Extra Credit Options

You may complete up to 20 points of extra credit.

1. For 5 points: Create a video podcast – appropriate for posting on the Wilderness419 blog - demonstrating your understanding of 5 or more of the following. The video must be at least 5 minutes long, creative, and entertaining:

• Aldo Leopold and his work
• John Muir’s role in Wilderness thought/preservation
• Henry David Thoreau’s work and how it influenced wilderness thought
• Biocentrism / Anthropocentrism
• The importance of predators in natural systems
• The Wilderness Act
• Deep Ecology
• Indigenous peoples’  view of nature
• Radical environmentalism

2. For 10 points: Attend a environmentally-themed lecture, hike, or similar event. (Daemen College produces a comprehensive newsletter listing local environmental events. Find it at http://www.daemen.edu/about/centers-and-initiatives/center-sustainable-communities/enviro-news

1.      Take a picture of yourself clearly at the event
2.      Do a one page write-up typed and answer the following questions:
3.      What was the event and where was it located
4.      Explain why this event took place or its purpose
5.      Explain how this event relates to our wilderness course and/or the concepts we’ve covered
6.      Explain 3 environmental ideas you learned at this event
7.      Who put the event on, the leader’s contact information, and any related events they might be putting on in the future

3. For 20 points: Write a book review on one of these works. The book review should be at least three, double-spaced pages. See the guidelines “Writing a Book Review” below:

1. Twelve by Twelve: A One-Room Cabin Off the Grid and Beyond the American Dream by William Powers
2. The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
3. Living on Wilderness Time by Melissa Walker
4. Encounters with the Archdruid by John McPhee
5. Woodswoman: Living Alone in the Adirondack Wilderness by Anne Labastille
6. Confessions of an Eco-Warrior by Dave Foreman
7. A Year In The Maine Woods by Bernd Heinrich

Writing a Book Review

Your book review is not a book report – it is a description, critical analysis, and evaluation on the quality, meaning, and significance of a book. It is not a retelling. It should focus on the book's purpose, content, and authority. Again, it is neither a book report, nor a summary. It is a reaction paper in which strengths and weaknesses of the material are analyzed. It should state what the author tried to do, an evaluation of how well (in your opinion) the author succeeded, and present evidence to support your evaluation.

There is no one-size-fits-all way to write a book review. This type of writing should be extremely personal and reflect your opinions.

The following are some customary procedures for writing a book review; they are suggestions, not a set of criteria that has to be followed.

1. State the author’s purpose, theme, and/or thesis. Sometimes authors make their purpose known in the preface or in the first chapter.
2. Discuss the author's style. Is it formal or informal? Evaluate the quality of the writing by using some of the following standards: coherence, clarity, originality, forcefulness, correct use of technical words, conciseness, fullness of development, fluidity. Does it suit the intended audience?
3. How did the book affect you? Were any previous ideas you had on the subject changed, abandoned, or reinforced due to this book? How is the book related to your own course or personal agenda? What personal experiences you've had relate to the subject?
4. In your mind, how well did the book achieve the author’s goal?
5. Would you recommend this book or article to others? Why?
6. Illustrate your remarks with specific references and quotations.
7. Evaluate the book for interest, accuracy, objectivity, importance, thoroughness, and usefulness to its intended audience. Show whether the author's main arguments are true. Respond to the author's opinions. What do you agree or disagree with? And why? Illustrate whether or not any conclusions drawn are derived logically from the evidence. Explore issues the book raises. What possibilities does the book suggest? What has the author omitted or what problems were left unsolved? What specific points are not convincing? Compare it with other books on similar subjects or other books by the same as well as different authors. Is it only a reworking of earlier books; a refutation of previous positions? Have newly uncovered sources justified a new approach by the author? Comment on parts of particular interest, and point out anything that seems to give the book literary merit. Relate the book to larger issues.
8. Try to find further information about the author - reputation, qualifications, influences, biographical, etc. - any information that is relevant to the book being reviewed and that would help to establish the author's authority. Can you discern any connections between the author's philosophy, life experience and the reviewed book?
9. Check the back matter. Check end notes/footnotes as you read. Do they provide important additional information? Do they clarify/extend points made in the text? Check any bibliography the author may provide. What kinds of sources, primary or secondary, are in the bibliography? How does the author use them? Make note of significant omissions.
10. Summarize (briefly), analyze, and comment on the book’s content. State your general conclusions. Pay close attention to the author's concluding chapter. Is the summary/final argument convincing? List the principal topics, and briefly summarize the author’s ideas about these topics – their main points and conclusions. Use specific references / quotations to support your statements. If your thesis is well argued, the conclusion will follow naturally. It can include a final assessment or you might simply restate your thesis. Do not introduce new material in the final summary.

*adapted from Los Angeles Valley College’s “How to Write a Book Review”, retrieved from  http://www.lavc.cc.ca.us/Library/bookreview.htm on March 31, 2012 and Carleton College’s “How to Write a Critical Book Review” by S. Zabin, retrieved from http://apps.carleton.edu/curricul            ar/history/study/criticalbookreview/