Explanatory Paper

Explanatory Paper: Key Sustainability Concepts and Their Practical Application For this paper, you are pulling together sustainability concepts and tools that we have learned and practiced during the first half of this quarter. You are writing a paper that will explain and acquaint a general audience to key sustainability concepts. Your paper will define the concepts and explain how they can be used to solve problems. Assume your reader is a person who is intelligent, but uninformed about sustainability concepts or how to apply them effectively. You paper must demonstrate critical thinking and integrate a minimum of five (5) CWU database sources that directly relate to and support your thesis statement. At least three (3) of the sources must be a peer- reviewed journal article or review . You are allowed to "self-plagiarize," which means that you may use content you have written previously. However, you will need to revise and edit the content meets audience need. Your general audience will genuinely want to understand sustainability concepts for your chosen product/service and how they might apply those basic critical thinking skills and sustainability terms in their own decision-making process. Paper Requirements Your paper should be a minimum of 4 pages long in APA 7th edition format (title page and reference pages do not count towards the page count). The introduction should include an explanatory thesis statement that is supported throughout the paper. Your paper should include a minimum of five (5) quality, peer-reviewed sources. Each source must be cited in the text at least once. Your paper must cover the following main topics:  Life Cycle Thinking - Define and explain life cycle thinking and how it relates to sustainability. o First define the term generally, citing the textbook or a peer-reviewed article. o Next, choose an example that illustrates the concept. Use the example to further explain the concept in a clear and concise way that a new reader could understand.  You might consider discussing the specifics of the plastic or electronics life cycle as an example.

 Life Cycle Assessment - Define and explain the term LCA and how it is used as a measurement tool for life cycle thinking. o First define the term generally, citing the textbook or a peer-reviewed article. o Next, continue to build upon the previous example to further inform your reader.  Be sure to use in-text citations every time you cite a source, even if you have cited it previously in the paper.  Life Cycle Cost Analysis - Define and explain the term LCCA and how it is used as a measurement tool. o First define the term generally, citing the textbook or a peer-reviewed article. o Describe why costs are an important step in assessing how to approach a sustainability argument/proposal/decision. You should continue to build upon the previous example to ensure unity in your paper.  Triple Bottom Line Perspective - Define and explain the term triple bottom line o First define the term generally, citing the textbook or a peer-reviewed article. o Describe why business owners, policy makers and the public should pay attention to social and environmental impacts along with economic impacts. You should continue to build upon the previous example(s) to ensure unity in your paper.  Circular Economy - Define and explain the term circular economy and how it relates to sustainability. o First define the term generally, citing the textbook or a peer-reviewed article. o Next, use the same example you introduced earlier and expand upon it to illustrate the circular concept further. Conclusion - Your conclusion should not only summarize the main points of the paper, but also how the presented material could be used effectively in decision making. Make sure a general audience can understand and be persuaded in their decision-making. Assignment Hints and Help

Explanatory paper rubric - 100 points Criteria Ratings This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDefinition & explanation life cycle thinking 8 to >6.4 pts Excellent: Clearly and accurately defines and explains life cycle thinking; relates the concept(s) to examples that are properly cited. 6.4 to >1.6 pts Satisfactory: Demonstrates a satisfactory/moderate understanding of life cycle thinking; some examples may be poorly explained or cited. Other minor problems may exist. 1.6 to >0 pts Poor: Demonstrates a confused or incomplete understanding of life cycle thinking. Major problems may exist. This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDefinition & explanation of LCA 8 to >5.6 pts Excellent: Clearly and accurately defines and explains life cycle assessment; relates the concept(s) to examples that are properly cited. 5.6 to >1.6 pts Satisfactory: Demonstrates a satisfactory/moderate understanding of life cycle assessment; some examples may be poorly explained or cited. Other minor problems may exist. 1.6 to >0 pts Poor: Demonstrates a confused or incomplete understanding of LCA. Major problems may exist. This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDefinition and explanation of LCCA 8 to >5.71 pts Excellent: Clearly and accurately defines and explains life cycle cost analysis; relates the concept(s) to examples that are properly cited. 5.71 to >1.14 pts Satisfactory: Demonstrates a satisfactory/moderate understanding of life cycle cost analysis; some examples may be poorly explained or cited. Other minor problems may exist. 1.14 to >0 pts Poor: Demonstrates a confused or incomplete understanding of LCCA. Major problems may exist. This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDefinition and explanation of TBL 8 to >5.6 pts Excellent: Clearly and accurately defines and explains triple bottom line; relates the concept(s) to examples that are properly cited. 5.6 to >1.6 pts Satisfactory: Demonstrates a satisfactory/moderate understanding of triple bottom line; some examples may be poorly explained or cited. Other minor problems may exist. 1.6 to >0 pts Poor: Demonstrates a confused or incomplete understanding of TBL. Major problems may exist.

Explanatory paper rubric - 100 points Criteria Ratings This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeDefinition and explanation of circular economy 8 to >6.0 pts Excellent: Clearly and accurately defines and explains circular economy; relates the concept(s) to examples that are properly cited. 6 to >2.0 pts Satisfactory: Demonstrates a satisfactory/moderate understanding of life circular economy; some examples may be poorly explained or cited. Other minor problems may exist. 2 to >0 pts Poor: Demonstrates a confused or incomplete understanding of circular economy. Major problems may exist. This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroductio n and conclusion are effective at orienting and directing the reader; a general audience would understand the content and how to make a more effective decision 10 to >8.0 pts Excellent: The introduction provided a thesis statement and clearly summarized what the report will include, and the conclusion clearly summarized how the presented material could be used effectively in decision making. 8 to >2.0 pts Satisfactory: The introduction summarized what the report will include, and the conclusion summarized what was presented. Unity or clarity on how the audience could use the information to make a decision may be lacking. Some minor problems exist. 2 to >0 pts Poor: The introduction did not clearly summarize what the report will include, and the conclusion did not clearly summarize what was presented. Reader has difficultly following the logic or other problems exist. This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAdequate research conducted, at least 5 credible references 10 to >7.5 pts Excellent: Uses at least 5 credible references to adequately cover all topics. At least 3 references are peer- reviewed journal articles. References and citations are complete. 7.5 to >2.5 pts Satisfactory: 5 references. Some minor problems exist, such as using too many blog or opinion articles. Some citation errors may exist. 2.5 to >0 pts Poor: Did not include 5 appropriate references. This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeAPA Format 10 pts Excellent: Uses APA guidelines accurately and consistently to cite sources and format the paper. No spacing, header or heading errors exist. 6 pts Satisfactory: Uses APA guidelines accurately and consistently to cite sources and format the paper. Some minor problems exist. 0 pts Poor: Does not follow APA guidelines accurately and consistently to cite sources.