FIBS3002 English for Academic Purposes: Climate Change Essay Plan

This assignment is an essay research workbook focusing on the extent to which climate change is a result of human activities. It includes a literature review with Harvard referencing, an essay plan timeline, detailed notes on sources using Cornell notes, linear notes, and pattern maps/spider diagrams, and a comprehensive essay plan highlighting the main argument with supporting arguments for and against the thesis statement. The essay plan includes an introduction outlining the increasing carbon content in the atmosphere, specific points supporting human activities as the primary cause (such as carbon-based gas emissions from burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrialization), counterarguments considering natural causes (like earth's orbit, solar radiance, and volcanic eruptions), and a conclusion summarizing the thesis and providing recommendations. This resource is intended to demonstrate research and writing skills for academic purposes.

Assignment Research Workbook
Course Code and Title: FIBS3002 English for Academic Purposes,
Research and Study Skills
Student name:
Student ID:
Assignment: Essay Research Workbook
OUTLINE:
As part of the English for Academic Purposes, Research and Study Skills course you are required to write an
essay on the Topic of Climate Change; you are also expected to evidence the stages of your essay research
and writing progress in the Essay Research Workbook.
AIMS:
 To assess your ability to structure your essay in order to develop an argument with clarity and your
ability to capture your thinking in effective sentences
 To show that you have conducted research to develop your thinking
 To write in an academic tone and clearly reference the material you have used to develop and support
your ideas
As part of the assignment, you are required to. Your workbook will be reviewed by your lecturer and you will
receive feedback. There will be an opportunity for you to have a tutorial to discuss your draft research
workbook development.
It is then your responsibility to work on your draft research workbook and address any suggestions and
comments given before handing in
RESEARCH WORKBOOK FORMAT:

Your workbook must be word processed, in Ariel font 12pt minimum with double line spacing. This format is
important as it makes it much easier for us to read. Word count: There is no minimum or maximum word
count for this part of the assignment.
Final hand in:
 a digital copy of your essay emailed to:
 a digital copy of your essay submitted to
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Unit: EAP, Research and Study Skills
LO1 to demonstrate skill and confidence in understanding, analysing and utilising information from a variety of
written texts likely to occur in academic contexts.
LO2 to demonstrate skill and confidence in writing in academic contexts with emphasis on the essay to at least
the standard required at their course level.
LO3 to use varied and accurate grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation of English as used in an academic
setting to at least the standard required by their degree programme.
LO4 to demonstrate independent research skills to access, use and cite knowledge.
Task one:
Indicate the title of your essay. Conduct a search for relevant sources and list them below using the Harvard
Referencing System. You should aim to use approximately ten sources in your final essay. Document your
intended essay reading materials below:
Essay Title: To what extent is Climate Change a result of human activities?
Citethisforme.com (Harvard style)
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BBC, (2021) What is Climate Change? A really simple guide. (online) Available at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24021772. [Accessed on 03.05.2021].
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ProCon.org, (2020). Is Human Activity Primarily Responsible for Global Climate Change?
(online) Available at: https://climatechange.procon.org/ [Accessed on 03.05.2021].
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Gov.uk, (2021) Climate Change explained. (online) Available at:
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/climate-change-explained. [Accessed on 03.05.2021].
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How do Human Activities Contribute to Climate Change and How do They Compare with
Natural Influences?
(online) Available at: https://ei.lehigh.edu/learners/cc/readings/howhuman.pdf [Accessed on
03.05.2021].
So How to stop global warming, 2022 (online) Available at:
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https://solarimpulse.com/global-warming-solutions?utm_term=what%20is
%20climate
%20change&utm_campaign=Solutions&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hs
a_acc=1409680977&hsa_cam=11451944566&hsa_grp=117528790528&hsa_ad=4750
11813041&hsa_src=g&hsa_tgt=kwd-289419804&hsa_kw=what%20is%20climate
%20change&hsa_mt=b&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_ver=3&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlND-
y5mL9gIV_pNmAh0dWgJAEAAYBCAAEgJL0fD_BwE# [Accessed on 03.05.2021].
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Woolway, R.I., Kraemer, B.M., Lenters, J.D., Merchant, C.J., O’Reilly, C.M. and Sharma, S., 2020.
Global lake responses to climate change. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 1(8), pp.388-403.
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Pirnia, A., Golshan, M., Darabi, H., Adamowski, J. and Rozbeh, S., 2019. Using the Mann–Kendall test
and double mass curve method to explore stream flow changes in response to climate and human
activities. Journal of Water and Climate Change, 10(4), pp.725-742.
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Peel, J. and Osofsky, H.M., 2018. A rights turn in climate change litigation?. Transnational
Environmental Law, 7(1), pp.37-67.
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Drius, M., Bongiorni, L., Depellegrin, D., Menegon, S., Pugnetti, A. and Stifter, S., 2019. Tackling
challenges for Mediterranean sustainable coastal tourism: An ecosystem service perspective. Science
of the Total Environment, 652, pp.1302-1317.
