Evolution in Action Essay Samples

Possible Claims to Tackle . . .

Students in public schools should be required to learn about evolution . . .

- it explains the origins of humans and their relationships to other organisms as shown by X, Y, and Z
- it continues to occur presently as exemplified by X, Y, and Z
- it affects humankind by X, Y, and Z


Sample Claim

Students in public schools should be required to learn about evolution as it explains the origins of humans as well as their relationships to other organisms as shown in similarities and changes in the fossil record, imperfect traits inherited from ancestors and genetic similarities.

Sample Argument

Similarities in the DNA of humans have recently become the gold standard for evidence of relation between two people or even if a person was present at a place, such as a crime scene. Each organism, whether it is a person or bacterium, has a unique genetic code that is slightly different from other members of its species. Similarities and differences in DNA, as well as amino acids - its products, can be used to show how related two organisms are. All organisms pass DNA to their offspring cells.
The more similar the DNA sequences of two organisms, then the more common ancestors they share and the more closely they are related. In humans, siblings share more DNA and are more closely related than cousins because they have more recent common ancestors (siblings share parents while cousins only share grandparents). This mode of thinking can be applied to looking at the shared DNA sequences of chimpanzees and humans. As stated by Coyne (2009), “we share 98.5 percent of our DNA sequence with chimps” (p. 195). Sharing so much of their DNA sequences means that chimpanzees and humans have many common ancestors and diverged only relatively recently.
Humans can determine their relationships to other organisms by examining DNA or other molecules related to DNA, such as protein. One such protein is cytochrome c, an enzyme responsible for releasing energy in animals. The amino acid sequence for cytochrome c in pigs and monkeys contains more similarities to humans than the sequence of cytochrome c in birds compared to humans (Biggs et al, 2009, p. 427). Amino acid sequences that are very similar are the result of more similar DNA sequences which in turn are the result of greater shared common ancestry. So humans are more closely related to pigs and monkeys than they are to birds.
This is further evidence that humans can learn and understand a great deal about their relationships to other organisms through an understanding of evolution and the evidence that supports it.