COMPARATIVE ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS

Selection of Topic

Choose 1 of the following topics for your Comparative Essay:

1. Original creation of the earth (nebular hypothesis vs. six-day creation),

2. Geologic time (billions of years vs. thousands of years),

3. Dating the rocks of the grand canyon (old earth vs. young earth),

4. Geologic paradigms (uniformitarianism vs. catastrophism), or

5. Radiocarbon dating (old-earth vs. young-earth methods/assumptions).

Content and Outline

Use the following outline when writing your paper. Each point on the below outline must be a separate section (with the section heading, as indicated) within your paper.

I. Introduction

• Indicate which topic you chose from the list above.

• Indicate the purpose of your paper (i.e., to compare old-earth and young-earth viewpoints on your chosen topic).

II. Old-Earth Secular View

• What is the old-earth secular viewpoint on your chosen topic?

o Do not discuss the old-earth creationist viewpoint on your chosen topic. For a description of old-earth creationism, go to http://www.icr.org/article/4535/.

III. Young-Earth View

• What is the young-earth viewpoint on your chosen topic?

IV. Comparison of the Viewpoints

• Comparison is articulating similarities between the 2 viewpoints.

• Be sure to provide at least 2 similarities (comparisons) between the viewpoints.

V. Contrast of the Viewpoints

• Contrast is articulating differences between the 2 viewpoints.

• Be sure to provide at least 2 differences (contrasts) between the viewpoints.

VI. Conclusion

• Provide a summary statement for your paper.

• Be sure to restate your purpose.

• Do not introduce new material in your conclusion.

Length

This paper is to be 1,000-1,500 words. Do not exceed this word limit. The title page and bibliography page do not count towards this word total.

Format

You must use current APA formatting. Papers must be double-spaced with 1-inch margins. Font is to be 12-point Courier New or 12-point Times New Roman. Include a title page with your name, instructor's name, course number and title (i.e., PHSC 210, Elements of Earth Science), date, and paper title. There is no need to include an abstract in your paper.

Sources

Your Comparative Essay must include at least 4 scholarly sources in addition the course textbooks. Of these required sources, 2 must be from an old-earth perspective and 2 from a young-earth perspective. Acceptable sources include journal articles, manuscripts, scholarly textbooks, and/or internet sites from .edu or .gov sources. Avoid internet sites from .com, .net, .org, etc. as the information contained therein are not often peer reviewed. There are exceptions to this rule (e.g., the Insitute for Creation Research site is a .org site, but it has been judged a reputable site by those in the young-earth community); however, as a general rule, avoid these sites. In particular, avoid Wikipedia. Study Bibles are also not appropriate for this assignment.

Citation
Be sure to cite your sources in the body of your paper using current APA formatting.