Peer Review
In response to the writing on connecting with nature, I think that my fellow student did a great job of describing the issue. I believe that the discussion is clear and unambiguous, and there is a concrete flow of ideas leading to the conclusion. The writer, however, focused more on explaining what connectivity entails and did not create a more concise discussion on how to connect. I want to review the work under two sections starting with the style and then the content.
Style
First, the paper I believe was based on a reflection on the connection with nature. A reflection should first describe a summarized outline of the central theme and proponents of the topic. In this case, the student gave an introduction entailing the general description of the paper as well as creating a thesis. He aimed at combining various perspectives of written work to enhance his discussion on the connection with nature. I believe the information shared suffices as a summary and a call to the reader to view the paper from the writer’s perspective. Onwards into the article, the student then begins to focus on each work from the various sources, and after a brief description, he offers a stand-point that is accurate and useful to the paper. Finally, the writer conclusively summarizes the work by providing a recommendation and a call to action. Generally, the overall flow of the work is concurrent with the requirement of writing a reflective paper, as described by Wu and Lin 1996.
Content
Zelenski and Nisbet argue that connecting with nature is the paramount tool for humanity’s objective of environmental protection. Arguably the writer also links the conservation of the environment to the relation between human beings and nature. I would add, however, that more emphasis should have been made on how relatedness and environmental conservation interact. Tam 2013 bases his argument on a psychological point of view. He contends that the ecological crisis remains bothersome due to the diminishing relations between people and nature. The developing world comes with a challenge since humanity is commonly involved in operations aimed at maximizing his profits and wealth.
For this reason, he undertakes production methods that endanger the environment. I would say that if humanity were more connected with nature and physical resources, he would use sustainable production methods. Sustainability, as described by Krajnc, P Glavič 2001, is the employment of production and consumption processes that use only enough resources and preserve the remainder for future generations.
I concur with the student’s argument that there is a need for people to balance between the slow and fast modes of thinking to make more informed decisions. His description of the slow thinking criteria is persuasive. However, more evidence, such as a personal experience, would have made the point stronger. Besides, he only touched briefly on slow thinking and the environment, which I believe could have provided more strength to the argument. The writer focused on empathy and human feelings, which arguably is done comprehensively. As Bourdeau 2004 contends, there is a philosophical paradox of the connection of man and environment where human beings are part and apart from nature. This builds discussion on how human to human relationships must first be strengthened before engaging in efforts to conserve nature and relate to it. Overall the work is insightful, and the ideas are conveyed coherently. With the few suggested additions, I believe the work will provide more clarity to the reader.
Works Cited
Bourdeau, Ph. “The man−nature relationship and environmental ethics.” Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, vol. 72, no. 1-2, 2004, pp. 9-15.
Krajnc, Damjan, and Peter Glavic. “Indicators of sustainable production.” Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, vol. 5, no. 3-4, 2003, pp. 279-288.
Nisbet, Elizabeth K., et al. “The Nature Relatedness Scale.” Environment and Behavior, vol. 41, no. 5, 2008, pp. 715-740.
Tam, Kim-Pong. “Concepts and measures related to connection to nature: Similarities and differences.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, vol. 34, 2013, pp. 64-78.
Wu, Chia P., and Huey J. Lin. “Examining the Effects of Conferencing and Reflection Paper in an EFL Writing Class.” ijee.org, 2015, ijee.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/26.361133044.pdf.