capstone paper should have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
- Your introduction should perform four functions:
- to introduce the issue you have taken up
- to explain what makes that issue a moral problem
- to state your thesis (the claim you will defend)
- to outline the plan of the paper.
- Introducing the issue, broadly, means giving us a quick overview perhaps with some research demonstrating that this practice/procedure/state of affairs is out there.
- Brief Example: “The number of personnel with access to patient information in healthcare systems has grown over the years. According to a 2017 study by Kaiser Health News, the number of personnel has skyrocketed from an average of 12 to over 300 (KHN, 2017). The growth in personnel with access is alarming for patient privacy advocates.”
- Explaining what makes the issue a moral issue means motivating the reader to see that there is some moral problem. This motivation should be done by expressing some moral value or principle.
- Brief Example: “Access to sensitive medical information poses a problem to patient autonomy. Patient autonomy is a foundational moral principle in medical ethics.According to Beauchamp and Childress (2012), autonomy is defined as “the ability to self-legislate” (p. 200). Access to sensitive patient information should not be as widely available.”
- Your thesis statement must be a moral claim (that something should/should not be the case)
- Brief Example: “In this paper, I will argue for an absolutist position on medical confidentiality”.
- Aplan of the paper is a brief statement of the paper’s structure
- Brief Example: “The paper has four sections. Section 1 introduces the moral problem.Section 2 makes two arguments in its favor. Section 3 considers some objections to the arguments with my replies. Section 4 concludes by proposing some new directions for medical practice.”
- Your body paragraphs should be dedicated to introducing your reader (someone who is smart, but isn’t as knowledgeable about the topic as you) to the topic, making your argument, and considering objections to your argument (and offering replies to those objections).
- Your argument should be supported by evidence and refer to moral principles.Remember that moral arguments must have both non-moral premises and moral premises in order to draw a moral statement as the conclusion.
- Objections are possible counter-points to the argument you’re making in your paper.
- Brief Example: “While I have argued that clinical research on children should be barred, some have argued it is necessary. For instance, White (2006) argued that child clinical research is needed because it provides “access to a sample of the population that cannot be left untested” (p. 13).
- Replies to objections are just that – you find some flaw in the objection and show why it is misguided.
- Brief Example: “While I am sympathetic to White’s (2006) point, it is not true that clinical research on children produces the outcomes he suggests. In fact, a recent study on the effectiveness of research trials with children showed that they were not worth the risk to the children’s health” (Dorr & Malik, 2017).
- Your conclusion should wrap up the paper,suggest implications of your view, and potentially recommend future research.
Paper Format
- Pages: 5 pages of content (not including title page or citations) double spaced
- Sources: at least three credible sources
- Citation style: APA
- Font: 12 pt. font in a normal font – Times New Roman, Calibri, Georgia, Garamond, etc.
Resources to be used (can add more)
https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A718219985/OVIC?u=kctcsgctc&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=1b9c3dfd
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1121585/
https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/bioethics/resources/assisted-suicide-a-right-or-a-wrong/
Make sure to use moral theories and principles
make sure to make body paragraphs use reasoning such as autonomy, end suffering/pain, and quality of life.