Year 9: Plastic Pollution

This assessment requires you to research the problem of plastic through analysing and responding to data and stimulus material published on the  Highlands Interconnections unit page. You will write an investigative report in which you describe and explain the impact of plastic in the environment and analyse why plastic pollution is a greater problem in Indonesia than it is in Australia.

Your report will address the following:  

1. the global distribution of plastic pollution

2. the impact of plastic pollution on the environment

3. the comparison of plastic pollution in Indonesia and Australia

4. strategies to manage plastic pollution into the future

Statistics

Plastic Pollution Coalition : Theory of Change

Google Advanced search techniques

1. You can complete an advanced search in Google Advanced Search, which helps narrow or refine your search for better, more specific results.

2.  Narrow your results to one particular domain type, by adding site: and a domain name to your search terms.

• Looking for an educational site -  genetic engineering site:edu
• Looking for a government site - genetic engineering site:gov
• To restrict your search to Australian websites, add '.au' -  genetic engineering site:edu.au

3. Use 'Ctrl F' (Control + Find) to search for particular terms easily in a long document, whether from a website or a database article.

4. Use a Google command to limit results to the MOST RECENT: After you get your results, choose the Google Menu Bar, and choose 'Tools'. Then on the far left, at the drop-down menu next to 'Any Time', .you can choose 'Within the last year' (or less, if you prefer), but generally, you can choose 'Custom Range' at the bottom, as often the last 3 to 5 years would be sufficient for a recent search.

5. Use Boolean searching

• Use double inverted commas ("...") to enclose a phrase eg "plastic pollution". This command forces Google to return results where these 2 words are exactly side by side.
• Use AND to limit your results: A search for this phrase - Australian AND Indonesian "plastic pollution" will force Google to return results where both Australian and Indonesian plastic pollution is mentioned in the same article.
• Use NOT to limit your results (in a different way): A search for this - "plastic pollution" NOT marine - will force Google to return results about plastic pollution which do not include anything related to the ocean.
• Use OR to expand your results: A search for this - global OR worldwide "plastic pollution" - will force Google to return results for global as well as its synonym worldwide.
• Use filetype:pdf to search in Google for only pdf articles - "plastic pollution" filetype:pdf - will force Google to return results on plastic pollution which are only pdf articles (PDFs are great sources sometimes deeply buried in Google results and remain unseen).

Before you hand in your assignment, check you have addressed all the aspects required in your Critieria Sheet. 

As you complete the content of your Report, review the format of your Report using the following checklist:

• Title Page - include your name/class, teacher's name and a relevant image
• Table of Contents sits on its own page following the title page
• Numbering starts on Page 1 (your Introduction page)
• Each section of the report is given a number and title e.g. 1. Introduction 2. Discussion/Findings 3. Conclusion (Heading 1)
• Subsections within each major section ts a sub-section number e.g. 3.1, 3.2 (Heading 2)
• Each new section should start on the top of a NEW page 

References

• In-text references completed
• All sources recorded in CiteAce -  copied and transferred to the end of your Report under  REFERENCES.

When you are away from the campus you will need to login using the appropriate username and password - previously sent to you by email from Ms King.  Please see library staff if you cannot find these details.

Example of article from Australian Points of View

Example of article from Australia/NZ Reference Centre

Image from Global Issues in Context