You will have the full 96 hours (Thursday, December 14 – Sunday, December 17) to
You will have the full 96 hours (Thursday, December 14 – Sunday, December 17) to complete TWO essay questions. This gives you flexibility to work on your essays when it is most convenient for you. Even if you submit the essays, you can change them and resubmit them up until the deadline.
The exam is open book and open notes. We therefore expect thorough answers on the essay questions.
Please keep in mind that you need to put everything in your own words. That is how we know that you actually understand the material. You cannot just copy the slides or the articles. (That would be plagiarism.) If there really is no other way to make your point, and you absolutely need to quote the slides, lectures, or readings, you must use quotation marks around the quote and give an in-text citation including the author’s name and page number if there is one.
Please get right to the point in answering essay questions. For example, you do not need to have an introductory paragraph or a concluding paragraph. Just answer each part of the question. You should expect to have roughly 3-4 paragraphs, but it is okay if you have a bit more. The number of paragraphs does not matter. Your goal should be to answer the question completely without including irrelevant information.
Note that you are expected to do some original thinking by analyzing an author’s position or by explaining which author’s position you think is stronger on some issue. This requires a substantial response. You must engage meaningfully with authors’ arguments, providing reasons defending your assessment of an author’s position or of whose position is stronger on some issue. To do this well, you need more than a sentence or two. It will take a full paragraph.
IMPORTANT: You will only get credit for engaging with the assigned articles. Thus, presenting what the authors say in articles not assigned for class will NOT earn you credit. For this reason, I strongly advise you to avoid internet research, as this has often led students astray. Instead, please learn from the lectures.
Plagiarism/AI Chatbot Warning for essays: If you copy an author’s words without quotation marks, or if your response is copied in full or in part from another source (e.g., Quizlet, another student’s work, my lecture slides), this counts as plagiarism, and you will fail the exam. If you use ChatGPT or another AI chatbot to write your essay, you will fail the exam. Please note that we will check the essays using plagiarism and AI detection tools.
Grading Rubric: Exam Essay Rubric.pdfDownload Exam Essay Rubric.pdf
Please email us IMMEDIATELY if you run into any issues.
BEST OF LUCK! 🙂
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NOTE: At the end of each essay, you must sign your name, verifying that the essay is your own work. You should write the following: “I certify that this essay is my own work alone. I did not plagiarize anyone else’s work or use AI to write this essay.” You must then sign your name. This can be done easily in Word using the “draw” function. Your essays will be considered incomplete without this.
Essay 1: Choose Question A or B
A. Daniels and Engelhardt disagree on whether there is a moral right to health care. For each of these authors, state their position and explain their argument for that position. Whose position do you think is stronger, and why?
Note: In answering this question, be sure to define keywords used by each of the authors, so that we know that you understand their arguments.
OR
B. Glannon and Savulescu disagree on the moral permissibility of genetic enhancement. For each of these authors, state their position and explain their argument for that position. Whose position do you think is stronger, and why?
Note: In your answer, you need only discuss Glannon’s main argument for his position, but for Savulescu, briefly discuss all three of his arguments for his position. Also, be sure to highlight the different moral principles that lead them to different conclusions on the moral permissibility of genetic enhancement.
Essay 2: Choose Question C or D
C. Marquis and Thomson disagree about the moral permissibility of abortion in cases of pregnancy due to contraceptive failure. For each of these authors, explain their position and their argument for their position in cases of pregnancy due to contraceptive failure. Whose position do you think is stronger, and why?
Note: In your answer for Thomson, be sure to discuss the hidden assumption used by abortion opponents and what the right to life consists in according to Thomson. Also, Marquis does not explicitly discuss cases of pregnancy due to contraceptive failure. You need to apply his argument to this kind of case.
OR
D. Brock and Callahan disagree on the moral permissibility of voluntary active euthanasia. For each of these authors, state their position and explain their argument for that position. Whose position do you think is stronger, and why?
Note: In your answer for Brock, focus on the moral arguments that he discusses for and against voluntary active euthanasia, not the public policy arguments. Also be sure to discuss these authors’ positions on whether there is a moral difference between killing and letting die.
