Order Description
Description/Focus:
Essay: Fire produces winners and losers in northern Australia
2,000 words
Task:
You are required to write an essay. This assessment will test your ability to communicate findings, develop your skills at researching and critical thinking, and broaden your knowledge of fire effects on biota.
Essay topic: ?Fire produces winners and losers in northern Australia?
Discuss this statement with reference to one taxon in northern Australia (either plants, birds, small mammals, reptiles or invertebrates) and discuss winners and losers for that particular group. Consider: Who are the winners and losers, what conditions or fire regimes cause winners and losers, and is a winner ever a loser?
In your conclusions, think about what your findings could also mean for biodiversity conservation in northern Australia and what the implications might be for fire managers. Can you make any recommendations for fire managers in northern Australia?
Preparation:
For this assessment you will need to use books and journals from the library, and search for relevant scientific literature. You can use the Ecology reference list to guide and inform your reading, but you should use additional references in your essay, beyond these set readings.
Presentation:
A professionally formatted, clearly written and logically argued essay (lists of dot points will not be accepted). Arguments should be substantiated by evidence from the scientific literature, and referenced using the Havard referencing system.
Assessment criteria:
Content (50%)
Has the topic been dealt with in sufficient depth?
Is the content relevant to the topic?
Are arguments well supported by evidence and examples from supporting literature?
Is the information provided correct?
Are terms used appropriately? Are definitions given where required?
Organisation and Presentation (30%)
Organisation
Does the introduction provide a clear opening statement which indicates the aims of the essay and how the topic is to be treated?
Is the essay well structured through an introduction, body and conclusion?
Are the main arguments logically organised into paragraphs that are neither too long nor too short?
Does the conclusion bring the main arguments together in relation to the essay?
Presentation
Is the writing fluent and succinct?
Are spelling and punctuation correct throughout?
Are sentences grammatically well formed?
Is the essay an appropriate length?
References (20%)
Are an adequate number of references used?
Have additional sources of literature been used, or does the essay rely on set readings?
Are correct and consistent citations used throughout?
Is the reference list correctly presented? Does it contain all sources used in the essay?
