the story map should be related to human geography. 

3/8/2020

Rough Draft of Final Story Map

https://oregonstate.instructure.com/courses/1760523/assignments/7746871 1/4

Rough Draft of Final Story Map

Due Monday by 11:59pm Points 5 Submitting a website url

Submit Assignment

Construct a rough draft Story Map of your research on a topic (of your choice) that’s related to issues
covered, or is relevant to, this course – preferably something that you’re interested in or curious about,
and that you can relate to the topics/regions in some way.

*** Save any/all information that you will be putting into your Cascade Story Map in a separate
document (e.g. word doc., powerpoint, etc…)***

Follow the specific instructions below. Please do not write a generic paper. Instead, divide your project
into three specific sections that clearly, concisely answer the following questions.

1) Introduction: (5 points)

Introduce your topic, describe the major/relevant issues and identify your research questions.

-What are you researching?

-What are the major/relevant themes/issues mentioned in what you’ve found?

-Why are you choosing to focus on it in this course?

-What are 3 questions you used to guide your research?

Minimum Requirements: 2-3 transitions (slides in the left pane), > 3 images

2) Annotated Section: 5 sources total (15 points)

Cite and annotate (make notes about) 5 sources. List the source (author, date, title, journal, publisher,
and URL if its a website), then answer the following questions about each source:

-What is the source about, or what is the author’s point?

-How does this specific source contribute to your research? What did you learn from it?

Minimum Requirements: 1 transition per source, > 5 images total, at least 3 must be maps or spatial
graphics.

3) Interpretation and Conclusion: (15 Points)

3/8/2020 Rough Draft of Final Story Map

https://oregonstate.instructure.com/courses/1760523/assignments/7746871 2/4

Finally, summarize what all of these sources says about your topic. Try to use examples, analogies, etc.
directed at these questions:

-Having completed your research, what have you learned?

-What does what you’ve learned have to do with themes, concepts or issues we’ve covered in
class?

-What claims can you make about your topic and Human Geography more generally?

Minimum Requirements: At least 1 graphic with a complete, well-written interpretation/conclusion.

4) Details

-Make sure to address the questions for every section.

-You must post this assignment to Canvas (in the “Rough Draft Story Map” Assignment) by Monday
of Week 10 by 11:59pm.

-Points will be deducted for assignments that are late (see Recitation Policy document on canvas) or
with links that do not work.

-You must both produce the academic content and achieve the minimum design specifications to
achieve credit for each section: > 11 images (at least 3 maps) and > 11 transitions.

-Everything you submit must be in your own words. Plagiarism and quoting or using images without
attribution will result in a zero for the section, and might lead to communication with the OSU Office
of Student Conduct.

-Sloppy grammar, spelling, design and formatting detract from your total score.

-Please feel free to ask questions if you don’t understand the assignment.

Annotated Bibliography Example:

Simon, Julian L. The Ultimate Resource 2. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.

What I learned: Julian Simon is an economist who, for decades, has done battle with
demographers and scientists over issues of human population growth and its effects on economic
development, natural resources, and environmental degradation. Simon’s basic premise that so
many people have a hard time with, is that human beings are making the world a better place, and
that more people can only improve it. Any environmental problems that may arise due to population
growth are only temporary, because as he wishfully asserts, more people on the planet means there
is more brain-power to solve these problems, and therefore, people are the ultimate Resource.

3/8/2020 Rough Draft of Final Story Map

https://oregonstate.instructure.com/courses/1760523/assignments/7746871 3/4

Rough Draft of Final Story Map

Simon’s chapters on pollution emphasize microbial pollution, and how we’ve overcome traditional
diseases like cholera and typhus through improved sanitation in our cities, which relates most to my
research for this project. He admits that his “definition” of pollution is different from that of other, and
barely mentions the types of man-made pollutants, such as synthetic organic chemicals, that often
leave a decades-long legacy in the soil and water. He reluctantly admits that these do pose a
problem, but he has no remedy to that. The reader is left to infer, based on Simon’s repeated
mantra, that someone someday will solve that problem, so in the meantime we should just keep
happily applying them to our textiles, houses, forests and crops.

After reading for a while one comes to understand that Simon’s approach to these subjects are
driven by his underlying philosophy that people are the only things of value on the planet. While
many people share this view, what makes Simon unique is his militant denial that any scientific
evidence indicates human activities and consumption patterns might threaten the lives and welfare
of people around the globe. Despite a significant body of scientific evidence, he denies there is any
problem and that we should to consume our way through the current stage of global economic
development.

How this relates to the topic of the class: Simon has chosen to look only at one tiny indicator of
the effect of population growth: price declines of certain resources. He doesn’t acknowledge the
imbalance in consumption of the western world (but not just them: Japan, South Korea, Singapore,
etc) This is very convenient for Simon, because for many applications, plastics have now been
substituted for metals, for example, and consumption is less clear than having more children. He
makes no mention of the impact on natural ecosystems, tropical forests, coastal and marine
resources, arable land, and most importantly, adequate fresh water. He also doesn’t identify how this
is different in different places. In his narrowly defined scope, which denies the intricate web of
relationships between species, the biosphere, regions, cultures, nations, etc., Simon says the
biggest threat to the world is the “thought pollution” of the doomsayers like Paul Ehrlich. It might be
easy to write this as an academic as part of a book, but much different when you look at how people
live differently throughout our world. This suggests that there is still some obvious difference in the
ways the world is conceptualized and written about.

3/8/2020 Rough Draft of Final Story Map

https://oregonstate.instructure.com/courses/1760523/assignments/7746871 4/4

Total Points: 35.0

Criteria Ratings Pts

1.5 pts

1.5 pts

2.0 pts

1

5.0 pts

5.0 pts

9.0 pts

1.0 pts

Intro: Answered the 3 questions
(0.5 points each)

1.5 pts
Full Marks

1.0 pts 0.5 pts

0.0 pts
No Marks

Intro: Provided 3 Research
Questions (0.5 points each)

1.5 pts
Full Marks
1.0 pts 0.5 pts 0.0 pts
No Marks

Intro: Met minimum design
requirements

2.0 pts
Full Marks

1.0 pts 0.0 pts
No Marks

Annotated Section: Answered both
questions for 5 sources along with a
complete citation (3 points/source)

15.0 pts
Full
Marks

12.0 pts 9.0 pts 6.0 pts 3.0 pts 0.0 pts
No
Marks

Annotated Section: Met minimum
design requirements

5.0 pts
Full Marks

2.5 pts 0.0 pts
No Marks

Interpretation/Conclusion:
Answered 3 main questions (3
points each)

9.0 pts
Full Marks

6.0 pts 3.0 pts 0.0 pts
No Marks

Interpretation/Conclusion: Met
minimum design requirements

1.0 pts
Full Marks

0.0 pts
No Marks