For the final exam you will need to bring paper (a Blue Book or your own notebook paper), as well as something to write with. The exam will consist of two in-class essays. Each essay should have an introduction with a thesis statement, and a conclusion. You may bring and use your textbook.
Essay 1: Pick one of the issues from the textbook Bioethics (you must pick a different issue than the one you discussed in your final paper). Then, write a 2-4 page essay in which you: - Reconstruct and evaluate one of the arguments from the yes side.
- Reconstruct and evaluate one of the arguments from the no side.
- Explain which argument is better and why.
Essay 2: In our discussion of many of the bioethical issues, we talked a great deal about the concept of moral status. You will be given a short paragraph that describes some situation involving moral status. You will then write a 2-4 page paper in which you:
- Articulate and defend an account of moral status and personhood.
- Apply that account to the situation described in the narrative.
Grading Criteria for Exam Essays: The goal for the student is to provide evidence that s/he has read and considered the course material and is able to write intelligibly about the concepts covered therein. You want to identify the prompt to which you are responding and provide evidence that you have understood the material.
To earn an A, your responses provide evidence of the ‘B’ standards below, plus that you have really thought about the concepts covered in the reading and lectures: - You use very original examples to illustrate the concepts of the reading.
- You apply very specific events or discussions from the reading to some new situation.
- Your writing is excellent and/or your style is very interesting
To earn a B or higher, your responses provide evidence of your having read and comprehended the material. In addition to the ‘C’ standards below:
- You apply ideas from the reading to correspondent ideas presented in the classroom.
- You use examples from the lectures to illustrate the concepts in the reading.
To earn a C or higher, your responses provide evidence of your having read and comprehended the material.
- You answer correctly all basic questions about the main ideas and characters.
- You show recognition of all main ideas or characters’ names and their respective associations.
- You correctly identify all concepts introduced or reviewed in the reading.
- You correctly identify and apply all terms from the reading and lectures.
- Your writing is relatively free from spelling and grammatical errors.
- You use examples from the reading or lectures to illustrate your answers.
To earn a D or higher, your responses provide some evidence of your having read, thought about, and comprehended the material:
- You answer correctly some but not all basic questions about the main ideas.
- You show some recognition of main ideas or characters’ names.
- You correctly identify some but not all concepts introduced or reviewed in the reading and lectures.
- You correctly identify and apply some but not all terms introduced or reviewed in the reading and lectures.
To earn an F, you provide hardly any or no evidence of having read, considered, and comprehended the material. |
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