Ethics Test Essay

1. This essay is the culmination of the work you’ve done in the discussions on the Ethics Tests. You will compare the tests and come to a conclusion about the most ethical approach to a scenario presented in the course material for Week 3. As the response essays will have revealed, there are strengths and weaknesses to each of these approaches, and your final conclusion may be to combine elements of several different approaches. Plan to write 1000 – 1500 words (4 – 6 double-spaced Times New Roman font pages). Your essay will be evaluated on the following criteria:

   • Articulates a creative, focused and manageable thesis or problem statement; it is articulately stated, thought provoking.
   • Identifies and explains the complexity of ethical obligations that extends beyond one’s family and friends to the broader community as they relate to the given problem.
   • Applies appropriate ethical theories to the given problem; organizes and synthesizes discussion of evidence to reveal insightful patterns, similarities or differences between ethical approaches.
   • Articulates important ethical issues and identifies alternative positions for those issues.
   • Identifies and explains your own ethical viewpoint and effectively defends it.
   • Demonstrates complexity of thought through intricate and original discussion that stretches beyond what is immediately apparent.
   • States a conclusion that is a logical extrapolation from the analysis.
   • Paragraphs are consistently well structured and developed, and are organized around a clearly stated, well-positioned central argument, which is thoroughly and convincingly supported. The evidence and/or supporting materials are fully explicated and analyzed; appropriate primary and secondary sources are used (as applicable). The sentences are coherent (they are clearly linked) and unified (they stay on topic).
   • The essay is free from errors in grammar, punctuation and mechanics; the writer’s voice is engaging and the prose fluent.