Your argument should contribute to the discourse on climate justice. There are questions about how we should prepare the worst effects of climate change, address issues like inequality, and how fast and in what ways we should transition to new technologies, as well as whether these technologies are the best solution. Some may come with their own problems.
Your task is to make a researched, informed claim about climate justice. You will need to narrow your topic to a specific issue that you think is significant to argue. You may wish to review the “Resources” from the UC Center for Climate Justice web site to help you narrow your topic to a specific issue. Take a cue from the sources you discover in your research. They will help you determine your audience.
You should cite at least five sources, but you may use as many as you need. This does not mean that you should research only five sources. Indeed, to select five sources, you would, on average, read and consult around twenty sources. Adequate research will result in your acquisition of a certain amount of expertise on the issue you choose, which will enable you to assess the rhetorical situation and make an argument that is timely for the discourse.
Research is a process. Working from a general subject to a narrowed topic ,and then to a significant, arguable issue, about which you will make an informed, reasonable (this means logical) claim, a thesis, takes time. The process is a cycle of thinking and rethinking, reading, drafting, revising, and more drafting. It takes commitment, time, and effort.
An effective paper will be organized around support and exposition of a thesis. You will need to explain your logic and summarize, analyze, and relate the cited sources to the thesis., including any sources that make counterarguments that you refute or to which you concede.
In your research, you should review the news media, search the internet, make use of library databases, such as CQ Researcher and Ebscohost.
The five mandatory sources should include an article from a library database, a web site, and an academic (peer-reviewed) source.