During this course, you will prepare a 2,000- to 2,500-word research paper on an environmental subject with ethical and philosophical implications. Each Module contains an assignment that builds up to the final paper draft, due in Module 5. In the first research paper assignment, you will identify your topic and write both a topic proposal and two drafts of your thesis statement. The two drafts should represent two unique attempts to state your basic position/conclusion, along with the supporting reasons/evidence.
For your research paper subject, you may choose any specific argument relating to a current issue in environmental ethics, although it must be different from the essay topics in both Module 2 and Module 4. Take care to select a topic that is manageable by doing some preliminary work. You must be able to relate it to both philosophical and environmental ethics. In Module 2, you will incorporate at least one philosophical theory (e.g., utilitarianism) and one environmental theory (e.g., biocentrism) in your argument. Note that you may use one theory to support your argument or to argue against another theory.
For inspiration, search the DesJardins and Pojman texts (in each, look at the table of contents, or skim ahead to later sections), and explore the GREEN-R and EnviroLink web sites (found in this Module’s Additional Resources). For instance, look at one or more of the ten major areas in GREEN-R’s “Browse Issues and Topics” section. Each of these areas is further divided into 15 or more categories, and each category is full of possible research topics. To find more research information, visit CCCOnline Library’s Doing Research from a Distance.
In this assignment, concentrate on picking out your topic and drafting your thesis. In Module 2, you’ll work on specific theoretical elements and begin your research.
Instructions
View the Essay Writing Guide. Within it, read #2 and #3 in the section “What a Philosophy Essay Is” for detailed guidelines on thesis statements.
Pick a topic for your research paper.
Write one to two paragraphs (125 words or more) explaining your planned topic.
What specific environmental area interests you, and why? What ethical and philosophical questions can be asked about it? How could you apply deontology, teleology, or utilitarian philosophy to it? Label these paragraphs “Topic Proposal.”
Write a thesis statement that is no longer than 3 sentences on your chosen topic and label it “Thesis Draft 1.”
Check your thesis statement draft to make sure it is not “problematic” according to the information in the Essay Writing Guide.
Revise your thesis statement and label it “Thesis Draft 2.”
Your complete assignment should contain three components: the topic proposal and two thesis statement drafts.
