Evidence Test (take home)

ENGL 20803 Sections 50 and 60

Spring 2022

Due Date: February 3, 2022 (Upload to D2L)

 

 

Terms to include in your analysis if relevant: Dissoi logoi, scientific integrity, layman, evidence, anecdotal, analogous, expert testimonial, eyewitness testimonial, quantitative (determinative), quantitative (stochastic), normal science, anomaly, pattern recognition, pilot study, corroborative study, meta-analysis. 

 

 

Option 1:

 

Choose one of the general interest articles linked below and write a short analysis (1 page, single-spaced) of the “evidence map” of that article. What types of evidence does the writer use? What types of evidence does the writer omit?  Analyze whether the evidence use is appropriate for “the layman” audience, and whether the article honors scientific integrity according to Feynman’s definition. Analyze whether the science findings offered as evidence are in any way “out of date” and explain why.

 

“The Drugging of the American Boy” (Esquire 2014)

http://www.esquire.com/features/drugging-of-the-american-boy-0414?click=main_sr

 

Nathaniel Rich, “For Whom the Cell Tolls” (Harper’s, 2010)

http://harpers.org/archive/2010/05/for-whom-the-cell-tolls/

 

“Hair Dye: A History” (Atlantic, 2015)

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/01/hair-dye-a-history/383934/

 

“Why National Parks Need New Management,” (Harper’s )

https://harpers.org/archive/2021/04/the-business-of-scenery-why-national-parks-need-new-management/

 

 

 

 

Option 2:

 

Substitute a similar comprehensive general interest article or documentary film on the topic you are thinking of choosing as your independent study topic this semester. (Be sure it has examples of each type of evidence in it.) Write a short (1 page, single-spaced) analysis of the “evidence map” of the article. Analyze what types of evidence are included, what types are omitted, and whether the evidence use is appropriate for “the layman” audience. Also, does the article honor scientific integrity according to Feynman’s definition? Analyze whether the science findings offered as evidence are in any way “out of date” and explain why.