Research & Summaries Question

Learning Goal: I’m working on a research & summaries writing question and need the explanation and answer to help me learn.

Prompt

What is the most important threat to coffee production in your assigned country and the most promising solution to address this threat or reduce its impact? Your paper must do the following:

• Discuss only one threat. Note that you cannot choose climate change as your threat; you must be more specific (e.g. rising temperatures, unpredictable weather, etc.)
• Discuss only one solution to address the threat or reduce its impact;
• Have a clear thesis and blueprint of reasons for both your chosen threat and solution;
• Engage with concepts from at least two course modules;
• Use at least one current, coffee-related policy, project or initiative happening in your assigned country to discuss your one solution;
• Be at least 1500 words (roughly six double-spaced pages).

The purpose of the research paper is to allow you to organize and write a multi-part essay, use what youve learned about your assigned country to make a persuasive argument, and demonstrate your knowledge of the writing skills we have introduced during the class.

Read this full assignment to make sure you understand the additional requirements for your paper.

Audience

Each country has a Ministry of Agriculture–a department in charge of agricultural policies and regulations. For this assignment, imagine that you are working as a research consultant in your assigned country and that the Ministry is re-evaluating their policies and funding for the coffee sector. They have requested an assessment of the single greatest threat to coffee within the country as well as a way to address this threat. The officials who will read this report know that coffee is an important crop for their country but are not coffee experts. It is not safe to assume they know details about the cultivation, economics, or social dynamics of growing coffee.

(Note: Your audience does not know anything about this course. If you discuss resources from this course, you must introduce them without mentioning this course.)

Recommended Structure

Your report should have two main sections: part one should focus on ONE threat and part two on ONE solution. Demonstrating how your solution addresses the main points you make about the threat will ensure a strong, cohesive argument.

A recommended structure is:

• Briefly provide relevant information on coffee production in your assigned country before concluding your introductory paragraph with your thesis statement (see next section).
• Decide on the 2 or 3 points the Ministry absolutely needs to know about the threat. Write 1-2 body paragraphs on each of these points. Support your points with evidence. This should include definitions of key terms, paraphrasing of key sources, and an explanation of how these sources support your argument. Quotations are acceptable as evidence but only if you cannot express the same information in your own words.
• Decide on 2 or 3 points the Ministry should know about the solution before taking action. Write 1-2 body paragraphs on each of these points.
• Your discussion of the solution should include one specific, coffee-related project, policy, or initiative as evidence. You can discuss the project throughout the second half of your essay to explain your main points, or you can describe and analyze the project in a separate paragraph in part two of your essay.

• Summarize your paper with a conclusion that includes a restatement of your thesis.

You used this same structure to create an outline on the . Make sure you apply the feedback you received on the . You can also use the available on the course website.

Details about each component of your paper are below:

Thesis:

You should update your draft thesis statement based on TA feedback and your continued research. Since there are two major sections, you should have a compound thesis that is 2-4 sentences in length. Your thesis must answer both of the following questions:

1) What is the most important threat to coffee production in your assigned country?

2) What is the most promising coffee-related solution that can address or reduce the impact of this threat?

Support your answer to each question with 2 to 3 points. This means your thesis will include two blueprints of reasons, one for the threat portion of your essay and one for your discussion of a solution. If you would like more guidance in developing a strong thesis statement, visit office hours with one of the instructors. Some examples of sample thesis statements can be found in .

Part 1: Threat to production

In this section of your paper, you will describe the most important threat to coffee production in your assigned country.

Examples of threats include:

• An increase in the occurrence of pests and diseases;
• A current C price that does not cover the cost of production;
• Inadequate government funding agricultural extension programs;
• The burden that women face in your countrys coffee supply chain; or
• Rising temperatures that are making a particular region less suitable for coffee production.

Please note, you cannot say climate change is the biggest threat to coffee in your country. This is too broad. If you choose a climate-related threat, you MUST identify a specific impact of climate change (i.e. changing temperatures, rainfall patterns, etc.) on coffee production systems.

You will use your understanding of your assigned country to present the 2 to 3 most important points to understand about this threat. These points can explain how the threat became so significant, its impact on the country, or evidence for why it is more important than other threats to coffee production.

Part 2: Assessment of Solutions

The second part of your paper should name and describe one existing solution that can address your chosen threat or reduce its impact. This solution should relate to the topics we have studied in the course: coffee ecology and genetics, economics and marketing, sustainability, international development, coffee research and extension, etc.

To ensure that your solution is grounded in the reality of coffee communities, you must include an existing, coffee-related project, policy, or initiative in the discussion of your solution. This project can be a positive example of your solution in action, or it can be a negative example that your solution could help fix . This project, policy, or initiative can come from a farmer cooperative, research institution, government agency, private company, or non-profit organization. It should take place on coffee farms or directly benefit coffee farmers. Examples of projects, policies, or initiatives include the following:

• A development agency providing microloans to farmers;
• A private company donating shade trees to mitigate the effects of climate change;

• The government investing in a digital extension program for farmers; or
• New government regulations that monitor water use and fertilizer leaching.

If you choose a project not currently taking place in your assigned country, you must provide evidence for how it would work in your assigned country based on your countrys ecology, history, economy, and culture.

Evaluation

We will base our evaluation on the following:

• How directly your paper responds to the prompt;
• The clarity of your thesis, blueprint, and topic sentences;
• The degree to which you have applied our feedback from assignments;
• The degree to which your analysis demonstrates an understanding of the ecological, social, economic, cultural, and political situation in your assigned country;
• The quality, introduction, and interpretation of evidence in your paragraphs. You must cite at least seven sources within your paper from the following categories:
• One or more course lectures;
• One or more course readings;
• One reference about your assigned country;
• at least two sources from academic journals, books, or reports.

Be sure to refer to the rubric below for specific information about how we will evaluate your paper.

Formatting and submission requirements

• • A cover page, formatted according to APA;
  • A unique title for your paper;
  • One-inch margins around each side;
  • 12 pt. Times New Roman font;
  • Double-spacing;
  • References with hanging indents;
  • A URL or DOI address for all references;
  • You do not need an abstract

  EvaluationWe will base our evaluation on the following:

  • How directly your paper responds to the prompt;
  • The clarity of your thesis, blueprint, and topic sentences;
  • The degree to which you have applied our feedback from assignments;
  • The degree to which your analysis demonstrates an understanding of the ecological, social, economic, cultural, and political situation in your assigned country;
  • The quality, introduction, and interpretation of evidence in your paragraphs. You must cite at least seven sources within your paper from the following categories:
  • One or more course lectures;
  • One or more course readings;
  • One reference about your assigned country;
  • at least two sources from academic journals, books, or reports.

  Be sure to refer to the rubric below for specific information about how we will evaluate your paper.