Week+4

September 23 - 30, 2013 2013 Cassini Scientist for a Day Essay Contest Students will develop an essay of less than 500 words. Essays should be formatted into 2 paragraphs. Grabber – get the reader’s attention through a question, quote, statistic, etc. For example, you could write – “The spectacular ringed jewel of the solar system, Saturn, has drawn scientists interest for centuries. It is only in the last few years that we have had the technology needed to look at it close-up.” Then, provide background information on Cassini’s study of space (one to two sentences). You should highlight the efforts to study the Saturnian system and the landing on Titan. Then, state the question – “The international group of scientists that make up the Cassini team now must decide how will focus its very limited resources as the mission continues. Will the focus be on studying Saturn or one of its moons?” Then, answer the question, which is your thesis – “Considering the information available it is clear that of the potential targets ________ would be the most rewarding. in terms of answering questions and gathering new data. The Cassini team should use the upcoming opportunity and dedicate its resources to exploring ____________. **Paragraph 2** Support the thesis with at two to three strong arguments. Conclude the paragraph by restating the thesis and grabbing the reader’s attention again – “Which target should Cassini explore next? For all the reasons I have stated here, it should be ________________ RESOURCES Handouts 
 * Scientist for a Day Essay Competition **
 * Paragraph 1 **

[|Essay Contest Website]- contains overview of the contest, the Cassini mission and the three targets.

[|Target Overview]- short video

[|Iapetus - Target 1]- short video [|Space.com - Iapetus]

[|Dione - Target 2]- short video [|Space.com - Dione]

[|Saturn Target 3]- short video [|Space.com - Saturn]

Cassini Mission JPL - NASA Cassini News - NASA