ETHICAL SYSTEM POSITION ON SEXUAL OR GENDER ETHICS ISSUE RESEARCH
PAPER ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
This assignment is a scholarly paper that builds upon the knowledge and skills developed in the
first 3 weeks of the course. Each student will write a 1000–1500-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 argued in Discussion: Choosing an Ethical System to one
specific sexual or gender related ethical issue presented in the assigned reading. Abortion, while
an important issue, does not qualify as topic for this assignment. Example of specific ethical
topics would be gay marriage, polygamy, pornography, trans athletes, gender-affirming care, and
other specific topics found in your assigned reading. The key is to be specific! No papers on
generic assessments of “Christian sexuality” vs. “non-Christian sexuality.” Format should be
12pt, Times New Roman font and use 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 ethical systems—Christian
ethics and another system—showing which theory is stronger. This will likely reflect what you
argued for in your Discussion: Choosing an Ethical System 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.
Next, proceed to the applied sexual or gender 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 would approach this issue. It may be helpful to
use Rae’s 7-Step Moral Decision Making Process from Chap. 2 of Magnuson, but it is not
required. Or, if you defended a non-Christian ethical system in Discussion: Choosing an Ethical
System, 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.
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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 and be 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.
ETHC 205
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By completing this assignment, you affirm that all work submitted in this document is your own
work and therefore adheres to the Liberty Way standards for academic integrity. Your work does
not contain answers generated by AI, provided to you by someone else, or is in any way in
violation of the Liberty Way. You recognize that failure to abide by these academic standards
may result in a reduced grade, failing grade, and/or further disciplinary action by the university
in accordance with university policy.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.
