1 3 Title of Paper Student Name Course/Number Due Date Faculty Name Title of Paper Triple click your mouse anywhere in this paragraph to replace this text with your introduction. The introduction is often the most important paragraph in the entire essay, and it needs to grab the reader's attention. That can be a difficult task for academic writing. Avoid starting introduction sentences with flat announcements of your intention or topic, such as, “The purpose of this essay is…” or “In this essay I will…” Structure and Makeup of Congress Triple click your mouse anywhere in this paragraph to replace this text with your 1st body paragraph. In this section, you will focus on the U.S. Congress structure and the differences between the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. Replace the text with a well-developed paragraph that includes a topic sentence, transitions, and information that answers the following questions: What are the powers granted to Congress in the Constitution? How does a bill become a law? The President’s Role and Responsibilities Triple click your mouse anywhere in this paragraph to replace this text with your 2nd body paragraph. In this section, you will focus on the role and power of the president. Replace the text with a well-developed paragraph that includes a topic sentence, transitions, and information that answers the following questions: What are the powers granted to the president in the Constitution? How has presidential power evolved over time? The Congress, the President, and the Judiciary Triple click your mouse anywhere in this paragraph to replace this text with your 3rd body paragraph. In this section, you will explain the checks and balances of power within the federal government. Replace the text with a well-developed paragraph that includes a topic sentence, transitions, and information that answers the following questions: What are the checks and balances of power within the federal government? How does the U.S. Constitution support these powers? Conclusion Triple click your mouse anywhere in this paragraph to replace this text with your conclusion. The closing paragraph summarizes the key points from the supporting paragraphs without introducing any new information. It is designed to persuade the reader to adapt your way of thinking if you are writing a persuasive essay, to understand relationships if you are writing a comparison/contrast essay, or to value the information you provide in an informational essay. Six Ethical Dilemmas Choose one of the following dilemmas for the basis of constructing a moral argument, and reach one of the two listed conclusions. 1. Concentration Camp You are an inmate in a concentration camp. A sadistic guard is about to hang your son who tried to escape, and he orders you to pull the chair from underneath your son. He says that if you don’t, he will not only kill your son, but he will kill some other innocent inmate, as well. You d ...

1. 1
3
Title of Paper
Student Name
Course/Number
Due Date
Faculty Name
Title of Paper
Triple click your mouse anywhere in this paragraph to replace
this text with your introduction. The introduction is often the
most important paragraph in the entire essay, and it needs to
grab the reader's attention. That can be a difficult task for
academic writing. Avoid starting introduction sentences with
flat announcements of your intention or topic, such as, “The
purpose of this essay is…” or “In this essay I will…”
Structure and Makeup of Congress
Triple click your mouse anywhere in this paragraph to replace
this text with your 1st body paragraph. In this section, you will
focus on the U.S. Congress structure and the differences
between the House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. Replace
the text with a well-developed paragraph that includes a topic
sentence, transitions, and information that answers the
following questions: What are the powers granted to Congress
in the Constitution? How does a bill become a law?
The President’s Role and Responsibilities
Triple click your mouse anywhere in this paragraph to replace
this text with your 2nd body paragraph. In this section, you will
focus on the role and power of the president. Replace the text
with a well-developed paragraph that includes a topic sentence,
transitions, and information that answers the following
questions: What are the powers granted to the president in the
Constitution? How has presidential power evolved over time?

2. The Congress, the President, and the Judiciary
Triple click your mouse anywhere in this paragraph to
replace this text with your 3rd body paragraph. In this section,
you will explain the checks and balances of power within the
federal government. Replace the text with a well-developed
paragraph that includes a topic sentence, transitions, and
information that answers the following questions: What are the
checks and balances of power within the federal government?
How does the U.S. Constitution support these powers?
Conclusion
Triple click your mouse anywhere in this paragraph to replace
this text with your conclusion. The closing paragraph
summarizes the key points from the supporting paragraphs
without introducing any new information. It is designed to
persuade the reader to adapt your way of thinking if you are
writing a persuasive essay, to understand relationships if you
are writing a comparison/contrast essay, or to value the
information you provide in an informational essay.
Six Ethical Dilemmas
Choose one of the following dilemmas for the basis of
constructing a moral argument, and
reach one of the two listed conclusions.
1. Concentration Camp
You are an inmate in a concentration camp. A sadistic guard is

