No Impact Man free essay sample

People must use less energy, conserve nonrenewable resources, and minimize their negative impact on Earth. An example of this new way of living is that of Colin Beavan in his book, â€Å"No Impact Man. † It is a true story about the year he spent having no impact on the earth and living an entirely eco-effective life. Along with his family, he does so by minimizing his use of electricity, generating no waste, and watching every move they make to ensure his family makes no impact on Earth. Beavan is initially motivated by the global, highly publicized problems, his relationship with his family, and the guilt he feels for his lack of environmental action. Throughout the project, these motivations evolve and he is ultimately motivated by more personal, community problems, maintaining his new relationship with his family, and the guilt he feels about leaving the project. At first, Beavan is concerned with the largely publicized environmental problems. Select the most important and interesting motivating factors and explore how they directly led to the means and methods of such a drastic experiment. For example, why did Beavan shut the lights off when he could have spent a year lobbying his member of congress? Why did he give up some conveniences and products and not others? His motivations dictated his means. And why, for example, did he push through, even when he struggled with his own self-imposed rules and/or the difficulties that he faced in his environment? Finally, ask yourself how Beavan felt about continuing his project during the first week vs. during the last week. In your body paragraphs, find examples from the book and analyze how Beavan’s choices and writing prove your thesis. Do not simply summarize. Demonstrate how he successfully tackles these motivating factors and makes personal inroads at the same time as informing and inspiring his audience. Organize your paper by subtopics instead of moving linearly through the book as this often leads to summary (i. e. First Beavan did this, then he did this, etc. ). For instance, you could use motivating factors as subtopics and discuss how each factor evolves before moving on to the next. Audience Assume that your audience is college-educated (or is a fellow college student) who has read No Impact Man. You should avoid summarizing in this essay, and instead focus on providing evidence for analysis. Procedure Your analysis should include the following: 1. An introduction that introduces the topic of sustainable living, the title of the book, the author’s name, the author’s main goals and arguments, and a strong thesis statement. 2. Several body paragraphs that support your central assertion. Each of these paragraphs should be well-developed, coherent, and focused on a clear topic sentence. Incorporate 3-4 short quotations from the book to support your ideas. Otherwise, use paraphrase when providing evidence. You must also use at least one specific reference to a piece of evidence from the NIM documentary. The body paragraphs need transitions, topic sentences, and support. 3. A conclusion that communicates your thesis in a new way and emphasizes the importance of your topic to the reader. Use a quote from the text, or leave the reader a question to think about. . An MLA-formatted works cited page, including citations for both the book as well as the documentary. Formatting 3. 5-4. 5 pages. The essay must be typed (double-spaced) on 8. 5 x 11 inch sheets of white paper in standard font (for example, un-italicized, un-bolded, black, 12-point Times New Roman). Leave one inch of margin around the page. Left justify. Include your name, the instructor’s name, the title o f the course, and the date in the upper-left corner of the first page of each essay, but do not use a folder or cover sheet. Due Dates