about the PROBLEM (oil often spills regularly from tankers crashing into bridges, or ice bergs, or, in the case of the EXXON VALDEZ spill in the late 1980s, into a beach/Prince William Sound; in this case the crash was due to a drunk driver captaining the ship!).

CAUSE/S: In each body paragraph write the CAUSE/S: (the reason oil spills so often is the great demand, especially our excessive use of oil/fossil fuels in developed countries and the U.S. And oil must be transported for long distances. The regulations need to be tightened to prevent accidents and unnecessary spills due to neglect or flimsy laws and loose regulations).

EFFECTS: In each body paragraph discuss the EFFECTS (oil causes damage to wildlife, surface insects, sea birds, nesting grounds, oyster beds, estuaries, reefs, sea plants and animals, and to beaches).

SOLUTIONS: In each body paragraph be sure you offer solutions. We can take short showers; we can save power by turning off lights; we can buy and drive electric cars; we can hang out clothes in the sun; we can ride a bike; we can take public transportation; we must advocate for solar and wind power projects; we could also advocate for more domestic oil drilling; we should vote when we can, and urge congress to pass laws requiring oil tankers to use double hulls, or carry oil in bladders within the ships. THESE ARE JUST SOME of the possible solutions. Try to read about and think of more solutions! 

CONCLUSION: In your conclusion after your three body paragraphs ECHO the thesis, reiterate SOLUTIONS (lots of them) and urge your reader to be aware of what individuals can do (such as recycle; take bags to the grocery store; practice "ZERO WASTE" HABITS; install solar on home; walk, ride a bike, take a bus, ferry, train or carpool to work; support alternative energies such as wind, solar, wave; spread the word.  Live a more simple life. Be a responsible consumer; recycle! and so on…URGE your readers to TAKE ACTION!  Let’s ACT NOW!