This assignment will help you to become aware of your surroundings and to record geological observations with a camera.

It is also a research project. Once you have the pictures, you will need to explain what you have observed, in technically correct language, citing your references within the text, and with a list of cited references at the end of your report.

You don't have to be a professional photographer or a camera expert to do this project. You just have to keep an eye out for geologic features, and a desire to learn. The assignment is as follows:

• You need to prepare and submit a photo album that includes, at a minimum, ten (10) image subjects. You may use the list below as a guide.
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• You must shoot the photos yourself! They might have been from a recent trip to some far-away place, or right here in your own back yard. If there is any doubt, you should be able to provide either the film negatives or the original files from the camera memory which contains EXIF information.
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• You will need a camera, either digital or film. If you do not own a camera, you may borrow a friend's or use a disposable version.
  **** NOTE *****
  Your cell phone may contain a digital camera, but it will NOT produce acceptable results for this project!
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• If you aren't already comfortable with the technology involved in this sort of work, you may be better off doing the research paper instead. If done correctly, it's much more work than it might appear to be at first glance, but you will learn a great deal!
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• The photo album presentation is up to your imagination (so be creative), but you must include the following items for each photo included:
• • a title at the top of the page
  • clear illustration of the geological feature or process (you might need two or more photos from different angles, closeup and panoramic, etc. to make your point)
  • name of geologic feature or process (be specific!)
  • date and specific location in which you took the photo (small index map might help)
  • clear labeling directly on the photo to help distinguish the feature
  • complete, scientific, type-written caption (one or two paragraphs) describing the feature and how it was formed (do your research, and cite your refences in your text, in A.P.A. format)
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• You should have a title page at the beginning, and a page of references at the end.

Once more, for emphasis, DON'T try this unless you're willing to do the research and preparation!

USE THE WRITING CENTER!!!

Additional Useful Information:

Links to some "Geo-Writing" Pages

APA Formatting and Style Guide - The OWL at Purdue

Sample APA Research Paper

APA Citation Guide (2001)

APA Style Home Page

APA Style Samples (MiraCosta College)

Son of Citation Machine

The Southwestern College Library

The SWC Academic Success Center
(includes tutoring and the Online Writing Laboratory {OWL})

Grading sheets (can be used as a check list):

Research Paper Grading Sheet

Photo Project Grading Sheet

Sample Photo Projects:

Sample Photo Project 1 (score: 84/100)

Sample Photo Project 2 (score: 99/100)

Sample Photo Project 3 (score: 91/100)