How to Write an Ethics Paper

Getting Started

Make sure that you understand the assignment. Before you begin your ethics paper, take some time to read through the assignment guidelines, ask questions about the assignment, and think through what you need to do in this paper. Get answers to some questions before you start on the assignment. You should ask: What is the main objective of the assignment? What specific things do you need to do in order to get a good grade? How much time will you need to complete the assignment?

Choose a topic for your ethics paper. If you're writing the paper as a class assignment, the topic may already be given to you. If not, choose a topic that is both interesting to you and that you know a good deal about. Your topic should be very broad at first, after which you can develop it into a specific inquiry. For example, you might begin with a topic of "ethical problems of euthanasia." This is very broad, and so forms a good starting point.

Narrow down your topic. After you have selected a topic, you will want to narrow your topic down to a more specific issue. For example: "ethical problems of euthanasia for patients suffering extreme, constant pain." This will allow you to go into much more depth in your paper, and will help you avoid the pitfall of simply providing a broad overview of a subject without digging any deeper. Remember, you may refine your topic even further after you have begun writing your paper. This is perfectly acceptable, and is part of the advantage of writing a paper in multiple drafts.

Outline the relevant issues to your topic. Once you have decided on a specific topic, make a list of all the specific issues that could be used to argue for or against positions within that topic. This list does not have to be ordered in any specific way. For example, you might include issues such as: "describing specifically what is meant by 'extreme, constant pain.' "Other issues might include, "the rights and responsibilities of physicians regarding euthanasia," and "voluntary versus involuntary euthanasia." After making this list, group or order them in some way. For example, you might imagine yourself taking the position that euthanasia is acceptable in this circumstance, and you could order the issues based on how you would draw supporting evidence and build your claim.

Developing Your Thesis Statement

Draft your thesis statement. The thesis is the central position you will be arguing in your ethics paper, but keep in mind that your thesis may change as you continue to work on your ethics paper. Write out a tentative (temporary or changeable) thesis statement and use it to help focus your argument and write your paper. In your thesis, you should take a specific stand on the ethical issue. For example, you might write your thesis as follows: "Euthanasia is an immoral option even when patients are in constant, extreme pain."

Remove ambiguous language to clarify your exact position. Words like “could,” “would,” “might” “seems,” and "should" are ambiguous. These words may affect the clarity of your thesis statement so try not to use these words in your thesis statement. For example, this thesis statement is ambiguous: "Patients should not undergo euthanasia even when suffering constant, extreme pain." With how it's worded, it's unclear whether you mean that euthanasia should be outlawed or that it is morally wrong. Clarify your position to create a strong thesis: "Euthanasia is an immoral option even when patients are in constant, extreme pain."

Make sure the focus of your thesis aligns with your intended focus for the paper. The focus of your paper will depend on the wording of your thesis, so it is crucial to make sure your thesis is worded how you want it to be. Otherwise, you may end up confusing your readers. For example, in the thesis, "It is immoral for patients to choose euthanasia even when suffering constant, extreme pain," the moral burden is on the patient's actions. The author of this thesis would need to make sure to focus on the patient in the essay and not to focus on the moral implications of the doctor's actions. If the thesis you have written does not reflect what you want to argue in your paper, start over and draft a new thesis statement.

Conducting Research

Select sources to research before writing your ethics paper. To strengthen your argument for a certain ethical position, you will need to cite reputable sources in your paper. University and public libraries provide the best place to obtain material to research and cite. Ask a librarian for help finding sources if you are not sure how to access your library’s databases. A simple way to strengthen your argument through citations is by incorporating some relevant statistics. Simple statistics can have a major impact if presented after you've made a bold assertion. For instance, you may claim that the patient's family members would be unduly traumatized if the patient chose euthanasia, and then cite a university study that catalogued a majority of families reporting trauma or stress in this situation. Another helpful citation is one in which the broad issue itself is discussed. For instance, you might cite a prominent ethicist's position on your issue to strengthen your position.