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Kahn, M.E., Mohaddes, K., Ng, R.N., Pesaran, M.H., Raissi, M. and Yang, J.C., 2019. Long-term
macroeconomic effects of climate change: A cross-country analysis (No. w26167). National Bureau of
Economic Research.
Task 2:
Submit an Essay Plan Timeline outlining the tasks involved and the estimated time range for the completion
of each stage. Mark the actual completion date for each task as you it is finished.
Task Timeline
Time Task Date
Completed
Preliminary groundwork; things you need to know; word/page count division;
Do task timeline; analyse question
Preliminary research – locate sources, read and make notes
Essay Plan - outlining main points and evidence from reading materials
including an introduction, main body and conclusion
Revise Essay plan/edit
Research and Revise main points – including for and against arguments
Write draft 1
TBC Formative Submission - submit draft 1 for marking and feedback
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Revise draft 1/edit
Further research and write draft 2
Edit
Proofread
Checking
TBC Summative Submission - submit final essay for marking and final grade
Task 3:
Make notes on at least three sources and record them below. Try to use varied note taking techniques and
ensure that notes are summaries in your own words and not direct copies from original sources.
i. Cornell Notes:
Topic: Climate Change Date:
Essay Title: To what extent is Climate Change a result of human activities?
Reference:
In-text citation: (BBC, 2021)
Reference list: BBC, (2021) What is Climate Change? A really simple guide. (online) Available at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24021772. [Accessed on 08.05.2021].
Key Ideas Notes
What is climate change Increase in temperature
High concentration of Carbon- Greenhouse gases
Global warming
Deforestation
Melting of cryosphere
Mining
Overconsumption of resources
Intensive farming
Water disposal
How is it caused Human activities
Emission of greenhouse gases
How do humans add to
climate change? Industrialisation
Agricultural land
Exploitation of fossil fuels
Deforestation
Increase in temperature
1. World temp. 
2. Temp. hist. – human induced – Indus. Rev. –
f.fuels/Co2/deforestation/1.1 °C 
Summary of key ideas
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ii. Linear Notes
Topic: Climate Change Date:
Essay Title: To what extent is Climate Change a result of human activities?
Reference:
1. Climate change
– Overconsumption of resources, such as electronics and vehicles which releases harmful gases
– Increase in the concentration of carbon in atmosphere.
– Rise in temperature of the planet due to
2. Industrial age
– Burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and petroleum
– Cement, oil and gas production which releases greenhouse gases (methane and CFCs)
– For the same planet, people increased.
– To fulfil the demands- more work started in various fields.
3. Burning of Fossil fuels
– Burning of fuels for generating energy for machinery to work.
– Produces green house gases- carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous monoxide.
– After 1980s, the carbon concentration increased by 40%.
– To power engines and production of electricity leads to release of harmful gases.
4. Rise in temperature
– The burning of fuel leads to a contribution to the generation of greenhouse gases where solar
energy is trapped and creates harmful gases which affect the atmosphere
– Intensity of solar radiance increases.
– Cutting down forest
– Farming livestock
5. Agriculture demand
– The rise in the population increased the demand for food which increases land-use effects.
– Emissions from farms of nitrous oxide, methane and CO2
– Agricultural practices speeded up.
– Soil exploited for production.
6. Deforestation
– For establishment of industrial places, lands were deforested.
– Unsustainable forest management
– Mining and infrastructure projects which increase fire incidence and intensity
– Agricultural expansion
– Timber extraction, dam construction and oil extraction
– The land exploited for its enriched content.
– For agriculture spaces.
7. Melting of glaciers
– Snow, glaciers, ice lakes, etcetera started depleting due to the burning of fossil fuels.
– Oil and gas drilling
– Deforestation
– Change in the latent heat.
– Winds and ocean currents affected too.
8. Sea levels
– Due to the melt down of cryosphere, the water in the sea increases.
– Global warming
– Burning of coal and oil and cutting down tropical forests.
– Warming of ocean water also affects the sea level which is due to incline in the atmospheric
concentration of heath trapping gases.
9. Oceans temperature
– The temperature of ocean in directly proportional to earth’s temperature which increases due to
consumption of fossil fuels.
– Oceans absorb one third of the carbon and greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere.
– High content of carbon and incline in consumption of fossil fuels makes ocean more acidic.
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10. Fluctuation in rainfall
– Non- seasonal rainfalls disrupt the climate which is the cause of greenhouse gas emission and use of
land.
– High rainfall leads to flood situation, and drought in case of less which is due to the amount o
greenhouse gases and release of CO2 in atmosphere
– The melting of glaciers due to impact on biodiversity.
11. Effects on Ecosystem
– The change in climate in drastic manner leads to extinction of many species.
– Overpopulation which increases pollution and triggers climate and leads to poor air and water
quality.
iii. Pattern Maps/Spider Diagrams
Topic: Climate Change Date:
Essay Title: To what extent is Climate Change a result of human activities?
