ENG 101L, Fall 2006, E. Johnson

Essay 2: Individual Research

Choose a topic where scientific and religious opinions differ. (It may not be on creation or evolution.) You must turn in your topic to Dr. Johnson by Sept. 18. Be sure it is approved before you begin your essay. Some ideas for topics are listed below.

Prayer, healing, and medicine

Heaven and hell, the afterlife

Cloning of humans

Causes of disease and mental illness

Virgin birth and/or the resurrection of Jesus

Weather, e.g. meteorological explantions for biblical phenomena

Stem cell research

Using the textbooks for class and at least two other sources, research the views on your topic. You should try to find religious sources that explain religious points of view and scientific sources that explain scientific points of view. Neutral sources that explain both sides may be used, but be sure to follow the guidelines on choosing reliable sources. Sources must be listed in a “Works Cited” page. The paper should be about four pages in length. See the essay format from Essay 1 or my website.

Your assignment will be to summarize the arguments and respond, in the “they say, I say” format. Define terms that need to be clarified. Give examples. Be sure you have evidence to back up your argument and that it is a logical argument. Your argument may be for (or against) one side or the other, or it may be an argument that both are wrong or that both are right (be careful about this last one; it’s easy to be too vague and wishy-washy). Be clear about where you stand.

The due date will be determined by your conference date. You will have two individual conferences scheduled with the professor. You must bring a completed draft to the first conference and the completed essay to the second conference. If you need additional help, you should visit the Writing Center. See the Memorial Library webpage below for more information on researching your papers.

http://www.berry.edu/library/howto/index.asp

Here are three of the links from the library’s page that I thought you might find especially helpful. I have printed another page on the back (author info below). Don’t forget the best resource for finding information: the human one! There is always a librarian available to help.

http://www.lesley.edu/library/guides/research/evaluating_web.html

http://www.lib.unb.ca/instruction/InfoSearch_Retrieving.html

http://www.library.cornell.edu/olinuris/ref/research/skill26.htm