3. about to hang your son who tried to
escape, and he orders you to pull the chair from underneath
your son. He says that if you don’t, he will
not only kill your son, but he will kill some other innocent
inmate, as well. You don’t have any doubt that
he means what he says.
Argue for one of the following two choices:
(a) Pull the chair.
(b) Don't pull the chair.
2. The Pregnant Woman
A pregnant woman leading a group of people out of a cave on a
coast is stuck in the mouth of that cave.
In a short time, high tide will be upon them, and unless she is
unstuck, they will all be drowned except
the woman, whose head is out of the cave. Fortunately, (or
unfortunately,) someone has with him a
stick of dynamite. There seems no way to get the pregnant
woman loose without using the dynamite
which will inevitably kill her; but if they do not use it, everyone
will drown.
Argue for one of the following two choices:

4. (a) Use the dynamite and kill the pregnant woman, but save
everyone else.
(b) Don't use the dynamite and let everyone drown.
3. The Baby
You, your baby, and your entire townspeople are being chased
by this band of bad people who will kill
you all if they find you. All of you decide to hide in this secret
place and are silently waiting for the bad
guys to move away. However, your baby begins to cry loudly,
as the killers get approach. The killers WILL
hear the crying. Then, they will find you, your baby, and the
townspeople and kill all of you.
Argue for one of the following two choices:
(a) Smother your baby, and save everyone else.
(b) Don't smother your baby, and everyone is killed.
4. Drug Bust
You are on holiday in Bali with your 18-year-old son and your
spouse. You have been there for a week
and are ready to head home. All three of you are at the airport

5. getting ready to board your plane, when
an armed officer comes around with a sniffer dog. You have all
your bags on a trolley, and the dog sniffs
at both your wife and your bag, and passes over it, however
when he gets to your son's bag, he indicates
that drugs have been found.
At first you feel angry that he would do such a thing and start
planning your responsibility lecture, but
then you realize that you are in Bali, and they have a zero
tolerance policy on drugs, meaning your son
could be jailed for life, or worse, executed, if he does have
some illicit materials in his bag.
The officer looks at you and asks “Who’s bag is this?” You
realize you must answer, but the answer
won’t be easy. You see that your spouse is about to step forward
and claim the bag.
Argue for one of the following two choices:
(a) Let your spouse be arrested.
(b) Tell the officer that the bag belongs to your son.
5. The Hospital Ventilation
You are a doctor working in a small clinic when you learn that,
due to an accident in the building next

6. door, there are deadly fumes beginning to circulate through the
clinic’s ventilation system. In one room
of the clinic there are four patients. In another room, there is
one patient. If you do nothing, the fumes
will reach both rooms containing patients and cause their
deaths.
The only way to avoid any deaths is to hit a switch that will
cause the fumes to bypass the room
containing the four patients. As a result of doing this, the fumes
will enter the room containing the
single patient. If that is done, the single patient will die, but the
other four patients will live.
Argue for one of the following two choices:
(a) You should hit the switch.
(b) You should not hit the switch.
6. The Life Boat
You are on a cruise ship when there is a fire on board, and the
ship has to be abandoned. The lifeboats
are carrying many more people than they were designed to
carry. The lifeboat you are sitting in is
dangerously low in the water – a few inches lower and it will
sink. A group of old people are in the water

7. and beg you to throw them a rope so they can come aboard the
lifeboat.
Argue for one of the following two choices:
(a) You should throw them the rope, knowing that everyone will
drown.
(b) You should not throw the rope, knowing that all in the boat
will probably be saved.
Background – 15 points
15 to >11 pts (A to A-)
The title slide includes your name,
presentation title, and other important
information and is formatted properly.
The introduction presents the overall
scenario and draws the audience into
the presentation.
11 to >7.5 pts (B+ to B-)
The title slide includes most of the
required elements and is formatted
correctly. The introduction is clear and
coherent and relates to the scenario.
7.5 to >3.5 pts (C+ to C-)
Title slide lists some of the required
elements or it is not formatted
properly. The introduction shows some
structure but does not create a strong

8. sense of the scenario chosen. May be
overly detailed or incomplete and is
somewhat appealing to the audience
3.5 to >0 pts (D+ to D-)
Title slide is missing required elements
and is not formatted correctly. The
sequencing is unclear and does not
appear interesting or relevant to the
audience
0 pts (F)
No slide included. No introduction of
scenario.
Content – 50 points
50 to >36.66 pts (A to A-)
All content is accurate throughout the
presentation and information is
presented in a logical order.
36.66 to >25 pts (B+ to B-)
Most of the content is accurate but one
piece of information may be inaccurate.
Some information is not presented in a
logical order but is still generally easy to
follow.
25 to >11.66 pts (C+ to C-)
Content is generally accurate but one
piece of information is clearly flawed or
inaccurate. Information is not
presented in a logical order, making it
difficult to follow.

