ID Essays

Table of Contents

Description of the end of semester Interdisciplinary Paper (individual or group project)

Write a 1-2-pages essay describing how biology intersects with social aspects of human life. You can think about this paper in terms of gender, race, public policy, and business or corporate influence.

Select two of the following issues and tie them together with biology in your papers.

  • Public Policy
  • Race
  • Gender
  • Business or corporate influence
  • History & Scientific Discoveries (descriptive paper)

The best papers will seamlessly integrate the issues you choose with biology in cohesive paper. In other words, you are relating these different issues to each other in a seamless manner.  Your paper should not read like two or three separate papers addressing each issue.

Style and Format

2 pages

Typed double spaced

12 pt Times New Roman font or equivalent

1 inch margins

Your paper must have a title (the wittier the better)

Name and section # at the top of page 1 or on the title page

Use either footnotes or parenthetical citations to cite your sources

Include all references at the end of your paper and present them in a consistent manner (same format for all)

What is an Essay?

An essay is an argumentative paper that expresses the author’s point of view on a specific topic.  Essays are usually both analytical as the author is judging or critiquing something, and also descriptive as the author needs to use facts to prove the accuracy of their opinion.

Structure

Introduction – A good introduction will contain (1) a catch, (2) a thesis statement, and (3) will give an indication of how the rest of the paper will be structured.

Body – This is the portion of the paper where the author makes their argument.  Here the author presents information that proves the thesis of the paper.  The paragraphs in the body should flow into each other.

Conclusion – The conclusion of an essay should explain how the author proved their point.  In this way the conclusion is not simply a restatement of the thesis, but a blending the thesis and the body.  Tell the reader how the details you discussed in the body proved the thesis in your introduction.

What is a Descriptive Paper?

A descriptive paper is a paper that paints a picture of a certain object, event, situation, or issue.  These types of papers leave the reader with a clear impression of something they did not know about before. A high quality descriptive paper does not only present facts, but also ties those facts to a larger theme. Better papers will connect the facts of the biological research you describe to a theme present in the relationship between biology and society.

Structure

Introduction – A good introduction will contain (1) a catch, (2) a brief description of the topic, and (3) will connect that topic to a larger theme.

Body – This is the portion of the paper where the author presents descriptive information that paints the picture you are trying to create.  The paragraphs in the body should flow into each other.

Conclusion – The conclusion of a descriptive paper should briefly capture the most important part of the description and link it to the theme of the paper.  In this way the conclusion is not simply a summary, but a blending the information and the theme.  Tell the reader how the details you discussed in the body highlight the theme of the paper. Leave the reader with a clear impression of why the topic is important.

Essay Assessment Rubrics

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