Any topic (writer's choice)

Instructions

Instructions for Submission1. Submit this exam through the Dropbox feature of the course. To access the Dropbox, click on Assessments in the grey horizontal menu near the top of the screen, then click on Dropbox.2. Please submit your paper in MS Word format or a format that can be easily  converted into MS Word. Please do not submit files in PDF format.3. Please include your name and the question you have selected to answer in the title of the file you submit (i.e., the file should be called something like JohnSmithQ3.doc). In addition, include the following information at the beginning of your exam: your name, the name and number of the course, the name of the instructor, the date, and the question that you have chosen to answer.Directions:  Write an essay in which you construct an argument either in favour of or against one of the statements listed below. Essays should be approximately (and no more than) 1300-1500 words (typed and double-spaced).1. Ethical theory does not have a useful role to play in dealing with practical problems in medical ethics.2. Autonomy is the most important point to consider when thinking about medical ethics.  As long as they are not hurting anyone else, people should be free to do whatever they want with their own bodies.3. Personhood is a more central issue in medical ethics than commodification.How to Approach this ExamThink of the exam as asking you to do two main things:1. To demonstrate familiarity with the material covered in the course that is relevant to the topic youve chosen to discuss.2. To demonstrate that youve considered your topic in sufficient depth to allow you to offer a plausible argument for your position and, in so doing, to defend your position against the basic objections that might be made against it.The first task probably needs no further explanation. As for the second task, what Im looking for is that you make a serious attempt to argue in favour of the view youre taking, not just state it as an opinion. Doing this will require considering how someone opposed to your view might argue against you. This doesnt mean that you should consider every single objection that might be made against your view. That would be impossible. But it does require dealing with the main objections that have come up in the material considered in this course.For example, suppose one of the topics was this: The central issue in considering the morality of abortion is whether or not the fetus is a person. An answer that argued in favour of this claim, but didnt consider the idea that abortion could be morally permissible even if the fetus is a person (as in Thomsons article) would be missing something important. Also, keep in mind that the point of the assignment isnt just to state your opinion, but to offer an argument in support of that opinion. If you thought, for example, that Thomson is wrong in saying that abortion can be morally OK even if the fetus is a person, then you shouldnt just tell me that you think shes wrong. Rather, you should try to convince me that shes wrong by offering an argument against her view. It is important in this assignment to not simply regurgitate the relevant parts of the course notes. Think about the questions as giving you the opportunity to show that you have learned something from the course. Use the primary course readings and notes as a tool to help support the position you wish to take. With this in mind, it would be wise to think about which of these questions you have the most to say about before you decide on which one to answer. Try to construct your answer so that it offers you the opportunity to say something substantive about your topic.A well-organized essay of this kind should be centred on a thesis statement which adopts a definite stance vis-a-vis the topic you have chosen to discuss. As in the case study assignment, be sure to state your thesis clearly in the first paragraph. The thesis statement should be a single sentence that states the main point of the essay. Everything else in the essay should be centred on this statement. That is, all the other claims you make in the essay should be in support of the thesis statement in some way and help to prove that it is true. The point is to adopt a position and support that position with arguments.References:  Students often ask whether they need to use outside sources on the exam. The answer is that you do not have to use them. It is quite possible to write an excellent exam without using any outside sources. Having said that, feel free to use them if you want to.For our purposes, formal references to the course notes do not need to be made unless you are directly quoting them. However, all use of the primary course readings (or any outside sources) should be formally acknowledged regardless of whether you are directly quoting or paraphrasing them. For advice on referencing, see the Writing Resources section of the Syllabus.

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