Project - Endangered Animals Essay

Step 1: Choose an endangered animal

• Browse some animals
  • WWF list
  • IUCN Red list
• Choose ONE animal
  • Choose something INTERESTING we DO NOT KNOW (i.e. NOT the Giant Panda)
  • Do NOT choose Narwhal (the example essay topic)
  • Choose a SPECIFIC species (i.e. “Amur Tiger”, not just “Tiger”)
  • Choose something endangered or vulnerable NOT extinct or extinct in wild.

Step 2 - Homework

• Read the example
• Read 3 articles about your animal.
  • Japanese OK.
  • Take notes.
  • Focus on problems.
  • If you can’t find 3 problems, change your topic.
  • If you can’t find 3 solutions, change your topic.
  • Find good sources

Step 3 - Read more and start writing

• Read three more articles.
  • English only
  • Take notes - enough detail to speak for 5 minutes on your topic
  • This time, concentrate on description and solution responses.

Tips on Arrangement

We will write five paragraphs

• Write an Introduction Paragraph
• Write a Description Paragraph
• Write a Problems (Cause-Effect) paragraph - see also write a cause-effect paragraph
• Write a Solutions (Summary-Response) Paragraph
• Write a Conclusion paragraps

Tips for Invention

If you can’t find a problem in the articles you read, try searching for problem keywords AND the name of your animal.

Common problem keywords are

• habitat destruction
• overdevelopment
• tourism
• deforestation
• climate change
• pollution
• invasive species
• land animals mostly: hunting, or poaching(illegal hunting)
• sea animals mostly: bioaccumulation, bycatch, overfishing, boatstrike
• indirect problems (things that make the problem worse) conflict, corruption
• big mammals: traditional medicine

Common solution keywords are

• NGOs for animal (Save the Tiger), habitat (Mangrove Action PRoject), or general (WWF)
• Wildlife preserves
• Farmer compensation
• Ecotourism
• Sustainable Development
• Laws (national, international, trade agreements like CITES)
• Consumer awareness (if animal or habitat is part of food production) e.g. dolphin-safe tuna

Remember that your solutions and problems don’t need to match exactly. For example, fixing deforestation fixes hunting (no forest roads, less hunters).

Tips for Style

• You’re talking about ALL of an animal group.
  • You can talk about the animalS or THE species. Don’t mix
  • Plurals or ‘the’.
    • Emperor penguins enjoy eating ice cream
    • Emperor penguins enjoys eating ice cream
    • The Emperor penguin enjoys eating ice cream
    • Emperor penguin enjoys eating ice cream
    • Emperor penguins eat fish, so they like sushi a lot
    • Emperor penguins eat fish, so it likes sushi a lot
    • The Emperor penguin eats fish, so it likes sushi a lot
    • The Emperor penguin eats fish, so they like sushi a lot
• Capitals for place names NOT for animal name
  • Amur tiger, Siberian tiger, Malaysian elephant, Bornean orangutan
  • amur Tiger, siberian tiger, Malaysian Elephant, Bornean Orangutan
• Avoid definitions for animals that are defined by name
  • “The Saola is a kind of deer that lives in Vietnam”
  • “The Siberian tiger is a kind of tiger that lives in Siberia”
  • Use partition instead for animals, use the family and a different fact
    • “There are seven kinds of tiger, of which the Siberian….”
    • “The Siberian tiger is the only member of the big cat family which plays tennis”

Check the list of common mistakes

• Link is here