ExhibitionIInvestigatingaCommunityNeed

OverviewforWriting

I.Opening
Beginwitharelevantanecdote:
OnMay5,2014,atownmeetinginMarbleheadapprovedthebanonthinfilmplasticbagsandstyrofoamcontainers.Thesematerialsarenot
recyclable,andareusuallytossedintolandfillsorburned.Plasticbagscannotbiodegrade,andstayinlandfills,spreadingdangerouschemicals.
Theyalsospreadcarcinogenswhenburnedcarcinogenscancausecancer.Whenthebagsencounteranimallife,ananimalcouldeatoneanddie
ofpoisoning,orsuffocateifthebagissnaggedarounditsface.PlasticbagswereadangerousthreattoMarblehead,andstillare.Butnowplastic
ingeneralisbeingcalledintoquestion.Whatisplastic?Whydoesntitdegradelikepaperdoes?

II.TransitionSentenceorSubheadlineAlinethatmovesfromexamplestorytothemainissueyourecovering

III.Body:(Weavequotesinwhereverrelevant.Usequotestoemphasizeapointortomakeajarringstatementthatwillengagethe
reader)ADDINTEXTCITATIONSFOREACHFACTSee4thPageforInstructions
Thewho,what,where,whyandhow.Bespecificanddrawconnectionstoanecdotewherepossible.
Theveryfirstsyntheticplasticwascreatedin1907,byaBelgianimmigrantnamedLeoBaekeland.Baekelandusedhydrocarbonchemicals
derivedfromcoaltomakeBakelite,thisnewmaterialbecamethemorepopular,andwasusedtomakeeverything,evenchildrenstoys.
Syntheticplasticsdonotbiodegrade,andstayintheenvironmentfordecadesbutdoneverreallygoaway.Andiftheseplasticsareburned,they
releasetheharmfulchemicalstheycontainintotheatmosphere,exposinganimalstocarcinogensandincreasingglobalwarming.(LifeWithout
Plastic)Whenabagdegradesintolittleshreds,itreleasestheCO2itcontains,addingtoglobalwarming.(ColumbiaUniversity)Plasticalsokills
animals,andspreadsintoeverythingonorabovetheearthscrust,evenourair.(LifeWithoutPlastic)
Americansdiscardmorethan30million
tonsofplasticayear.Only8percentofthatgetsrecycled.Therestendsupinlandfills,isincinerated,orbecomestheinvasivespeciesknownas
'litter.'(PlasticPollutionCoalition)Thesefactsmustsoundlikeabrokenrecord,butplasticconsumptionisnojoke.Reducingtheamountofthis
materialproducedyearlyshouldbemoreimportantthaninventinganewiPhonethatwillbereplacedinamonth.Buteconomicsisconsidered
moreofaprioritythanourearthshealthinthismodernsociety.Thispreferencekeepstheworldfrombanningplastic.Plasticisusedonorin
everything,anditismassproducedandcheap.Itissturdierthanglass,andmorewaterresistantthatcardboard,makingitidealforcarryingdrinks
andfood.Theworldisintheplasticage,andlittleisbeingdonetodrasticallychangeoursituation.
Mostwouldthinkthatrecyclingistheeasiest
waytoreduceplasticconsumption,andtheyreright,butgoodthingsnevercomeeasy.Recyclingmayreducetheamountofplastic
manufactured,butwhenplasticisrecycled,onlysomeplasticsareaccepted,andthechemicalcompoundsindifferentplasticsaredangerousto

mix.(phys.org)Whatisplastic?Plasticismadeoutofpolymersofhydrocarbon(naturalgas,petroleum,coal),denselyorlooselypackedtocreate
thedesiredpliability.Butthesehydrocarbonpolymersarenotenoughtokeepstructuralintegrity,andotherchemicaladditivesareaddedtothe
plasticstomakethemcompletelysolidorcompletelyflexible.(BrentwoodPlastics)Plasticconsumptionconcernsnotonlywildlife,buthuman
healthaswell.Ifnothingisdoneaboutit,morepeoplewillbeexposedtocarcinogens,andriskcancer.GlobalWarmingwillstillbeamajor
environmentalissue,andspecieslikepolarbearandcoralwillgoextinct.Recyclingisonewaytoreduceplasticproduction,butAmericansthrow
awaytensofmillionsoftonsofplasticyearly.93%ofMarbleheadresidentsrecycle,thatsabout8,000homes.Marbleheadsaves60dollarsper
tonofrecycling,whichisgreat.DirectoroftheBoardofHealth,Marblehead,AndrewPetty,talkedwithmeonthesubjectofrecycling,andhe
agreesthatweshouldallcareaboutthecommoditiesofourplanetmainlybecauseweliveonit.

