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Understanding Ethical Argument
How to Start and What to Include
Every writing you compose will have a specific purpose, layout/format, and audience. For ethical arguments, the purpose is to assert a viewpoint (argument) based on an ethical standard (such as Christianity), in proper layout (introduction, body-paragraphs that assert the position you want to prove, body-paragraphs that argue against your position, a paragraph that indicates why your position is more valid than that of the opposition, followed by a conclusion paragraph), formatting style (based on your declared degree with the university), and directed toward a specific audience.
The purpose of an academic argument paper is to present and analyze a well-thought-out argument for an assigned topic, based on a specific essay type: cause/effect, ethics, proposal, and so on. However, when crafting a philosophical analysis of a moral-ethical issue, you are not simply stating your sincerely held opinions. You are defending the ethical view on a topic. Credible sources, statistics, and pre-set ethical standards are necessary to accomplish such a task. An ethics paper is not a matter of articulating, even if done very eloquently, an opinion only. An ethical argument has two main components, as stated in its title: clear ethics, and argument.
Analysis is essential in all writing because it requires one to broadly and narrowly analyze a topic. Without logical analysis of the topic, presentation of both sides of the issue, followed by strong support for the side you are arguing, an argument will fall flat, leading to an unmoved and unimpressed audience that will not believe in your viewpoint. You should expect to be held to our course’s pre-determined assessment standards (as dictated in the grading rubric) that require you to write analytically as you argue your point.
As stated by Damanhour University’s English department,
A paper in moral-ethical philosophy consists of at least six (6) parts:
(1) the introduction,
(2) the presentation of the arguments,
(3) the presentation of objections or counter-arguments,
(4) a response to these objections,
(5) the conclusion, and
(6) an annotated bibliography (according to the required formatting style)
For a paper of this length, it is important to begin your brainstorming and pre-writing with some definitions that you will be basing your writing upon: ethics, ethical standards, argument progression, and specifics about the topic. Most likely, as this is a first-year English course, I will assume that this is the first paper you have ever written as an ethical argument. Ethics can be hard to identify; however, once you do, you should be able to really start digging into the research that would support your ethical stand on the topic.
Be certain to have a general idea of the points you want to make—in an outline format—prior to committing to any research to use in the writing. You want to make sure that you are leading the paper and using the sources to defend your viewpoint or refute the opposition. Do not copy and paste multiple source quotes and structure your outline and pre-writing around that. You need to make the paper yours. To do this, you must start with a general outline—to provide direction for your ethical argument—and then use only essential and strong support to defend that position.
See your textbook for assistance with concepts relating to an ethical argument as well as a suggested outline layout to help you begin your process. As always, remember to follow the Hamburger Method (or the Source Sandwich) within your body paragraphs to assure proper topic development, support, and analysis. See the LearnEssayWriting website links below for additional assistance with your writing.
Follow Structure: The STRUCTURE of an essay is as important as the paper FORMAT and source CITATIONS. Be sure to follow the DRAFTING content for proper STRUCTURE.
Titles for Essays
Create an Original Title
Introduction
Parts of an Introduction
Body-Paragraphs
The BODY of an Essay
Conclusions
Wrapping it All Up for the Reader
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