Category: Homework

Create a draft thesis and arguments for your paper

Note: you do NOT need to hand this assignment in to turnitin.com YET. Please prepare it ahead of time for class, where you will work on it in pairs. You will need to upload a revised version by midnight to turnitin.com on Thursday, 4/8.

Please read the handout on OpenLab, 2. Preparing a written report for your case (also found under “Assignments”—“Case Project”)

We have practiced identifying the thesis and supporting arguments for articles we have read and for articles summarized in the annotated bibliography. Now it is time for you to develop a draft thesis for your written case report, along with supporting arguments.

For the homework assignment, please do each of the 4 parts below. Please be as concise as possible—there is no need to write more than 150 words total.

1. Background: in about 2 sentences, give a brief background explaining what your case is about. This should be clear enough that a student who is not familiar with your case can read it and gain familiarity with the most important facts of the case.
2. Main Ethical Dilemma: In 1 sentence, explain what you think the main ethical dilemma in your case is. An ethical dilemma is a choice that must be made in which all possible decisions violate some ethical norms. It should be worded as a question (e.g., “should the doctor do X or Y?”). The main ethical dilemma is the most important ethical dilemma in the case.
3. Thesis: please formulate your thesis in one sentence. The thesis should summarize your main recommendation for what should happen in your case. It should respond to the main ethical issue. It should be a truth claim that is concise and appropriately specific. These are characteristics of any good thesis, as we discussed in class. The thesis should also be normative. It should explain what someone in the case—usually the health professionals—should do.
4. Arguments: please formulate 2-3 brief arguments (i.e. 1-2 sentences each) in support of your thesis. It should be clear to someone not familiar with your case how these arguments support your thesis.

Make an annotated bibliography entry for the assigned reading:

Mazor, Kathleen M, George W Reed, Robert A Yood, Melissa A Fischer, Joann Baril, and Jerry H Gurwitz. 2006. “Disclosure of medical errors.”  Journal of General Internal Medicine 21 (7):704-710.

You can find the article here.

This is an empirical article, so be sure to use the format for an empirical article. Your entry should include three things: 

1. The actual reference (formatted in Chicago Author-Date Style). You may cut and paste from above for this assignment.
2. Conclusions. 
   • “Conclusions” are the general claims that the authors think are supported by their observations. They should be in the present tense.
3. Evidence/Results. 
   • The “results” is what the researchers actually observed. These should clearly support the “conclusions” listed above. They should be in the past tense.

Be sure to label each of the three sections. You do not need to include the fourth section, “relevance to my case,” because this piece is not necessarily relevant to your assigned group case. 

Your entry should be in your own words. Your submission should be at least a half page (double-spaced), but should not exceed one page.

(150-300 words)

Please submit the assignment to turnitin.com before class (i.e. before 2:30pm).