Human Geography Comparative Report
Human Geography – Guidelines for Comparative Report
Please research and write a 4 to 5-page analytical report on a topic related to human geography. Select as your topic a specific human phenomenon having spatial variation and compare its presence between two equivalent geographic units (city, state, country, etc.). The report is worth 100 points.
The report will have two parts to it. The first part will be a description of how the phenomenon is different and/or similar in the two places (maximum 40 points). The second part will be an analysis, in which you offer three or more plausible explanations for why this difference and/or similarity exist (maximum 50 points). In this class we have learned to ask where and why about many things. Your analysis should reflect your learning in the course: It is very unlikely that there will be a single right answer. Your answer will be graded on the quality of your analysis. Furthermore, proper referencing (5 points) and organization of materials (5 points) are required.
Please follow these guidelines:
Font: 12-point font-
Spacing: Double-space
Length: Five pages
References: At the end of the report have an additional page listing at least five sources you consulted to research this topic. For the sake of your own experience, I would prefer you use at least two non-Internet sources. Materials from Wikipedia will not be accepted.
To help you better understand the nature of the assignment, here are some sample topics:
– Compare a county (or state, country) with the lowest divorce rate (or graduation rate, birth rate, etc.) with the one having the highest. (example: Within a particular state, county A has the highest divorce rate and county B has the lowest. Is this due to spatial variation in incomes, age at marriage, religious traits, etc.?)
– Compare the amount of public transportation available (or recycling, etc.) in one city with that in a similarly sized city in the same country or in another country.
– Compare the percentage of gross national product (GNP) a country spends on a particular need (defense, education, etc.) vs. the percentage spent by another country.
– Compare immigration to a country and that of another country.
– Compare infant mortality rates and the reasons behind it in a developed versus a developing country.
– Compare a variety of crop (or breed) farmers prefer in one area with the variety they prefer in another (example: one wheat hybrid may be preferred in one place, but a different wheat hybrid is preferred in another–is this due to spatial variation in climate, soil, cost, personal preference, availability of the hybrid, market for the hybrid, etc.?)
– Compare poverty levels in a developed country and that of a developing country.
– Compare urbanization in a developed country and that of a developing country.
– Compare gender inequality in a developed country and that of a developing country.
– Compare agricultural activities in a state in the U.S. compare to another state in the U.S.
-Compare maternal mortality in a developed country and that of a developing country.
-Compare environmental condition in a specific developed country and that of a specific developing country.
-Compare ethnic conflict in a particular country and that of another country.
Note: be careful not to plagiarize and try to put things in your own words as much as you can. If you quote or borrow heavily, reference your source.
If not an exact quote, but borrowing heavily (i.e. either paraphrasing someone or using that person’s idea), don’t use quotes, but at least give credit to that person
Format for reference page:
1. You may title your reference page either “References” or “Sources.”
2. Below is how I recommend you annotate your sources–
If a book:
Grimshaw, D.J. (1994). Bringing geographical information systems into business. New York: John Wiley. [one author]
Birkin, M., & Wilson, A. (2010). Urbanization in the Global South. London: Routledge [two authors]
If a newspaper:
Munny, M. (2003). “Nigerian Incomes on the Rise.” Wall Street Journal, 13 August 2003, 12B and 16B.
If a magazine:
Scully, D. (2002). “Unusual Sightings Have Idaho Town on Edge.” Newsweek, 31 October 2002, 13.
If a scholarly journal:
Hilson, G., & Clifford, M.J. (2010). Small-scale gold mining, the environment and human health: and introduction to the Ghana case. International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 4(3), 185-194.
If a Website:
GeoStats website, “Country D
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
