Organic Food Team Research Paper

Organic Food Team Research Paper
First Draft: December 3rd start of class (LA time)
You will write a team research paper on a policy or ethical issue related to some aspect of organic food.
You are going to identify a problem or issue that is related in some aspect of organic food production, development, distribution or consumption, conduct scientific research on the issue or problem, and develop a policy recommendation for solving the problem or issue.
Guidelines
· 15 pages in length (not including references)
· Introduction that frames the background to the problem
· Statement of the issue
· Summary of the viewpoints on the policy or issue from current research
· Recommendation for approaching the issue
· List of references using an appropriate citation style (e.g. APA, IEEE, ASCE, AMS, AMA)
· Teams will create and deliver a presentation (20-25 minutes in length) to summarize their research and recommendations and lead a whole class discussion (20-minutes in length) about the policies and ethical issues related to their topic.
· Your writing should show evidence of the writing support work that we have engaged in so far in this semester:
· Clear paragraph structure with strong topic and concluding sentences that move from general to the specific and back to the general
· Sentence structures should have a strong sense of complexity, and use sophisticated linking devices to increase coherence
· Strong ability to use clauses, adjective complements, nominalization, comparison language and others
Grading (Paper): 100 points total
Papers will be graded using the following criteria:
· Format (15 pts) : Does the paper follow the appropriate format
· Quality of writing (15 pts) : Does the memo follow general writing style guidelines, as well as the particular features emphasized by the instructor: paragraph structure and use of topic sentences, evidence of sentence complexity and use of restrictive and non-restrictive clauses.
· Quality of information included (70 pts) – Did you include enough context surrounding the issue and discussion that anyone reading the memo would be able to understand the issue? Does the information you include demonstrate you have analyzed the issue and have considered various stakeholder concerns?
· Information on background/context: (20 pts)
· Clarity and Specificity of Issue Statement (10 pts)
· Summary of Viewpoints (20 pts)
· Recommendations (20 pts)