anthropology unit based on human evolution please let me know which topic you pick to write about and use at least 8 references minimum as seen in the samples
ESSAY OUTLINE OVERVIEW — 1 Outline essay Using skills practiced in the Literature review, the student will prepare an Outline essay, which involves developing the essential elements of a good essay in outline form. The Outline essay will involve choosing one of the Outline essay topics, or proposing a topic based on a lecture topic or reading in our unit outline, and preparing an introduction (approximately one page), an outline of evidence and how the argument would be structured (citing the sources), conclusion which discusses the implications, reservations and importance of the argument and a references cited list. The whole document should be less than four pages. Your introduction and conclusion NEED TO BE DOUBLE SPACED. Your outline and bibliography can be SINGLE-SPACED, but put an extra space in where necessary to make it more readable. The key is readability, but the text portions (intro and conclusion) have to be double-spaced in case we need to write something on your copy. Topics provided below are general guides; students are encouraged to refine them and make them more specific, as will be clear from the list of topics. A good outline essay will have its own sense of argument. In addition, if a student has a special interest in a topic not listed, but linked to the topics in the Unit Outline, that student is encouraged to propose the topic to the tutor or unit convenor. The only time that we will discourage a topic is if we think that it is unsuitable and will not provide an opportunity to produce a strong Outline essay. Steps in a producing an outline essay: 1) Choose a topic and start conducting research. Use the same approach from the literature review: locate good sources from peer reviewed journals, read them, see what sources they cite or what has been written since on the same subject (use Web of Science or other academic data base). 2) Start writing immediately! Students often think that they should only write at the end, but this can often be a disaster and form of procrastination. Write something after you read anything interesting. 3) As you go, prepare your bibliography and start arranging your outline page. The outline page should, by the end, but a series of key points, numbered, with a brief note of supporting material (short quotes from authors, citations of the key texts, several facts that would go with the key point if you were to write it up as a paragraph). It must include citations. Key points are like paragraphs in the body of an essay. So each key point is the collection of material that you think would make a good paragraph. I would expect at least 4 but probably no more than 7 or 8 key points in your outline. 4) Once you’ve finished with the outline and already have a pretty good bibliography, write the introduction and conclusion. For the introduction, you need to focus on ‘the hook,’ the thing that draws your reader in and presents the key question, debate or problem you will be discussing. That is, you need to put the key over-arching issue up in the very first long paragraph, giving the reader ESSAY OUTLINE OVERVIEW — 2 some sense of why it’s important. 5) Proofread! When you proofread, reading OUT LOUD is the best way to do it. Cut out things that sound weird, catch yourself repeating words, and trim flabby writing (most essays read smarter when they are shorter). If you can’t successfully read something out loud, it’s not well written; it might be overly convoluted, fragmented, or just a run-on sentence. See the ‘writing advice’ sheet posted in handouts for the most common writing problems. Presentation MATTERS in this assessment as in everything in life, and the last 10% of effort can translate into a major difference in your final mark, just like the last 100m of a race can lead to a big difference in the outcome. If you get lazy at the very end or don’t give yourself enough time, it’s like putting your resume together and then not caring how it prints out, or preparing for a job interview and then showing up late. Writing a good introduction The best way to start an essay is quickly, not to waffle around or present sweeping, overly-broad statements. Bad introductions tend to be padded, overly vague, and don’t get to the point until the very end. If you’re in the habit of writing your introduction first, you need to get in the habit of going back and fixing it at the end. It’s normal to write vaguely at first, but you want to replace this before you turn it in for assessment. A BAD introduction might start something like, ‘Since time immemorial, humans have wondered what makes humans human. They’ve thought about it, sometimes they’ve gone for a walk to think about it, and they’ve even done anthropology. The dictionary defines “anthropology” as…’ That’s a BAD introduction. It’s too vague, wastes our time, doesn’t actually get to the subject, and frustrates the reader. A GOOD introduction dives right in, it doesn’t waffle around or make vague statements. A good introduction doesn’t just summarize the essay (it can, but doesn’t have to summarize), but it DOES give the reader a sense of the argument or debate or central question of the essay. For example: ‘The advent of genetic sequencing presented new evidence about the old question in paleoanthropology: “Did neandertals become extinct, or did some of human ancestors interbreed with them?” The earliest research on mitochondrial DNA suggested that neandertals died out, leaving no trace in modern populations, but other forms of evidence have supported the opposite argument, that we are, at least in part, their descendants.” OR ‘The fortuitous discovery of the Laetoli footprints provided clear evidence that 3.5 million years ago, hominins were walking upright. Although the discovery helped anthropologists to demonstrate that bipedalism was ancient, however, the footprints did not clarify why humans walked upright. The discovery of the remains of Ardipithecus, in contrast, suggests that we need to understand bipedalism, not as an adaptation, but as an exaptation.’ In other words, a good introduction is dynamic and engaging by fronting the central question of the essay. It says, if you like this idea or want to know more, keep reading! You can use a (short) story to get people engaged as long as the story presents the key question or debate, but you don’t have to use a story. ESSAY OUTLINE OVERVIEW — 3 Writing a conclusion: A good conclusion acts like a summary, but it isn’t written like one. DO NOT sit down and write, ‘First, I showed that… Then, I discussed…’ BORING! Instead, when you finish, ask yourself, ‘If a person only reads two paragraphs in my essay, the introdution and the conclusion, what do I want them to take away from it?’ Then, write. When you finish that, ask yourself, ‘Why the h*** should anyone care about this?’ Then, write. With those notes, you should be able to craft a great conclusion. A good conclusion gives a strong sense of the central argument or thesis of the essay, and it also gives a sense of the significance of the argument, or why anyone should care. A good conclusion makes people go, ‘Yeah, I see that now!’ and ‘Wow, now that I think about it, this matters!’ It doesn’t make people go, ‘oh, god, I’ve already read this.’ Choosing good sources: Students sometimes have trouble figuring out which pieces are reputable and can be trusted, and which can’t be. The gold standard for the best research appears in peer- reviewed journals (those which only publish articles after review by other scholars) and in books published by the strongest university presses (rule of thumb: if you haven’t heard of the university, it may not be the strongest press). There are exceptions, but these are generally the best sources to go on. One way to know that you’re NOT dealing with a strong source is that the writer is not referencing their sources; an article without a good references list and either in-text citations or footnotes is almost certainly not one of the best sources. Try to get some variety in your sources so that you don’t wind up only working with one person’s opinions (unless that’s your specific goal). For example, if you keep finding the same author writing about a topic, consider finding someone who disagrees, to see if the counter-arguments are strong. You may be surprised how some people will continue to drum on about something when other researchers have punched huge holes in their arguments, sometimes continuing with a controversial theory for years. Also considering getting a variety of journals; focus on peer-review, but don’t just quote from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Sometimes journals can get in a rut as well, and really interesting, challenging stuff has to come from other journals. In general, though, remember that these essays are practice for developing your research skills and we want you to demonstrate these skills, not simply choose the easiest, first things you find. If we see a pattern that looks lazy or overly hasty, this will not look good for the assessment. Integrating your sources into your argument When working with research, students tend to commit two opposite errors; either they 1) don’t make much reference to their sources and don’t let the reader know how the argument is supported, or 2) just life whole sections either with or without