IV.Whatisbeingdone?Howcanpeoplecontinuetohelp?
WhatisbiggerthanTexasandismadeoftrash?TheanswertothatriddlewouldbetheGreatPacificGarbagePatch.InbetweenHawaiiand
California,thereisagiantlandfillbiggerthanTexas.Animalsandplantsaredyingwhentheymistakethetrashforafoodsource.AlgatiaMarine
ResearchandEducationhasbeenhelpingtocleantheoceanofdebris,andspreadsthewordabouttheveryrealthreattoouroceangarbage.
ThereisaverydescriptivevideoaboutAlgatiawhichexplainsindetailalloftherepercussionsofdumpinginoceans.AlgatiaLandfillshave
youbecomemoreofaproblemaswell,aswhentheydegradeslightly,chemicalsseepintotheearth,andcangetintowatersources.Landfillsalso
replaceplantlifewhichwouldeatupCO2,withplastic(whichcontainsCO2).Onewayasinglepersoncouldhelp,istouseareusablecontainer
orbottle,preferablymadeoutofmetalorceramics.Anotherwaytoimproveplasticconsumptionwouldbetostopbuyingbottledwater,anduse
reusablefiltersystems.Theyarenotthathardtofind,andactuallysavemoneyaswell.Anotherwaytoreducetheamountofplasticconsumedis
tobuyinbulktoreducetheamountofpackaging.Oneofthemoredifficultwaystoreduceconsumptionistoavoidsingleservecontainersandto
usemasonjarsandcardboardorwoodstorageinsteadofgiantplasticcontainers.Marbleheadcannotrecyclestyrofoam,andsoitisusually
burnedwhenitisthrownaway.Marbleheadmayhavebannedplasticbagsandstyrofoamcontainers,butpeoplewhobuythingsoutoftownoften
bringbackthoseverythings.

Recyclingistheeasiestwaytoreduceconsumption,butworthwhilethingsnevercomeeasy.Recyclingmay
decreasethemanufacturingplastic,butwhenthismaterialisrecycled,onlysomeareaccepted.Chemicalcompoundsindifferentplasticsare
dangeroustomix,andsosomeoftherecycledplasticsaresentoftobeburnedofthrowninalandfill.(phys.org)MCCPScouldreducethe
amountofsingleuseproductsconsumedandtostopusingstyrofoamasitisburnedinsteadofrecycled.Ourtowncouldhaveinexpensive
containersforsalethatcanbereusedinhopesofencouragingtheuseofreusablecontainers.Rwandahascompletelybannedplasticbags,andis
knowntobeverycleancomparedtoplaceslikeParisorNYC.BigcitieslikeMexicoCity,Delhi,andModbury(England)havebannedthebags.
SanFranciscoisstillpendingonlegislation,andhopesthattheentirestateofCaliforniawilladopttheban.(people.howstuffworks.com)


Optional:Challengeyourselfbypresentinganopposingviewanargumentagainstyourpoint.Followthisupwithabriefexplanationofwhy
YOUareinfactcorrectdespitetheopposingpoint.

Thesefactsmustsoundlikeabrokenrecord,butplasticconsumptionisnojoke.Reducingtheamountofthismaterialproducedyearlyshouldbe
moreimportantthaninventinganewiPhonethatwillbereplacedinamonth.Buteconomicsisconsideredmoreofaprioritythanourearths
healthinthismodernsociety.Thispreferencekeepstheworldfrombanningplastic.Plasticisusedonorineverything,anditismassproduced
andcheap.Itissturdierthanglass,andmorewaterresistantthatcardboard,makingitidealforcarryingdrinksandfood.Theworldisinthe
plasticage,andlittleisbeingdonetodrasticallychangeoursituation.