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Rubric
Exam Essay Rubric (1)
Exam Essay Rubric (1)
Criteria Ratings Pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeEssay 1
20 to >18.0 pts
Excellent
The essay is at least three paragraphs (of approximately 5-7 well-constructed sentences) and displays an excellent understanding of the arguments and concepts in the readings. All parts of the question are answered in sufficient detail without irrelevant information. The essay also demonstrates high-level critical thinking and analysis and uses strong reasons to support its arguments and positions. Citations are used correctly and appropriately.
18 to >16.0 pts
Very Good
The essay is at least three paragraphs (of approximately 5-7 well-constructed sentences) and displays a very good understanding of the arguments and concepts in the readings. All parts of the question are answered in sufficient detail but may contain a bit of irrelevant information. The essay also demonstrates strong critical thinking and analysis and uses reasons to support its arguments and positions. Citations are used correctly and appropriately.
16 to >14.0 pts
Good
The essay is at least three paragraphs (of approximately 5-7 well-constructed sentences) and understands the key arguments and concepts in the readings but may misunderstand other aspects of the readings. All parts of the question are answered in sufficient detail but may have irrelevant information. The essay also demonstrates some critical thinking and analysis but needs to improve in this area. Citations are mostly used correctly and appropriately but may have one or two errors.
14 to >12.0 pts
Need Improvement
The essay may be less than three paragraphs or the paragraphs may be less than approximately 5-7 well-constructed sentences. It misunderstands some of the key arguments and concepts in the readings. Most parts of the question are answered but perhaps not all, and the essay may contain irrelevant information. The essay demonstrates little to no critical thinking and analysis. Citations may not be used correctly and appropriately.
12 to >0.0 pts
Marginal
The essay may be less than three paragraphs or the paragraphs may be less than approximately 5-7 well-constructed sentences. It misunderstands many of the key arguments and concepts in the readings. Many parts of the question are not answered, and the essay may contain irrelevant information. The essay demonstrates no critical thinking and analysis. Citations are poor or absent.
0 pts
N/A
No essay, or it was plagiarized
20 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeEssay 2
20 to >18.0 pts
Excellent
The essay is at least three paragraphs (of approximately 5-7 well-constructed sentences) and displays an excellent understanding of the arguments and concepts in the readings. All parts of the question are answered in sufficient detail without irrelevant information. The essay also demonstrates high-level critical thinking and analysis and uses strong reasons to support its arguments and positions. Citations are used correctly and appropriately.
18 to >16.0 pts
Very Good
The essay is at least three paragraphs (of approximately 5-7 well-constructed sentences) and displays a very good understanding of the arguments and concepts in the readings. All parts of the question are answered in sufficient detail but may contain a bit of irrelevant information. The essay also demonstrates strong critical thinking and analysis and uses reasons to support its arguments and positions. Citations are used correctly and appropriately.
16 to >14.0 pts
Good
The essay is at least three paragraphs (of approximately 5-7 well-constructed sentences) and understands the key arguments and concepts in the readings but may misunderstand other aspects of the readings. All parts of the question are answered in sufficient detail but may have irrelevant information. The essay also demonstrates some critical thinking and analysis but needs to improve in this area. Citations are mostly used correctly and appropriately but may have one or two errors.
14 to >12.0 pts
Need Improvement
The essay may be less than three paragraphs or the paragraphs may be less than approximately 5-7 well-constructed sentences. It misunderstands some of the key arguments and concepts in the readings. Most parts of the question are answered but perhaps not all, and the essay may contain irrelevant information. The essay demonstrates little to no critical thinking and analysis. Citations may not be used correctly and appropriately.
12 to >0.0 pts
Marginal
The essay may be less than three paragraphs or the paragraphs may be less than approximately 5-7 well-constructed sentences. It misunderstands many of the key arguments and concepts in the readings. Many parts of the question are not answered, and the essay may contain irrelevant information. The essay demonstrates no critical thinking and analysis. Citations are poor or absent.
0 pts
N/A
No essay, or it was plagiarized
20 pts
Total Points: 40