Answer the following.
Read meticulously: justify the answers in detail (recycling is good for the environment, so we should do it more; that doesn't even begin to cut it in a college-level science course).
Try having discussion in a scientific tone.
Good scientific writing is usually confident, focused, and germane (but still includes relevant details). No extraneous details (fluff) should be needed to hold the reader's attention or interest (as it usually has the opposite effect)
Each of these 3 questions can be answer with 2-3 sentences.
1) How should we, as a society, deal with the risk of natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes, tsunami and shoreline erosion)?
2) What should we do differently from what we do now (i.e., locally, nationally, globally, short-term, long-term)?
3) Who should pay to make the policy changes you suggest?