The Basics: An Overview
As summarized in the course syllabus, your assignment is to select a topic or issue that genuinely interests and concerns you, and examine it consistently and thoroughly from the ethics perspectives introduced in this course. Detailed guidelines and information on how best to proceed in composing the Term Paper are offered in the sections that will be distributed on Monday, August 25th on "Writing the Ethics Term Paper." As a class, we will cover the entire progression of composing the Ethics Term Paper during the course of this semester.

The general idea is to: 
a) summarize how a particular ethical framework/approach would deal with a select problem or contemporary social issue;
b) offer relevant historical documentation of how a particular approach has already dealt with this problem or issue; and 
c) consider why (--or why not) the approach, this school of ethical thinking, or philosophy that you have chosen to work with is particularly relevant to this subject matter.

Clearly, certain ethical approaches may not fit perfectly or at all with the subject area you have selected. In these cases, focus instead on the approach in ethics that does address, or is relevant to, this issue and briefly but concisely explain why other approaches do not concern themselves (as competently) with this subject matter.

Ultimately, assessment of your project will rest on your ability to demonstrate that you understand the main intricacies of the issue and the finer points of the theoretical and practical approach you are using as your framework. Your research should reinforce this understanding through illustrations and examples taken from class discussions. Try to view research as supporting and perhaps productively questioning certain assumptions, and, foremost, focus on providing a competent, more in-depth review of a relevant theory (or two, for comparison-contrast purposes) rather than attempting to "do it all" rather superficially.

Term Paper Preparation 
We will commence work on the writing process by the 4th or 5th week, ideally on Monday, September 15th. During the first phase of in-class preparation, we will go over composing an introduction, the thesis statement, and defining the key terms in your thesis statement. Following philosophical mandate "Know thyself!," we will also discuss the different learning styles (intuitive, perceptive, etc.) to help you find out where your strengths and weaknesses lie in preparing for this writing assignment. In subsequent weeks, we will go over all other components of the term paper, so that the papers should (will!) be of uniformly high quality. 
In keeping with thorough preparation, all course participants must turn in an outline with their final papers. Final papers must also be turned in with previous drafts (including reviewers' comments) and their revisions (minimum: 2 revisions documenting substantive revision). To restate: these term paper revisions - -  labeled clearly as: Draft 1, Draft 2, .... Final Paper - -  must show evidence of having been proof read and undergone revision, as they go through their revision stages. 
For matters of form and style, beyond the most important elements covered in class, you are strongly encouraged to visit the Writing Center, Academic Support Services, in the Student Center, Room 261. Students who visit the Writing Center to improve their ethics papers will receive credit for their efforts.

Term Paper Preparation by Peer Review:  Three weeks prior to the due date, on Monday, November 17, a good portion of the class period will be devoted to a peer review session that will enable all students to address questions and concerns with their term papers. All students must bring a copy of their paper to class to discuss refining their work for final submission on Monday, December 8, 2003.  

Length of Term Paper: 
*6-8 pp. double-spaced, 1" margins all around.
* Font: Times (New) Roman or similar (non-frills) font style in 12-point size.
* Paginate: number each page
*A "Bibliography" or "Works Cited" and footnotes or endnotes documenting your assertions and research are required. Detailed information on the 'Annotated Bibliography' is provided below, under "Bibliography for the Ethics Term Paper: Documenting Sources According to MLA Guidelines."