V.Finalthoughtaboutthetopic.Craftastronglinethatwillresonatewiththereader.
Forhumanitytostoppollutionandglobalwarminginitstracks,wemustall,asaspecies,makeachangeinourliveshoweversmall,orhowever
big.

Name:

News Report Rubric

Category
Hook

Content (GS)

4
News report opens with a
strong hook that is supported
with significant descriptive
details.
Article thoroughly
addresses the 5Ws with
appropriate detail (not too
much, not too little). There
is an abundance of
supporting/clarifying
details

News Report has a strong

A catchy beginning was
hook but is not thoroughly
attempted but was confusing
and/ or creatively supported rather than catchy.
with descriptive details.
Article adequately
addresses the 5Ws and
there is some evidence of
supporting/ clarifying
details but there is still
room for more.

Article adequately
addresses 3 or 4 of the 5Ws.
Very few supporting/
clarifying details.

1
No attempt was made to
catch the reader's attention
in the first paragraph.
Article does not adequately
address the 5Ws. Little to
no supporting/ clarifying
details.

Organization

The article is very well

organized. One idea, topic or
detail follows another in
logical sequence with clear
transitions.

The article is organized.

One idea, topic or detail
seems to be out of place.
Clear transitions are used.

The article does not flow

and one or two idea(s),
topic(s) or detail(s) seems
to be out of place. Some
transitions are unclear.

The article does not have a

clear organizational
structure. Transitions are
unclear.

Conventions

There are no spelling,

punctuation or grammatical
errors. Author has used a
variety of sentence types
the help the article read
more smoothly.

There are minimal spelling

or punctuation errors.
Minor grammatical errors
do not detract from the
piece. The article contains
an adequate amount of
sentence variety.

There are 3 or 4 errors in

spelling, punctuation or
grammar. The article
contains some sentence
variety.

There are 5 or more errors

in spelling, punctuation or
grammar. The article
contains little sentence
variety and is very choppy.

Research,PresentationandUseofClassTime

Annotated Bibliography

Cites all sources in the

correct
MLA format; no errors in the
citation (this includes
punctuation which is
separate
from the mechanics section).

Cites all sources almost

completely correctly in MLA
format; few errors.

Some mistakes in MLA

format but still able to
understand where the
source is from

Sources not cited in correct

MLA format.

In-Text Citation

Parenthetical documentation
follows correct MLA format

Parenthetical documentation
present but some
inconsistencies evident

Parenthetical documentation
present but many
inconsistencies evident.

Parenthetical documentation
does not follow the MLA
format.

Presentation

Student is completely
prepared and has obviously
rehearsed with smooth

Students is mostly prepared

and delivers a smooth
presentation with only minor

The student is somewhat

prepared but it is clear that
rehearsal was lacking;

Student does not seem at all

prepared, delivery not
smooth and audience

Use of Class Time

delivery that holds audiences

attention

glitches.

delivery not smooth but able

to maintain interest of the
audience most of the time

attention often lost

Found working diligently

every
day.

Found working diligently

almost
every day.

Found distracted from work

a few times.

Found distracted from work

numerous times.

InTextCitations

Whenyouquoteorparaphraseasourceinapaper,youmustincludeanintextcitation.Thecitation

comesdirectlyafterthequoteorparaphrase.Thepunctuationforthesentencegoesafterthecitation.

Herearethegeneralrulesforintextcitations:

Ifyouhaveanauthorandpagenumber:(lastnameofauthorpg#)=(Smith32)

Ifyoumentiontheauthorsnameinthesamesentenceasthequoteorparaphrase,youdo

notneedtheauthorsnameintheintextcitation:

Smithstatedthatmortalityratesfortheseinfantsaredeclining(32).


Ifyouhaveanauthorbutnopagenumber:(author)=(Smith)

Ifyouhavemorethanoneauthor:(author,author,andauthor,pg#)=(Smith,Herzog,andChen,32)

Ifyouhavemorethanthreeauthors:(authoret.al.pg#)=(Smithet.al.32)

Ifyouhavemultiplearticlesfromthesameauthor:(author,title,pg#)=(Smith,CriticalInfantCare,

32)

Ifyoudonothaveanauthor:(title,page#)=(CriticalInfantCare32)

Ifyoudonothaveanauthorortitle:(organization)=AmericanNursingAssociation)