Your essay must have a clear, original thesis, well-developedsupporting points, a logical organization, and writing that is freefrom major mechanical errors. In addition, you are required toincorporate (via direct quotation or paraphrase) information fromtwo readings. These references to outside work must be correctlycited with an in-text parenthetical citation of the author’s lastname and the page number); however, you will not be required tocompose a Works Cited page.
You will compose a thesis-driven essay that makes use of two of thefollowing four essays (all essays are in Chapter Seventeen ofGreene and Lidinsky):
Jim Tarter’s “Some Live More Downstream than Others: Cancer,Gender, and Environmental Justice,” pp. 822-835.
Curtis White’s “A Good without Light: The Seamy Side ofSustainability,” pp. 836-844.
Anna Lappe’s “The Climate Crisis at the End of our Fork,” pp.852-865.
Michael Pollan’s “Why Bother?,” pp. 871-876.
Each of these essays addresses the broad topic of environmentalsustainability—how humans interact with the natural world, ourresponsibilities as citizens of the natural world, and the gap thatsometimes exists between the rhetoric of the environmental movement(“organic,” “sustainable,” “community-owned”) and the economic andsocial realities of the movement.
You will write a critical, thesis-driven essay on some conversationraised in the readings or suggested by them. In order to write youressay, you will need to hone in on a specific conversation ofinterest represented in the readings, and then craft your ownthesis that makes a contribution to that conversation. Your thesismust articulate your own contribution, not simply reiteratearguments made in the readings. Remember that you must incorporatetwo of the above readings into your essay. There are manypossibilities; you will need to develop your own topic/define yourown conversation, and it should not be simply a summary of thearticles. You should create a thesis statement and write anargumentative essay that seeks to prove your claim. Your audienceis educated peers who have not read the texts you will mention inyour essay.
What topics are common to the readings?
Which issue or idea discussed do you find mostinteresting?
What evidence or support from your own experience could you use todevelop an argument?
What evidence or support do the readings provide?
What social, political, or economic questions do these articleraise? How do you respond to these questions?
What value questions do these article raise? How do you respond tothese questions? Can you articulate an arguable claim about thesequestions?
Are there aesthetic or scientific dimensions to the issue thatwould be interesting to explore?





