Research in Ethical Issues

CAPSTONE ETHICAL ISSUE RESEARCH PAPER ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
This Module 8 assignment is a scholarly paper that builds upon the knowledge and skills developed in the first 7 weeks of the course. Each student will write a 2100-2400 word essay (word count doesn’t include the title page, table of contents, and bibliography, but does include the footnotes) that applies your chosen ethical system used in your first research paper to one specific ethical issue presented in the assigned reading. You will argue your position against a competing ethical system. One of the systems must be Christian Ethics and the paper must cover a different specific ethical issue than was covered in the “Sexual or Gender Ethics Issue Research Paper” assignment. Only issues covered in Modules 4, 5, 6, 7, o 8 may be chosen. The paper must include at least two academic references in addition to referencing the two course textbooks and the Bible The key is to be specific! No papers on generic and broad assessments. Format should be 12pt, Times New Roman font and using full Turabian format.

INSTRUCTIONS
Begin your paper with a brief introductory paragraph that clearly states your goals, thesis, and method. This introduction should state 1. what metaethical theory you are using, 2. the ethical theory you are contrasting it against, 3. the specific ethical issue you are addressing, and 4. a very brief conclusion on that issue that you want to defend. Either your chosen ethical system or your contrasting ethical system must be Magnuson’s Christian ethical system, in order to show that you have at least understood the curriculum from a Christian perspective.
Next, provide a lengthy and detailed comparative analysis of the two metaethical theories—Christian ethics and another theory—showing which theory is stronger. This will likely reflect what you argued for in your Discussion Thread 1 and the feedback that you received from the professor and/or classmates who responded to your thread. Here you can go into more detail than you could in the Discussion Thread.
Next, proceed to the specific applied ethics issue. Here you should greatly expand upon your argument. Add detail, nuance, and argumentation, providing a fairly complete and comprehensive argument for how Christian Ethics (if you chose it) would approach this issue. It may be helpful to use Rae’s 7-Step Moral Decision Making Process in Chapt. 2 of Magnuson, but it is not required. Or, if you defended a non-Christian ethical system in Discussion Thread 1, formulate an application based on that theory using a decision making system consistent with your chosen ethical system. You may illustrate the issue with minimal real-life examples, but please do not fill your paper with anecdotes from your life or others. You should anticipate possible objections to your approach to the issue and respond to them in an objective and informed manner. (For ideas on how others might object to your approach, a good place to begin would be your classmate’s replies to your Discussion Threads.) You are encouraged to use quotes from sources as a way to support your arguments, but quotes should not make up more than 300 words from your wordcount.

Your final paragraph should reflect what you have argued in your thesis. It should recap what you have accomplished and how you have accomplished it.

Research
The paper must include at least one citation from both of the two course textbooks in addition to at least one citation from the Bible. Other acceptable sources include peer-reviewed journal articles and scholarly books from the JF Library. If you’re unsure, then ask. All resources used must be listed in your paper’s bibliography page and any resources quoted, paraphrased, or alluded to must be documented via footnotes formatted according to Turabian. Please understand that it is not enough to simply cite word for word material with a footnote, you must put word for word text from a source in quotation marks or it is considered plagiarism.

Format
Your paper must begin with a title page that includes a paper title, your name, the date, and the course name and number. The second page of your paper must be a table of contents. The last page of your paper must be devoted to your bibliography. The paper must utilize 12 point Times New Roman font, double-spaced, with one inch margins. It must be double-spaced rather than triple-spaced between paragraphs and there should be only one space after the end of each sentence.
Any documentation in the body of your paper must be done via footnotes formatted according to Turabian, unless you are citing or quoting the Bible. If you are not familiar with how to do this, simply look it up on Liberty’s Turabian resource page. Footnotes should be single-spaced 12 point Times New Roman font.
Your paper must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document. If you submit it as a .pdf or anything other than a Microsoft Word document it will not be graded. Please use the paper template supplied in this Module if you need help.

Format Example

Title Page
Table of Contents
Body of Paper:

• Introduction
• Ethical Systems Presentation and Argumentation
• Application of Ethical Systems on Ethical Issue
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

Miscellany
Proofread your work before handing it in! Errors of spelling, grammar, syntax, and punctuation will affect your grade. This is a university-level writing assignment. Please write accordingly.
Submit your finished paper via the Turnitin link in Canvas. Turnitin is a program that checks your work for plagiarism and A.I. Plagiarism is immoral, unchristian, and will not be tolerated. The consequences for plagiarism and A.I. are significant and Turnitin makes it easy to detect.
This assignment contributes to achieving and assessing the achievement of all four of the Course Learning Outcomes.