Poor Fair Good Great Format 10% of grade Did not follow required format, doesn’t have a title or subheadings Minimal effort to follow required format, has a title but doesn’t describe topic, no subheadings Reasonable effort to follow required format, has a title which gives information about the main topic, some subheadings Followed required format, clear title which gives specific information about main topic, all subheadings Introduction 10% of grade There is no clear introduction or objective/hypothesis and the structure of the paper is missing. The introduction states the objective/hypothesis but does not adequately preview the structure of the paper. The introduction states the objective/hypothesis and previews the structure of the paper. The introduction is engaging, states the objective/hypothesis and previews the structure of the paper. Chico Precipitation 10% of grade Incorrect results provided, Mediterranean climate not defined, precipitation pattern/distribution not described, lack of specific data Mostly correct results provided, Mediterranean climate somewhat defined, precipitation pattern/distribution described poorly, lack of specific data, poor organization of material All results recorded and organized in an acceptable manner, Mediterranean climate defined, precipitation pattern/distribution described, specific data present, organization is logical All results recorded and organized in an clear manner, Mediterranean climate defined, precipitation pattern/distribution described well, specific data present, organization is logical and clear El Niño Potential Impact 20% of grade Incorrect results provided, analysis of data is incorrect, observations not included, poor organization of data, lack of specific data Mostly correct results provided, analysis of data is present but lacking substance, observations not included or lacking, minimal organization and reporting of specific data All results are recorded and organized in an acceptable manner, analysis of data is provided with a few errors, observations included, specific data included All results are recorded and organized in a clear manner, Analysis of data is provided with no errors, observations clearly included, data is specific and logically organized 2015-16 El Niño Comparison 20% of grade Incorrect comparison provided, analysis of data is incorrect, observations not included, poor organization of data, lack of conclusive data comparison Mostly correct comparison provided, analysis of data is present but lacks substance, observations lacking, minimal organization and reporting of data comparison Data comparisons are recorded and organized in an acceptable manner, analysis is provided with a few errors, observations included, logical conclusive statements Comparison of data is recorded and organized in a clear manner, analysis is provided with no errors, observations clearly included, logical conclusive statements Name: Points /5 /5 /5 /10 /10 /5 Conclusion/Summary 10% of grade Does not summarize paper, repeats previous statements. Not clearly a conclusion. Presents new material. Minimal attempt to summarize paper, has repetition of previous statements and/or presents new material. Clear summary of paper, repeats some previous statements. Student clearly understands research but did not perfectly articulate a summary. Clear summary of paper, does not repeat previous statements. Student clearly understands research and effectively articulates a summary. Professionalism 10% of grade Numerous and distracting errors in punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and/or grammar Many errors in punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and/or grammar. Almost no errors in punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and/or grammar No errors in punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and/or grammar Rough Draft 10% of grade Did not bring a rough draft at all. N/A Rough draft was present though lacked substance. Extensive rough draft was presented. Total Points Comments: /5 /5 /50

Writing Assignment #2 Overview: California has been experiencing a multi-year drought, and Chico is not an exception. Given that Chico receives much of its precipitation during the winter months, any additional precipitation above normal during the winter months is clearly helpful to remediate the drought. Over the water year of 2015-16 (October 2015 through September 2016), we experienced a strong El Niño event. El Niño alters weather events worldwide, and generally leads to a greater frequency and intensity of rain events in California. In this assignment, you describe the climate for Chico (and California) and compare what was likely to have happened with what actually happened for the last winter (the winter of 2015-16) with the data provided (figures 1 through 3). You will refer to these figures to support your arguments (instructions 2 through 4 below). If you use any information from external sources, you must cite that information. Turn in: Submit the paper via a Turnitin link on Blackboard. Make sure that your paper adheres to the following paper-formatting requirements:  two-page maximum (only the first two pages of text will be considered for points)  12-point font size  double-spaced line spacing  Times New Roman font  one-inch margins  subheader for each section (much like these instructions) Again, do not exceed the two-page limit. If your paper is longer than two pages, you need to edit out filler and repeated statements. Be concise. Instructions: Review the attached rubric to understand what must be included and what we are looking for. Your paper must have five distinct sections as specified below: 1. Introduction – what is this paper about? How will you accomplish your task? You should clearly state a thesis statement in this paragraph, followed by brief/concise descriptions of how your paper is organized. 2. Describe the precipitation pattern and distribution for Chico (see Figure 1). Make sure to briefly summarize the Mediterranean climate in this paragraph with a focus on its unique precipitation pattern. Associate this climate to Chico’s precipitation pattern. 3. El Niño is known to affect California’s winter precipitation. Describe what is likely to happen to California’s precipitation during the winter if there is a strong El Niño event (see Figure 2). 4. One of the strongest El Niño events on record has ended. In general, how is California’s precipitation (difference from average in Figure 3) correlated to strong El Niño events? Did we have an amount of precipitation that is unique to a strong El Niño winter? Compare and contrast this past winter’s (2015-16) precipitation amount to other winters when strong El Niño events took place. Note: the years of 1982-83 and 1997-98 are strong El Niño years (see Figure 3). 5. Conclusion. Briefly summarize the main points of your paper. Do not introduce new items and repeat your findings in length here. Tips:  Be concise. Get to the point. This is technical writing, not story time.  Be confident about the data. Report what the data is showing in specific terms.  All claims/conclusive statements must be supported with data that is specifically stated in the text. Unsupported statements are useless. Writing Assignment 2 Readinesss Quiz (5 points) You are going to take a Writing Assignment 2 Readiness Quiz. This readiness quiz tests your understanding of the datasets provided in this Writing Assignment. By taking this readiness quiz first before start writing, you will already have an understanding of the datasets you are writing about. Temperature (°C) 25 12.4 14 11.6 11.8 10.9 20 8.3 12 10 8 15 10 6 4.5 3.6 2.7 5 1.3 1.1 0.1 4 2 0.2 0 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Month Precip Temp Figure 1: Climograph for Chico, CA Source: https://weather.com/weather/monthly/l/USCA0211:1:U Precipitation (cm) 30 Figure 2: El Niño impact on winter rain days Source: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/october-2015-el-niño-update-pumpkin-spice Figure 3: California Precipitation and ENSO Status, Dec-Mar Source: https://www.climate.gov/news-features/blogs/enso/long-arm-california-drought