Reference:
Climate
Change
Human
Causes
Natural
Causes
Deforestation Industrialisati
on
Burning of
fossil fuelAgriculture
Rise in
temperature
Volcanic
eruption Earth’s orbit Solar
radiation
Earth’s
rotation Rainfall
Ocean
currents
Ocean more
acidic
Sea level
increases
Melting of
cryosphere
Degradation
of land
Extinction of
species
Greenhouse
gases & effect
Carbon dioxide
Methane
Nitrous monoxide
Global warming
CFCs
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Task 4:
Write a detailed essay plan highlighting the main argument. Include arguments for and against the thesis
statement.
Essay Title: To what extent is Climate Change a result of human activities?
Introduction
General The increase of carbon content in the atmosphere in various forms contributes
rise in green house effect, a major reason of global warming.
Specific  The concentration of CO2 (Carbon dioxide) has increased by 47%.
 The concentration of it in the atmosphere was close to 280ppm, in 1980s
and by 2000 it increased 11% around 390ppm.
 According to IPCC, human emission and activities causes global
warming.
 The burning of fossil fuels increasing the concentration of greenhouse
gases in atmosphere.
Outline and Thesis In this essay, the major reason that are responsible for causing climate change
are explained.
Yes – main ideas and support (humans cause climate change)
 Carbon based gases (like carbon di oxide, methane) are formed in the
atmosphere due to human activities like burning of fossil fuels, use of
automobiles, deforestation and industrialization are some of the human
activities that are causing climate change.
 Greenhouse gases are responsible for increasing the temperature of the planet
by keeping the heat trapped and not reflecting it back which leads to rise in
global warming.
 Global warming and emission of greenhouse gases are the outcome of incline in
industrialisation where around 40% carbon concentration has increased since
then.
 According to scientists the rise in temperature of the planet by 4C, can lead to
serious health issues for all living organism, also making some of the species
extinct which is the cause of overpopulation, overconsumption of available
resources, deforestation and depletion of resources.
No – main ideas and support
 Human activities are not solely responsible for climate change instead the
natural reasons are, like earth’s orbit and its rotation, solar radiance, volcanic
eruption are also causing climate change.
 The depletion of cryosphere due to the solar radiance is responsible for incline in
the sea level which is another cause of climate change.
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 Intense or low rain leads to flood and drought respectively, which has adverse
effects on the climate and such issues are the causes of climate change which mainly
depends on the consumption of resources and all human activities.
Conclusion
Summary The major contribution for climate change is human beings by their activities
like, excess utilisation of lands, burning of fossil fuels, etc.
Thesis The rise in carbon concentration is a major contributor for climate change, which
is increased naturally too. The natural events bring drastic damage to the
environment.
Recommendation Climate change affects every living being on the planet directly irrespective how
they contribute for it. Serious climate action should be practiced restoring the
climate.
Task 5
Write your draft Essay Introduction:
 With the time the population of earth has been increasing exponentially and so is their demands
leading to greater level of industrialisation and other factors which are hampering the climate
drastically and such effects on the climate leads to massive changes in the past decades.
 The reason behind the climate change is human activities and natural whereas, human are
directly influencing the climate in a way that the environment is highly exploited which can be
an outcome of overpopulation, overconsumption of natural resources, incline in the emission of
greenhouse gases and due to industrialization.
Task 6
Write a draft paragraph in support of your argument:
 The fulfilment of human demands on the stake of exploiting nature has been since long which is
increasing the demand and leading to exploitation of resources and leads to imbalance in
resources.
 The concentration of CO2 (Carbon dioxide) has increased by 47% as it was before
industrialisation currently which is nearly 412 parts per million (ppm) and even rising because of
industrialization, the concentration of various harmful gases in the atmosphere was close to
280ppm, around 1980s and by 2000 it increased 11% around 390ppm which is considered as the
major reason for the increase in carbon and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which is because
of the burning of the fossil fuels that is utilised by humans for energy in various areas.
Write a draft paragraph against the support of your argument:
 With the reason and justification of climate change happening majorly because of human
activities, some scientists disagree to it stating that human activities slightly and the major
reason are the natural activities behind the climate change which have been caused due to
Earth’s orbit and its rotation, which leads to summer in certain parts of hemispheres, variation in
solar activity which means the variation of energy emitted by the sun, volcanic activity, and the
drifts in the carbon concentration in the atmosphere.
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 The climate scientists have though do not have enough evidence to prove how natural reasons
are responsible for climate change while major causes of climate changes are the outcome of
human activities, such as resource overconsumption, burning of fossil fuels and industrialization.
Task 7
Write your draft essay Conclusion:
The exploitation of the climate by humans for the easy fulfilment of their tasks is a very important
aspect which creates climate change and this is caused by emission of greenhouse causes, carbon
concentration, incline in global warming, burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and other human
activities. Proper actions in the favour to restore the climate can be taken effectively altogether
which can instead of increasing the temperature by 1C can decrease by 1C.
Task 8
Use the feedback annotations on your essay to make amendments to your essay. Once you have addressed
the points to edit, make sure you use them in the 2nd draft of your essay:
Teacher Feedback Amendment
Improve spelling
Grammar
Climates change – Climate Change
Researches – research
Expand on your argument
Fix references
Evidence your claims
Task 9
Submit your final essay and this completed workbook by the deadline – TBC 2021.
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