Identify a main branch of geography or planning, in which you think you are most interested at this point. This branch should be down two levels of organization, in other words, more specific than just physical geography, human geography, technical geography, or planning. Some examples of appropriate levels would be biogeography, geomorphology, climatology, cultural geography, historical geography, social geography, urban geography, rural geography, economic geography, hazards, cartography, GIS, quantitative methods and spatial analysis, environmental planning, site planning, urban planning, small town planning, and regional planning.
Go to the library to learn about this field and some recent developments in it. Find at least three books devoted to this subfield or which mainly address it. What are the main concepts or interests in the field, as revealed by these books?
Browse through the last three or four years of the top research journals in the discipline (such as the Annals of the Association of American Geographers, The Professional Geographer, Geographical Review, Geografiska Annaler (Series A and B), Economic Geography, and Quaternary Studies). Look for a few articles that seem to fall generally in your subfield. Judging from the numbers you found, how active does your subfield seem to have been in the last few years? Examining the specific topics, do you see any common themes or approaches that can unite the articles in your field's recent work?
Now, write a brief paper summarizing your impressions of the concerns and recent activity in the subfield you chose. Aim for about three pages of quality text. What you're trying to do is define your own area of interest in geography and the general context and background of contemporary work in that area. Eventually, you will be writing a senior thesis, and this paper can help you narrow your subject of interest and (if you're really lucky) serve as the introduction to your senior thesis. Alternatively, it might clue you in to a subfield you do not want to pursue! Be sure to cite your sources and put all citations in a reference list. At this point, any system of complete and consistent citation is acceptable.
Writing mechanics count! A third of the points on this paper will reflect the following considerations: organization, spelling, grammar, complete and varied sentence structure, correct punctuation and capitalization, and avoidance of sexist usage. Spelling errors are unforgivable, given your access to spell checkers and dictionaries. Examples of sexist language include using "man," when you mean "humanity" or "people"; mankind," when you mean "humankind"; "men," when you mean "people"; and "he," when you could simply rework your phrasing to the plural, which is, in English, conveniently ungendered. Sexist usage can also occur when you use the third person singular (i.e., "he" or "she") and then make tacit assumptions about the gender of a hypothetical individual on the basis of the most commonly represented gender in a given group (e.g., the doctor, when he...; the nurse, when she...). I will accept "he or she" constructions or "s/he," but I would prefer your switching to the more elegant and inconspicuous plural.
Some references to proper writing mechanics include: