For this paper, you will be expanding upon your earlier thought of evolution and persuading me and your classmates whether or how evolution theory is compatible with religion.  This is a very complex issue, and you will need to address both--or all--sides of it as objectively and fairly as you can.  You may want to briefly and accurately summarize the scientific theory and talk about its purposes and limitations; likewise, you may want to address religion or religious texts, specifically, and explain those entities' purposes and limitations.  Then, you may begin talking about whether and why those ideas, purposes, and limitations are mutually exclusive or whether and how they may co-exist, either institutionally or within an individual's construction of reality. 

There is a degree of research involved here, and the integrity of your source material will be important. In the larger community of ideas, you want to write using a reasonable voice and present a persuasive--and logically supportable--conclusion.  You may certainly address current events, such as recent Supreme Court rulings, as far as they relate to the topic and as long as you cite your sources.  You may also talk about the nature and techniques of reading literature, as well.  However, as with the last paper, you should not seek to support or debunk the Theory of Evolution or Creationism in this paper, but you may point out their limitations. 

The purpose of this assignment is two-fold: it should inform your classmates and me of how we can make sense of the current cultural debate on the topic, as well as clarifying the debate for us. It will also demonstrate that you are able to integrate the thoughts and writing of others into your own thought and writing--and that you are able to do so correctly within the MLA documentation system, while avoiding plagiarism.  As such, I do expect there to be quoted proof in this paper.  Please review how to cite those sources properly, using MLA style, as detailed in the IVCC Style Book, within and at the end of your paper.  The minimum number of sources required for this paper, like the last one, is three (3). 

We will peer review these papers in class, but you may also have your essay read by a reader in the Writing Center on campus, but if you do so, make sure you bring in a copy of this assignment sheet with your draft and remember that the readers in the Center may require a 48-hour turn around time, so plan ahead.  Having your paper at the Writing Center is not a valid excuse for attempting to turn it in late.  

Format: This essay should be double-spaced, laser-printed, carefully edited and proofread, and stapled before you turn it in. You should have a heading with your name, my name, the course title and section number, and date on it. You must give the paper number and title a line of its own, and your last name and the page number should appear at the top right of each page, after your first page. This paper should be three-five pages in length with one-inch margins, not including the Work or Works Cited page.

Your rough draft is due at the beginning of class for peer review on ______________ .

You may find some writing activities, such as pre-writing, helpful for this paper.  Have you noticed that I wanted a word in boldface type/font in each section?