Natural Sciences Critical Analysis Essay

Being a better critical thinker and developing our critical analysis skills is one of the key
characteristics of becoming a more interdisciplinary person and scholar. After you have read the
article The Origin of Continents and Oceans by Alfred Wegener, please write a 500-word critical
analysis essay based on this article. You don’t need to go online or to the library to find
information about this topic. You will need to cite this reference at the end of your paper and
make in-text citations using APA formatting. (Refer to the PACS APA style guide that is
provided). All the information you need is within the article that is provided. We want you to
read, review, and critically analyze the information in this article.
For the purposes of this class, when you write a critical analysis essay on continental drift you do
not need to be an expert in geology. Your task is to evaluate what the author has written. As you
explore and perform your critical analysis of this article, in your essay please use the following
format.
THE FIVE-PARAGRAPH ESSAY
When writing this essay please use the five-paragraph approach. In this case, each paragraph
should be approximately 100 words long. This is by no means the only formula for writing such
essays, but for this assignment it serves our purposes well. This method consists of:
A. Add a title page with all the information that is highlighted in yellow on the title page
of the “APA Sample Paper” that is provided.
B. Abstract Page-In an essay of this short length, you do NOT need to include an abstract
page.
C. PARAGRAPH 1 (100 words) – An introductory paragraph
The introduction presents the problem that the paper addresses. Clearly and concisely
states the paper’s purpose. Make sure your introduction is engaging, and thought
provoking.
D. Three evidentiary body paragraphs (paragraphs 2-4)
a. PARAGRAPH 2 (100 words) – Analyze the purpose of this article. Why did the
author write this article? Who is the audience the author is writing for?
b. PARAGRAPH 3 (100 words) – Analyze the methodology of this article. Is the
author trying to persuade the reader? Inform the reader? Prove something? A
combination? Analyze and explain.
c. PARAGRAPH 4 (100 words) – Analyze the content of this article. What are the
main points of the article and is the author informative and convincing? Why or
why not?
E. PARAGRAPH 5 (100 words) – A conclusion paragraph
In your conclusion, reflect on what you have learned that you did not know before. Talk
about the significance of Alfred Wegener’s theory as described in this article.
F. References page. Even though we will only have one resource, please include a
references page and cite the article using APA format. (The correct APA citation is
included in the first page of the article provided).
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FORMATTING: Double spaced, Times New Roman font, 12-point text, and one-inch page
margins. College level writing is expected. The paper will be graded for content, grammar,
spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure.
Below is a listing of disciplines mentioned in the text book Research and Documentation in
the Digital Age. This list is provided as a reminder of the wide variety of knowledge areas
needed so understand and solve problems. This is by no means a complete listing of all
disciplines.