Written report

Instructions for all students and roles

Each student is responsible for producing a written report organized around a thesis that resolves the main ethical dilemma in the case.

The paper should be at least at least 1000 words (about 4 pages) not including the Works Cited page, and written in standard English grammar and style. Please remember to include your name, group number, and role in the header. All reports should be uploaded to turnitin.com (see instructions on Blackboard for this).

Thesis:

• indicates how the student thinks the main ethical dilemma(s) in the case should be resolved (unless you are the editor, see below).
• should meet the criteria we discussed in class (it should be a truth claim that is appropriately specific and concise; it should also be normative, since your paper is an ethics paper about how to resolve an ethical dilemma).

Body:

• Do write your paper as a standard academic paper. In addition to a clear thesis that meets the above criteria, the paper should also include an introduction, a body that defends the thesis, and a conclusion.
• Do ensure that the body consists of evidence and argumentation clearly supporting the thesis. The best papers will demonstrate understanding about why someone might object to their thesis, and will respond convincingly to these objections.

References and research:

• Do incorporate and cite at least 5 academic journal article sources suitably matched to your role (these may be the same 5 sources discussed in the annotated bibliography, but in some cases students may want to incorporate different or more sources than those in their annotated bibliography).
• Do keep in-text citations simple: citations should include only the last name of the author(s) and the year of publication. For example: (MacDougall, 2019).
• Do put citations in the appropriate place: usually at the end of the first sentence incorporating ideas from the work that is being cited. Write so as to clearly indicate which ideas are yours, and which are from other sources.
• Do include all (and only) articles actually cited in the body of the paper in a “Works Cited” page at the end of the report.
• Do format references in the “Works Cited” page according to the Chicago Author-Date Style or another standard bibliography format, just as they were for the annotated bibliography.
• Do put sources in alphabetical order.
• Do not include notes from the annotated bibliography in the Works Cited page.

Editor Role: Special Instructions

The Editor’s written report should follow the same general guidelines as those of others, see above.

However, the editor’s written report is different in one major way: it should present the group’s major recommendations for the main issues in the case, and should summarize the best arguments and research in support of this recommendation (regardless of which group member came up with these recommendations, and regardless of whether the editor personally agrees with the group’s conclusion).

For this reason, the editor’s report is not due until midnight on the day of the student’s group presentation.

Editors:

• Do make use of groupmates’ reports and ideas. 
• Do give special attention to the contribution of each discipline, and how interdisciplinary cooperation assisted the group in reaching a conclusion.

When using the work of group mates:

• DO NOT use large quotations from other group members in the written report. Just as with other sources, you should always summarize others’ thoughts in your own words, unless the source’s original wording is important in some way (in which case you may use the other person’s words, but you MUST use quotation marks).
• Do make explicit note when you use a group member’s ideas or words (“According to our nurse, …” etc). You do not need to add these to the “Works Cited” page, I know who these people are and where to find their reports.
• Do mention your own arguments and research in the report in addition to the most relevant findings of the rest of the group. The editor’s focus should be on the best arguments the group came up with, regardless of which group member was responsible for these.