Short Term Paper
As part of the course, you are required to write a short paper detailing the events of a natural disaster, either here in Canada or abroad. For example, you could write about the 2004 Sumatran earthquake and tsunami or the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora
Things to consider when writing your paper:
What, when and where did the event occur?
How did this event occur? What is the geological context? What was the timeline of events?
What happened in the aftermath of the disaster? What were the human/economic consequences?
What (if any) mitigation techniques were employed prior to the disaster? What mitigation techniques
have now been implemented to prevent future disasters?
Technicalities:
Must not exceed 2 pages in length (excluding references).
Font type: Arial or Times New Roman, Size 12, Letter paper size with 2 cm margins.
Must include your name and UCID number on all pages.
Figures can be included but must be correctly sourced and referenced.
References: APA style, see https://www.mendeley.com/guides/apa-citation-guide/ for further
information and examples.
English language, spelling and grammar will all factor into the assessment.
Possible Layout and Structure
This is meant as a guide and is by no means exhaustive or the only way to structure your paper.
1. Summary: Provide a brief overview of the event what happened, where did it happen, when did it
happen and how did it happen. (3-5 sentences). Should
provide a summary of your entire paper.
2. Introduction and Geological Context: Why did the natural hazard occur here? Have any previous events
occurred? (1-2 paragraph(s)).
3. Event Details: Timeline of event (1 paragraph).
4. Aftermath and Legacy of the event: What were the repercussions? (1-2 paragraphs).
5. Mitigation Techniques: How could this have been avoided? What has been done following the event to
avoid future loss? (1-2 paragraphs).
6. References.
Some Good Starting Resources
United States Geological Survey: https://www.usgs.gov/
Natural Resources: https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/home
Government of Canada: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/policing/emergencies/hazards.html
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: https://www.noaa.gov/
Our World in Data: https://ourworldindata.org/natural-disasters
Recommended Textbook: Abbott, P. L. (2020). Natural Disasters, 11th Edition. McGraw Hill.
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.ca/ Academic papers, type in the search the name of your event
to see the research that has been undertaken.
News Articles e.g., Scientific American https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-running-list-of-
record-breaking-natural-disasters-in-2020/
Remember to look at the references that these articles/sites referenced and see if they can provide
you with more information/context.
Wikipedia is not an acceptable source to gather information from it is unreliable and can be edited by anyone!