What is the effect of soda can littering on animals and plants? (pdf)
SODA CAN PAPER NOTES
We have chosen to show this example of a Planet Earth paper from several years ago because it is well thought out, clearly written, and includes many of the features we are looking for in your proposals. However, in more recent years we have narrowed the allowable range of proposal topics so that they must have something to do with the physical environment: the ocean, atmosphere, or solid earth. Questions that have to do primarily with biological processes (processes involving or affecting plants, animals, people) are no longer within the scope of the assignment. So as you read this example, seek to emulate the format and technique, not the topic.
Good points about this paper:
The author considered a variety of working hypotheses. It is possible to write a good proposal with only one working hypothesis, but it is generally a good idea to bend over backwards to keep an open mind to alternative possibilities. Notice that the working hypotheses in this proposal are not mutually exclusive. This kind of situation, where more than one thing can be going on at a time, is typical of the earth system.
The Planned Work provided quite a bit of detail about what would be done, and what would be observed. The author anticipated a number of potential problems and complexities, and had given some thought as to how to minimize the problems and understand the complexities.
The section on "How the plan will constrain the question" actually does directly address how specific observations to be obtained under the planned work will support or not support various of the working hypotheses. The author makes good use of the structure "If we saw _______, it would mean ________," to explore various potential outcomes to the plan.
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