GEOG 1010 A
Dr. Hester Jiskoot
Introduction to Geography: TEST 1
Spring 2009
Learning outcomes of this assignment
1) Ability to log on and use the University computing system and selected software programs.
2) Ability to successfully send a message using the University email system.
3) Ability to briefly explain the geographical significance of a familiar place.
4) Ability to use a World Wide Web search engine to find a relevant website.
Assignment details
Email me (hester.jiskoot@uleth.ca) in MAXIMUM 100 WORDS plain text (written in the email body,
so no attachments and no figures allowed):
1) Who you are and what you are majoring in
2) Where you are from and what is geographically interesting about this part of the world.
3) Add the URL* of one geography related website that you have found on the place that you
grew up in. Format of this address should be ‘http://……….’.
Deadline = Friday 16 January 2009, 17:00.
Late work will be penalized by deducting 5% off your mark (weekends count as one day).
Marking criteria
Your essay will be assessed on:
1) relevant information (name/degree), 2) geographical content/originality, 3) correct length,
4) spelling/grammar, 5) coherence/writing style, 6) URL working, 7) relevance of website.
Additional information
*URL means ‘Uniform Resource Locator’. This is a unique address for a web page, which is like a
phone number, for instance, http://www.uleth.ca/ is the homepage of the University of Lethbridge. To
search for an URL of a web page you first have to open one of the WWW Browser programs on your
computer: this program will be called ‘Netscape Navigator’ or ‘Internet Explorer’. You can then for
example use the web search engine http://www.google.ca/ and type in a keyword (e.g. your place of
birth) and then look through the list of returned URL’s for a suitable one. Always check if the web page
address is indeed working and if it is relevant (showing some geographical related information).
Your text has a word limit of maximum 100 words. You will be penalised if you are more than 10% off
this limit. What you can do is compose your text in a text editor such as Microsoft Word and then
press ‘Tools’ in the bar at the top and then chose ‘Word Count’. You will then get the number of words
and much more info about your piece of text. In the same way, you can also spell-check your work:
now choose ‘Spelling and Grammar’ from the ‘Tools’ option. Please always spell-check your work
before sending it off. If you are satisfied with your text and your URL you can copy and paste it into
your email and then send it off to me.
Have fun getting used to using the web as communication medium and resource centre!
Hester Jiskoot
Example:
I am Hester Jiskoot and I am an assistant professor in Physical Geography with research interests in
glaciology. I was born and raised in Castricum, a coastal town in the Netherlands. My house was built
in a polder, which lies 0.5 m below sea-level. A large part of the Netherlands is protected by coastal
dunes that are up to 5 km wide and up to 100m in elevation. The dunes are a place of active eolian
processes; sand erosion especially occurs where vegetation is lacking. The dunes are also nature
reserves and are locally used as reservoirs for drinking water. (100 words)
http://www.coastalguide.to/north_holland/index.html