Evaluate your sources. Use only trustworthy sources in your ethics paper or you may damage your credibility and/or earn a bad grade. Use your school library’s databases to ensure that you are getting trustworthy sources for your paper. Some things to consider when trying to determine if a source is trustworthy include: The author and his or her credentials. Does the source provide the author’s first and last name and credentials (M.D., Ph.D, etc.)? Steer clear of sources without an author attached to them or that lack credentials when credentials seem crucial, such as in an article about a medical subject. Type of publication. Is the publication a book, journal, magazine, or website? Is the publisher an academic or educational institution? Does the publisher have a motive other than education? Who is the intended audience? Ask yourself these questions to determine if this source is reliable. For example, a university or government website might be reliable, but a site that sells items may be biased toward what they're selling. Citations. How well has the author researched his or her topic? Check the author’s bibliography or works cited page. If the author has not provided any sources, then you may want to look for a different source. Bias. Has the author presented an objective, well-reasoned account of the topic? If the sources seems skewed towards one side of the argument, then it may not be a good choice. Publication date. Does this source present the most up to date information on the subject? If the sources is outdated, then try to find something more recent.

Read your research. Once you have gathered all of your sources, you will need to read them. Read your sources well and keep your topic in mind as you read. Read a source more than once if you don’t understand it the first time. It is important that you fully understand all of your sources. To check for comprehension after reading a source, try to summarize the source in your own words and generate a response to the author’s main argument. If you cannot do one or both of these things, then you may need to read the source again. Creating notecards for your sources may also help you to organize your ideas. Write the citation for the source on the top of the notecard, then write a brief summary and response to the article in the lined area of the notecard.

Annotate your sources. As you read your sources, it is also a good idea to highlight and underline significant passages so that you can easily come back to them. Look for information that supports your thesis or relates to your counterarguments. You may also want to jot down quotes that you may want to use in your paper. Remember to indicate when you have quoted a source in your notes by putting it into quotation marks and including information about the source such as the author’s name, article or book title, and page number.

Writing and Revising Your Ethics Paper

Work from your outline. Getting started on a draft can be a difficult process, but your outline provides you with a kind of roadmap. By expanding on the ideas in your outline you will generate more useable, relevant text for your draft. To expand on your outline, write a couple of sentences describing and/or explaining each of the items in your outline. Include a relevant source for each item as well.

Make sure that you include all of the key parts of an ethics paper. While your professor may have some specific guidelines that you need to follow, there are some items that are often included in ethics papers. A paper defending an ethical position should first take and defend a stand, then present strong counterarguments, then refute those counterarguments, and then conclude the paper. Check your outline to see if you have covered each of these items in this order. If not, you will need to add a section and use your sources to help inform that section.

Plan to write your ethics paper using several drafts. After expanding on your outline, you can begin writing the first draft of your ethics paper. It is possible that you will need to write multiple drafts of your paper to get it right, so make sure that you give yourself plenty of time for this process. Don’t try to draft your paper until you have developed your thesis, completed an outline, and read and annotated all of your research. In your first draft, focus on the quality of the argument, rather than the quality of the prose. If the argument is structured well and each conclusion is supported by your reasoning and by cited evidence, you will be able to focus on the writing itself on the second draft. Unless major revisions are needed to your argument (for example, if you have decided to change your thesis statement), use the second draft to strengthen your writing. Focus on sentence lengths and structures, vocabulary, and other aspects of the prose itself.

Give yourself a break before revising. By taking a break after you have finished drafting your paper, you will give your brain a chance to rest and process difficult concepts. When you revisit the draft, you will have a fresh perspective. Try to allow yourself a few days or even a week to revise your paper before it is due. If you do not allow yourself enough time to revise, then you will be more prone to making simple mistakes and your grade may suffer as a result.

Consider your paper from multiple angles as your revise. As you revise your paper, ask yourself questions about the way you have written your paper. Taking the time to ask and answer some questions about what you have written will help you to improve what you have written. Consider the following questions as you revise: Does my paper fulfill the requirements of the assignment? How might it score according to the rubric provided by my instructor? What is your main point? How might you clarify your main point? Who is your audience? Have you considered their needs and expectations? What is your purpose? Have you accomplished your purpose with this paper? How effective is your evidence? How might your strengthen your evidence? Does every part of your paper relate back to your thesis? How might you improve these connections? Is anything confusing about your language or organization? How might your clarify your language or organization? Have you made any errors with grammar, punctuation, or spelling? How can you correct these errors? What might someone who disagrees with you say about your paper? How can you address these opposing arguments in your paper?

Read printed version of your final draft out loud. Before you hand in your paper, read a printed version of your paper out loud to detect any typos, minor errors, or other oversights. These minor mistakes may have a negative effect on your grade, so it is important to find and fix as many of them as you can before you submit your paper. As you read your paper out loud, highlight or circle any errors and revise as necessary before printing your final copy.