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\centerline{MONT 104N -- Modeling the Environment}
\centerline{Paper Assignment 2 -- Priorities for the Next Four Years}
\centerline{due: November 16, 2012}
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\noindent
In the second debates day on Wednesday, November 14, we will hear a 
collection of opinions on what should be President Obama's main
priority in his second term.  These opinions come from a New York
Times Room For Debate blog published on November 7:
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\centerline{\tt http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/11/07}
\centerline{\tt /a-to-do-list-for-president-obamas-next-four-years}
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\noindent
This should be all entered as one web address; it's broken over two lines
to fit on the page here.  There is also a link to this on the course
homepage in connection with the second debate day.
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\noindent
This paper assignment has two main goals:
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\item{1.}  Imagine you personally got to enter a debate like the 
one presented in the New York Times.  Try to articulate what {\it you} think 
should be the main priority for the President and the country over the next four years
and how you would advise President Obama to try to address it.  This
may or may not have a strong environmental component, but if your
goal is primarily non-environmental, you should try to say why you
think action on some of the environmental challenges we face is
less important than your primary goal (or why addressing environmental
challenges can be postponed until other problems have been addressed).  
\item{2.}  Everyone should work to write this 
paper along the lines of the templates from {\it They Say, I Say}.
The first section should be a fair summary of 
two or three of the positions presented in the New York Times blog.
You can choose which of them you want to include, and the choice
should depend on what you want to say.  For instance, based
on what you think should be the main priority for the next four years, 
you might include one position with which you agree strongly and one
with which you disagree strongly, then 
frame your response in agreement and opposition
to those.  Or, if you believe that none of the positions taken
in the discussion reflect what you would see as the correct major priority,
you might frame your response as a rejection of all of them. 
Be sure you think about how all of the ``moves'' presented in 
parts 2 and 3 of {\it They Say, I Say} might be useful here.    
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\noindent
{\it Important Note:}  It is perfectly OK with me if you 
want to share a rough draft of your essay with other
students in the class, or with me, to get comments and 
suggestions.  ``Testing out'' your ideas that way 
is often an important part of getting them down on 
paper in an effective form.   
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\noindent

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\noindent
Prepare your essay using Microsoft Word and submit as a {\tt .doc} 
file attachment to this email address:
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\centerline{\tt jlittle@holycross.edu} 
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\noindent
Your assignment should arrive no later than 5:00pm on 
Friday, November 16.   Aim for about 5 
double-spaced pages, but slightly over or under will
not be a problem.  

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Include a complete listing of all sources you consulted
in a numbered References section at the end, including
the individual entries from the Times blog that you 
are drawing on for your argument.  
If you take a direct quotation from one
of the Times blog entries, or from
another source, identify it with an in-line reference of 
the form ``(number, page)'' where the number refers to the 
list of references at the end.  Include a page number
for printed sources; if you use online sources, that part
can be omitted since there is usually not anything corresponding
to a physical page number anyway(!)
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