ATTACHED IS MY TWO PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENTS PLEASE MAKE SURE ALL CIATIONS ARE REAL AND ACCURATE
CAPSTONE ETHICAL ISSUE RESEARCH PAPER ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
This 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 does
not 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 Ethical System Position on Sexual or Gender Ethics
Issue Research Paper Assignment. Only issues covered in Modules 4-8 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 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 metaethical theories—
Christian ethics and another theory. This analysis should explain both theories in detail,
discussing their strengths, and if they have weaknesses, presenting those as well. This discussion
should reveal why and how one of the theories is preferable to the other, and a statement of
which one is strongest and why should be included in your analysis. 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 much 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 for the Discussion) 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
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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 and in 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: Week 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
