James Watson and Francis Crick’s 1953 Nature article marks their ascent into science
immortality as the discoverers of DNA’s structure. Much of biology since that day has revolved
around DNA and its role as the “instruction book” for living things.
However, there are many other people who contributed to this discovery, including:
1. Rosalind Franklin,
2. Maurice Wilkins,
3. Linus Pauling,
4. Jerry Donohue,
5. Erwin Chargaff, and
6. June Broomhead
We’ll take some time in class to discuss the roles of each person so that we have a better idea
of how this historic discovery was made.
Write a 2-page essay to give your answer to the question:
In addition to Watson and Crick, who should get credit for the discovery of DNA’s structure?
Your essay needs to meet the follow formatting requirements:
• 1.5-spaced
• Times New Roman, size 12 font
• Standard document margins (1” on all sides)
• Standard Town heading
The structure of your essay needs to be:
1. An introductory paragraph with a thesis statement about who you think should get
credited and why.
2. A paragraph that gives basic biological info about the person.
3. A paragraph that describes how the person specifically contributed to the discovery of
DNA’s structure.
4. A paragraph that describes at least 3 reasons why this person should be singled out
ahead of the other collaborators.
5. A conclusion paragraph that restates your argument and its key support points.
You also have to complete the following submission requirements:
1. Submit your completed multi-paragraph outline (MPO) by Friday 12/6/2019.
The MPO counts as a lab for 2nd trimester.
2. PRINT AND TURN IN your completed essay by 8:20am on Thursday 12/12/2019.
The essay counts as a major assessment for the 2nd trimester.