Overview
INSTRUCTIONS:
Your term paper should:
Discuss the technical aspects of your topic in general terms.
Discuss the public policy debates relevant to the topic you choose. This section should cover arguments that favor and oppose the use of the techniques or products.
Express your personal opinion regarding the topic's importance and the validity of the pro and con arguments. Within the personal opinion/conclusion, frame your position with an ethical theory from the six workable theories covered in this course.
Your submission must include:
A title page
The body of the paper, which includes 4–6 content pages, not including title or reference pages
At least three references from textbooks, websites, and articles that provide adequate justification and support your claim
- Subheadings (technical aspects, public policy, and personal opinion/conclusion)
- Appropriate in-text citations throughout the paper
- A reference list with only the sources used in the body of the paper (All sources should be less than five years old unless recent research is not available, and at least one reference must be a peer-reviewed article from a professional journal. Do not use Wikipedia or an encyclopedia as they are not considered reliable academic sources and will not be accepted.)
APA style formatting throughout your paper, using only one of these fonts: 11-point Calibri,11-point Arial,12-point Times New Roman, or 11-point Georgia.
PAPER TEMPLATE:
- Write your introduction. Tell us what the paper is about. Provide a solid paragraph.
According to APA 7 rules, you do not need a subtitle for the introduction as it’s obvious your
first paragraph is an introduction. - Technical Aspects
This section should cover the technical aspects of your topic. For example, the technical
aspects of abortion would cover what an abortion is and how an abortion is done. Be sure to
include in text citations and sources. This section should be technical and should rely heavily on
research. - Public Policy
This section is more historical in nature. Describes current and proposed changes in
public policy/law. This section also relies heavily on research because it deals with specific laws
and public policy surrounding your topic. - Arguments
Include a summary of the arguments in favor of and opposed to specific interventions,
techniques, or products and a discussion of underlying ethical principles (you must use one of the
6 accepted ethical theories in this part – Kantian Ethics, Care Ethics, Virtue Ethics, Act
Utilitarianism, Rule Utilitarianism [not just plain utilitarianism – that is wrong] or Social
Contract [one of the 3 versions – Hobbes, Rousseau or Rawls]. Discuss the public policy with
two additional argumentative paragraphs- one discussing the in favor of and one paragraph
discussing the opposing argument. - Pro Arguments
- This section includes a summary of the arguments in favor of specific interventions,
techniques, or products involved in our topic and a discussion of underlying ethical principles.
Use the textbook and class material to provide the connection to underlying ethical principles.
Tying these arguments into the ethical perspectives covered in Week 1 of the course is very
important. - Con Arguments
This section includes a summary of the arguments in favor of specific interventions,
techniques, or products involved in our topic and a discussion of underlying ethical principles.
Use the textbook and class material to provide the connection to underlying ethical principles.
Tying these arguments into the ethical perspectives covered in Week 1 of the course is very
important.
Conclusion This section is where you express your personal opinion regarding the importance of the topic and the strength of the pro and con arguments. This is where your own thoughts reign supreme. Where do you stand after conducting research on the topic? Did your opinions change over the course of the research? While you don’t necessarily need to refer to research here, supporting your opinion with credible sources (proving you have made an informed opinion) is best.