i have to write a persuasive paper on a controversial topic having to do with science. any ideas?

Answer 1

You could do something on IVF. (Invitro fertilization). Should women over 45 be allowed to have children by IVF? Or something on cloning.

Answer 2

You could take on the 'intelligent design' freaks - an excellent overview can be found in the 2002 edition of The Best American Science and Nature Writing; there's an essay by Frederick C Crews called 'Saving Us from Darwin' that was originally printed in the New York Review of Books (it's all the more interesting because Crews isn't a scientist, he's a well-known literary figure who did some brilliant parodies of the different schools of literary criticism as applied to Winnie-the-Pooh).

Or you could resurrect and re-examine C P Snow's argument about 'The Two Cultures' - that's a very old essay in which he argues that 'arts' people don't get trained in basic science and vice-versa. I don't know where you're based, but here in the UK there have been at least four cases of women being falsely convicted of killing their children (Sally Clarke, Angela Cannings, etc.) and much of the blame could be laid at the door of the expert witness, Sir Roy Meadow - but if any of the judicial team had passed Statistics 101 they would have seen the illogicallty of his assertions immediately.

Or you could tackle the question of whose approach to exploring the Moon was better - the Soviets, who landed a number of automated devices, or the USA, who (at greater cost and risk) used real people. In that case, the essential viewing is Tom Hanks's DVD set 'From The Earth to the Moon' and in particular one of the final episodes, in which an inspirational geologist (I would have wanted him as a teacher) trains them in how to look at what to look for, thereby discovering things that couldn't have been discovered by an automaton.

Or if you can get hold of a book called 'The Bell Curve Debate,' whose editors I can't remember because someone borrowed my copy and didn't return it; this was the controversy that erupted a few years ago when Charles Murray advanced the theory that black people were genetically inferior and went on to make some pretty strong suggestions about the implications of his assertions for society at large.

Hope that helps.

Answer 3

With the ability to clone, some scientists want to clone human beings ... a controversial topic.

Is global warming a myth or fact?

Scientific Creationism vs Evolution.

If like charges repel and opposite charges attract, what hold the nucleus of the atom together since there are just protons and neutrons? Well, that's more of a question than a controversy, but I believe the Jesus Christ holds it all together! ;o)

Best Wishes,

Sue

Answer 4

Global warming

http://www.worldviewofglobalwarming.org/

http://climatecrisis.org/

http://www.globalwarming.org/

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/

http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/

http://www.climatehotmap.org/


Writing a Persuasive Essay.

In persuasive writing, a writer takes a position FOR or AGAINST an issue and writes to convince the reader to believe or do something.

http://www.orangeusd.k12.ca.us/yorba/persuasive_writing1.htm
I
n persuasive or argumentative writing, we try to convince others to agree with our facts, share our values, accept our argument and conclusions, and adopt our way of thinking.

http://www.studygs.net/wrtstr4.htm

Writing Tips

This page contains a collection of tips for essay writing and editing.

http://www.essaytoday.com/writingtips.shtml


Writing a Persuasive Essay

http://www.cerritos.edu/fquaas/resources/English100/persuade.htm

Problems in Writing Persuasive Essays: No Opinions.

http://modena.intergate.ca/personal/gslj/noopinions.html

Writing a Persuasive Essay

In a persuasive essay you are going to try to convince the reader that your point of view is best. To accomplish this, you must chose a topic which is clear and to the point and one which has more than one side that can be debated. It is important that you understand the other sides of the position so that you can give strong reasons why your way is best. In your essay, you will only present one side.

Like all kinds of five paragraph essays, there is a specific format to be followed.

http://www.susq-town.org/byer/New%20Reading%20Themes/writing_a_persuasive_essay.htm

Definition: Persuasive writing works to convince the reader that a point of view is valid or persuades the reader to take specific action. It is based on a topic that is limited in scope, manageable, and debatable; a topic about which there could be more than one point of view.

http://coolschool.k12.or.us/courses/101100/lessons/persuasive.html

Basic Structure

http://members.tripod.com/~lklivingston/essay/

Good luck.

Kevin, Liverpool, England.

Answer 5

Our society has the ability to clone animals, manipulate DNA, and produce designer babies. How long will it be before they discover a "cure" for gay people, and if they do invent one should it be legal?

My opinion is certainly fixed on this topic because I am gay. I think that it would be a catastrope and that it should not be allowed at all. Not even the research should be attempted is my view.
However, I believe it is a very controversial topic that would be interesting to discuss in a paper.

Answer 6

Well, cloning DNA is one topic.
Some scientitst beleive its wrong, and that there should only be 1 person w/ taht type of DNA
Others belive cloning will improvethe world an allow 1 person 2 do more.
So, just choose 1 side, and research it.
GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 7

You could write about Creation and how God created the world in six literal days as stated in Genesis. Believe it or not, there is scientific evidence to support the idea of Creation!

Answer 8

Persuade either that global warming is being caused by humans or choose to persuade that it is warming due to nature. It's an interesting topic.

Answer 9

stem cell research, it's a very hot topic with lots of info online.

read what both sides say, then decide where you stand.

Answer 10

Do it on whether or not you believe that being gay is a choice or a birth given decision?