Literature Review Assignment on Conservation in Kenya

Assignment Summary

Written report Summary: Marks: 50% of the Module Assessment Marking Scheme: See Appendix 7 (see also writing tips, Appendix 8) Deadline for Submission: 14th February 2020 by 1200 Submission Format: Electronic For all module assignments, you should submit in electronic format via BOTH E-BART and also Turn It In on ELE by 12pm on the day of the assignment deadline. Electronic copies should be submitted as PDFs via E-BART, which can be found on your Bart submissions tab. You should then retrieve and save your EBART document (with BART cover sheet attached) and then submit the E-BART document via Turn It In. Turning a Word document into a PDF is very easy.

 

Simply click 'save as' and then select 'PDF' from the 'Save as type' drop down box. If you are using an older version of Word that does not have this function, you can download PDF creation software free from the web (e.g. PDF995). Essay Format: word-processed in format of a review article in Trends in Ecology and Evolution (TREE). The absolute word limit for the document is 3000 words. Your mark will be penalised by 5% if you exceed the word count by 0-25% (0-750 words); if you exceed the word count by >25% (750 words) your mark will be penalised 10%. The essays are exercises in synthesis of the peer reviewed literature. Unpublished and online resources can be referred to but must be in the minority of cited items. The format for the essay is that of an article in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution (TREE) – guidelines for these, and examples of published articles can be found at: http://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/ Succinct reviews are preferred with the text (without references) up to 2000 words (all text from first word of title to the start of the referemce section.

 

The overall word limit of 3000 words is for the entire document (including text, references, text boxes, figure and table legends). Figures and diagrams can be included but must add significantly to the article and be properly cited if not original. Topics are generally assigned by the course tutor based on current major debates in conservation (see below). The assessment is testing whether your essay shows:

1. Understanding and accurate description of material from a comprehensive set of references.

2. Evidence that you have interpreted the source material, and used it to produce a coherent overall synthesis and argument.

3. Appropriate, clear presentation, including clear use of scientific English language, formatting of references and reference list. Topics for your literature review are as follows. Choose one of these topics.

 

The topics are broad, therefore you can “zoom in” on aspects of them, but in the end your review should attempt to answer the question posed, just like in an exam. Use evidence-based argument, case studies, examples from the literature, to bring together an argument and a synthesis/conclusion that follows logically from the argument. Be bold with your conclusions, but ground yourself in evidence (always). Opinion is useful in conversation, but in scientific writing it must be backed up with EVIDENCE or THEORY.

 

Topic 1: The conservation of Kenyan wildlife is a national problem that requires global solutions

Topic 2: Kenya’s cultural diversity poses both challenges and opportunities for the conservation of its wildlife.

Topic 3: Kenya conserves its wildlife differently from the rest of the world.

Topic 4: Community engagement is the only effective solution to Kenya’s conservation issues.

Topic 5: Conservation outside of national parks; the role of private reserves in securing the future of threatened species

Topic 6: Approaches to reducing human-wildlife conflict in Kenya.