Assignment: Sugar Industry Research Paper

The research paper assignment for this class is to research a selected food related topic and write about what you find out. The research could focus on a number of different things. The commodity chain is a standard interest of economic geographers. One could write a paper on the commodity chain of the lettuce industry. One could also write a paper about the decline of the avocado industry in California and where the avocados went. Or, one could write about the wine industry. Or any other industry - fish come to mind, local fish, chocolate, French wine, Norwegian fish. There are a host of topics to research. Let me know if you have trouble. And I can suggest more.

Sources:

In your research papers, you should use academic journal articles and books for the most part. If you are researching a topic that is more contemporary, I would expect some newspaper articles, perhaps a magazine article (Please not GQ or similar) and other data (e.g., a government report, statistics, etc.). Because your topics will vary, you have some flexibility. Use the number of sources you feel is appropriate and no less than 10 in the final paper. And finally, DO NOT USE SOLELY REFERENCES FROM WIKIPEDIA, RANDOM INTERNET SITES, OR OTHER SIMILAR SORTS OF SOURCES. The requirement is for the vast majority of your sources to be peer-reviewed articles or books. You will be penalized for not using peer reviewed sources.

Writing Your Paper:

Your paper should have the following:

1) An interesting introductory paragraph with a thesis statement.

2) An "In this paper" paragraph, which is the second paragraph of the paper. This paragraph lays out the basic argument and framework of the paper. Some people call it the "map". I prefer the In this paper designation because your paragraph should literally start out with the words "In this paper," and go on to explain what the paper is going to do.

3) Evidence presented in an ordered and considered manner.

4) A conclusion. Sometimes people repeat what they said in the first part of the paper. That is the easy way out. Another way is to provide some direction and assessment of the topic, areas or things to look for.

Proper Citations:

There are basically two things to know about citations: first, how to cite a source in the text, and second, how to cite a source in the bibliography. Bibliography for the purposes of this class means a list of all sources cited in your paper. IT DOES NOT MEAN AND SHOULD NOT BE A LIST OF "RESOURCES CONSULTED."

The rules for the bibliography in this class are the standard rules for the Annals of the Association of American Geographers (the leading journal for all geographers in the U.S.)