Plato to Darwin to DNA – A Brief History – Book review 4 pages
Essay Response: Plato to Darwin to DNA: A Brief History
This outline simply guides you in writing the essay response. You are not limited to only following this guideline. You must write a clear and coherent response that clearly displays that you have read and understood this historical text.
The Written Essay Response: Each student will respond to the readings in Plato to Darwin to DNA: A Brief History, by writing a book review (3 – 4 pages, double-spaced, #12 font.) This assignment is due on Lab 11!
Do’s
1) Be specific and clear when presenting what you have learned or analyzed from the readings.
2) Stick to a few concepts from the readings and explicate how they affected you or might affect other potential readers. In other words, try to expand upon a few personal and powerful takeaways from the historical text.
3) I suggest that you cite or paraphrase a few key concepts that piqued your interest within the readings. Use evidence from the text to present how the book affects you as a reader or other potential readers.
Don’ts
1) Fit as many random takeaways from the book just to fill out the 3-4 page requirement.
2) Simply copy and paste large quotes to fill out 3-4 pages- that is a very big turnoff!
3) Jump from one concept to the next without giving a thoughtful commentary about how that concept affected you.
Potential points to answer and detail within the book review.
1) How has the book affected your outlook on the field of Biology, the field of science, the field of philosophy, and/or life in general?
2) Did the historical aspect of science broaden your knowledge in some way, and change your approach to your personal approach to scientific thinking? Has this historical presentation provided you with a refreshing way of viewing science?
3) How has the book aided you in your journey in Biology 011 lecture and/or lab?
4) Has this Historical text, in some way, possibly motivated you to enter into the biological field or the scientific field?
5) Are there some historical concepts of science you already knew before having read this historical text?
6) Which Historical scientific concepts struck out to you the most?
7) Are there any constructive criticisms you may have about this historical text?
By reading your book reviews, I should have a clear understanding of:
Whether you read the historical text or not.
Whether you have a basic understanding of the ideas and concepts within the readings.

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