Creating Your Base: Early Steps/Stages in Thinking and Writing About Ethics

1. I would like you to do a 10-minute free-write on the following question:

What are my own ground rules for how much my own individual beliefs and rights matter in comparison to other citizens? 

2. After choosing your position on the subject for the Ethical Evaluation Argument essay, you will need to brainstorm  at least two area of thinking:

• What are the principles on which  X operates?  

• Write a list of 10 (or less) Commandments on Morals and Ethics.

• What are the consequences of the act(s)?

• If yes...
• If no...
• If yes and no...

3. Use the two example sentence frames (287) to make a preliminary list of principle-based claims and consequence-based claims.

• Principle-based Frame*: An act is right (wrong) because it follows (violates) principles A and B (A, A and D, etc.)

• Consequence-based Frame*:  An act is right (wrong) because it will lead to consequences A, B, and C (or A and B, or A, or B and C, etc.), which are good (bad).

*These become your preliminary topic sentence claims, ONCE you revise them into your own original syntax and choose stronger unique synonyms.

4. Who is your audience? (291)  Before you start writing the actual body paragraphs, you have to identify and define who you want to be your target audience. In your introduction and in your language throughout essay, I want you to "give a nod" to the people you believe will most be impacted or need to listen to your ethnical argument.

• For instance:  Do you want to write to Millennials and beyond?  Do you want to write to a certain type of American you want there to be?