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Jacob Ziegler
DeBock
English IV Honors
20 February 2015

Essential Question: Should evolution be taught in public schools?

Working Thesis Statement: Evolution should be taught in school because scientific research
supports the theory over the scheme of creationism.
Refined Thesis Statement: Public schools need to require evolution to be taught in classrooms
because creationism is linked to religion, which all members of society do not believe.

Annotated Bibliography
Aliprandini, Michael, and Maureen McMahon. "Teaching Evolution: An Overview." Points Of
View: Teaching Evolution (2014): 1. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
Evolutionists and creationists have been at debate for years over the teaching of evolution
in public schools. The two proposals of evolution and creationism have opposite ideas of how
the Earth came about and was developed. They also clash over the origin of life and the
development and diversity of living animals. Creationists state that Earth and its inhabited life,
along with its development, is all a work of God and that everything was created in His image.
Evolutionists argue that while the evidence is not complete, the development of life on Earth is a
process. Scientists have not proven evolution, but have gathered deductible information and
enough evidence to make evolution irrefutable. This article is salient because it provides key
background information of both sides.

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Badertscher, Eric, and Jill Ginsburg. "Evolution Should Only Be Taught as an Alternative Theory
to Creationism." Points of View Reference Center. Web. 10 Feb. 2015.
The Ginsburgs argue that creationism is a valid alternative to evolution and should be
taught in schools. They go on to claim that evolution is basically a religion because it requires
faith and that its basic principles cannot be fully proven. Under Constitutional protections
schools have the freedom to teach creationism as long as it is not enforcing any belief. The
Ginsburgs go on to say that creationists believe that the world was created about 6,000 years ago
by a divine being, even though geoscientists have clearly proven the world is more than 4 billion
years old. Intelligent design is the newer, more widely accepted idea of creationism. Believers
think the world was created by a divine power and this power is responsible for the development
of the Earth and its beings. This article is important to my research because it provides an
alternative view to evolution.

Rich, Alex, and Matt Donnelly. "Evolution Should Be the Only Theory Taught in Schools."
Ebsco Host. Great Neck Publishing. Web. 9 Feb. 2015.
Evolution is an extensive scientific theory that incorporates facts, observations, data, and
speculation to explain how life came about today on Earth. The theory of evolution includes the
idea of natural selection which is the idea that the organisms best suited for their environment
will thrive and produce more offspring. The theory of evolution is expanding and constantly
being updated with new information. This theory should be taught in classes not only because it
is the scientific, educational approach to life, but also because it has been practically proven with
over 100 years of evidence and observations. The article goes on to say that the idea of
intelligent design is unscientific, untestable, and logically unsound. This article is relevant

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because it provides strong information and arguments on the theory of evolution and disproves
any points on the teaching of creationism in class.