Research Paper, philosophy homework help

The paper must cover a topic that appears at least once in the textbook. Research papers that focus on a specific, limited ethical dilemma tend to be better than general, vague ones. For example, rather than write about “capital punishment,” students may want to write about “A Utilitarian Approach to Capital Punishment.” Or, rather than write about “Abortion,” students may want to write about “An Application of Kant’s Duty Ethics to the Abortion Debate.”

(3) The research paper must be typed, single-spaced, and documented. It must be 2.5 – 3 pages in length, meaning that it would have been 5-6 pages in length if it had been double-spaced (excluding paper title, student name, date, and the bibliography of works cited at the end).

(4) The paper itself should include plenty of source citations (footnotes, endnotes, or in-text parenthetical notes are fine, but citation method should be consistent throughout). Students should cite at least five different sources in their papers, and these sources should be listed at the end of their papers in a “Works Cited” bibliography section.

(5) Research papers should begin with (a) a short introduction. They should then include (b) a section that defines the terms and issues of the ethical dilemma being addressed in the paper. They should then (c) apply one or more ethical theories to the ethical dilemma / debate. This should be the major section of the paper, and it should include the pro / con ramifications of the application of the ethical theory/ies to the debate. Next, students should clearly (d) explain their own view(s) regarding the ethical issues. The paper should close with (e) a very short conclusion.