Assignment

For this essay assignment you will be asked to compose a brief, original ethical argument. Your essay should reflect a sense of personal responsibility involving the ability to connect choices, actions, and consequences to ethical decision-making. According to Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology, an ethical argument can be defined as one that "focuses on whether something should be done because it is good or right (or not done because it is bad or wrong)" (590). You will support your ethical argument with documented research. To complete the assignment, you must compose an ethical argument after choosing a question from the following list taken from Practical Arguments:

Should teenagers ever be tried as adults? Is torture ever justified? Should terrorists be tried in civilian courts? Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry? Is the death penalty ever justified? Should everyone be required to sign an organ-donor card? Should homeless people be forcibly removed from city streets? How far should colleges go to keep campuses safe? In your essay you must clearly state the ethical principle that will aid in guiding your argument. You should base your ethical argument on an ethical principle that is self-evident. You should clearly state your thesis in the form of a claim statement. You should include appropriate background information that provides an overview of the situation. You should explain the ethical principle and analyze the particular situation on the basis of this principle. Your claim statement should be supported by points. You should acknowledge and refute any potential opposing views to your thesis in your essay. You must provide a logical, organized conclusion that restates the ethical principle as well as the thesis and includes a strong concluding statement. You should provide an organizational map for your essay. Include appropriate rhetorical appeals. You may find it helpful to refer to Chapter 16 in Practical Argument: A Text and Anthology for additional information, especially the outline on p. 599 and the template on p. 635.

You must use a minimum of SIX sources to support your argument. Your minimum of SIX sources should be broken down as follows among these four categories:

a book (print)
a magazine (print)/ a newspaper (print)
an academic or scholarly journal (print)
a personal interview

The remaining sources are left to your discretion. (Avoid using Wikipedia, Cliff Notes,or similar sources. If you have doubts or questions regarding a particular source you consult, ask the instructor.) The print sources you select can exist in electronic form, but they must exist in print form, too. Remember that you can use as some of your sources the material taken from the selections in Practical Arguments. Remember to properly cite each text that you use. (For example, if you select two selections from your anthology, then provide a citation for each selection.) For all citations adhere to the most recent MLA style documentation. Introduce direct quotations. Include parenthetical in-text citations and a list of works cited. Follow standard grammatical conventions. The policy for late papers as outlined in the course syllabus will apply.

Your essay should be at least 1200 words in length, not counting your list of works cited.