Summary Frame for Argumentative Essay Paragraph

(One reason/ another reason/ a final reason) that ______________________ is/is not a theory is because _________________________________________. (Provide a sentence relating your claim to the definition of a theory. For example, (provide examples and support for your claim). Although, (restate your claim), (proponents/opponents) of intelligent design would argue (counterclaim). They suggest ______________________________________. However, this claim is invalid for the following reasons _______________________________________________.

The above summary frame can be used to help you construct each of your three arguments that will appear in the body of your paper. See the example below. I am using evolution as an example. Your paragraphs will be arguing for or against intelligent design being a theory.

One reason that evolution is clearly a theory is because it is testable and has been tested numerous times with the same results. This exemplifies the very definition of a theory. Theories are defined as "accepted hypotheses" meaning that they can be tested with the same results over and over. For example, laboratory experiments using bacteria which have very rapid mutation rates can show the process of natural selection in action. We also see this in our own world in the case of new strains of bacterial pathogens appearing. We can also test evolution by looking at the world around us. As far back as ancient Greece, people have been observing the similarities of organisms and concluding that they must be related. This is a logical conclusion based on natural laws. With the discovery of DNA in 1953, over 100 years after Charles Darwin's voyage aboard the HMS Beagle, we were on our way to being able to test the genetic relationships among organisms. It is common place today to perform DNA tests to determine the degree of kinship among two people. It, therefore, stands to reason that if these natural laws apply to human beings who are living creatures possessing DNA and since DNA's presence and basic composition in living things is universal, it stands to reason that these same laws should apply to all living things. Even though these conclusions would seem apparent to the logical mind, there are those who would argue. Some fundamentalist organizations try to argue that evolution is a belief and therefore not testable while also arguing that they have alternative theories. This argument makes no logical sense. For example, some argue that a supernatural deity purposely planted all of this evidence to fool humankind into believing evolution occurs. Unlike the theory of evolution, this claim cannot be scientifically tested. By comparison, it holds no weight as a theory. While it may be an accepted belief for some, it should not receive equal treatment in the scientific world because it is not supported by our understanding of natural laws. Therefore, evolution is the most testable explanation for the relationships we see and is therefore the accepted theory among scientists. It is clearly different from a belief.