9. 11.66 to >0 pts (D+ to D-)
Content is confusing or inaccurate. It is
difficult to understand.
0 pts (F)
Content is minimal and below
expectation.
Narration – 40 points
40 to >29.33 pts (A to A-)
Narration (aural or written) elaborates
beyond the displayed material.
Explanations enhance the visual
presentation by adding interest and
clarity. The student explains the critical
thinking that led to the conclusions. If
using audio, it is clear and
understandable.
29.33 to >20 pts (B+ to B-)
Narration elaborates beyond the
material displayed. The narration is
understandable and enhances visual
material.
20 to >9.33 pts (C+ to C-)
The student mostly reads what is shown
on the screen but might interject some
new information that enhances the
visual presentation. If using audio, it is
difficult to understand at times and/or
is not loud enough to hear well.
9.33 to >0 pts (D+ to D-)
Student simply reads the material

10. displayed. Audio cannot be heard or
understood most of the time. Or, if
written, the narration does not enhance
the information seen by the audience.
0 pts (F)
Student does not include audio or
written narration.
Layout – 25 points
25 to >18.33 pts (A to A-)
The layout is visually pleasing and
contributes to the overall message with
appropriate use of headings,
subheadings, and white space.
18.33 to >12.5 pts (B+ to B-)
The layout uses horizontal and vertical
white space appropriately.
12.5 to >5.83 pts (C+ to C-)
The layout shows some structure but
appears cluttered and busy or
distracting with large gaps of white
space or uses a distracting background.
5.83 to >0 pts (D+ to D-)
The layout is cluttered, confusing, and
does not use spacing, headings and
subheadings to enhance the readability.
0 pts (F)
Layout is nonexistent. Very few slides to
cover the material presented.

11. Mechanics – 20 points
20 to >14.67 pts (A to A-)
No spelling errors. No grammar errors.
Text is in authors' own words.
14.67 to >10 pts (B+ to B-)
1-3 spelling or grammar errors, but
errors do not affect readability or
meaning. Text is in the author's own
words.
10 to >4.67 pts (C+ to C-)
4-5 spelling/grammar errors and/or
some errors affect readability and
meaning. Text is in the author's own
words.
4.67 to >0 pts (D+ to D-)
5-6 spelling/grammar errors. Or, errors
affect understanding and readability.
Most of the text is in the author's own
words.
0 pts (F)
More than 6 spelling/grammar errors
and/or text is copied. Errors interfere
with understanding or convey incorrect
information.
Total Points: 150

12. PHI 300, Ethics for Life Wilmington University
Detailed Instructions for Final Project: Construct and Present a
Moral Argument
IMPORTANT! Before you begin, re-read Ethics for Life,
Chapter 2, pp. 47-51.
• Be sure that you fully understand the "components" of an
argument, and how to use those
components in the “Five Steps for Constructing Moral
Arguments,” all explained in these pages.
For your final project, you will use those five steps to construct
and present a narrated moral argument for
one scenario listed in the "Six Ethical Dilemmas" document
(link in the Final Project assignment page). Use
PowerPoint or Prezi (IMPORTANT: Whether your narration is a
voice recording or written, read the paragraph
at the bottom regarding narration.) *
Argue your points from the standpoint of a specific moral
theory that we have studied. (You may or may not
agree with the theory you choose to use, but make the argument
as if you do agree with that theory.) You may
even argue from a combination of moral theories, but you still
must reach one unequivocal conclusion.

13. Minimum number of slides: 9
Use the following steps (as outlined in Chapter 2: Moral
Reasoning):
Section 1: Background (2 slides) Title page (p. 1); Description
of the scenario/moral dilemma (p. 2).
Section 2: Develop a list of at least four possible premises (1-4
slides) Make sure your facts are
accurate and do not rely on unsupported assumptions or
opinions. Define ambiguous terms that you
might use throughout your argument. (If they fit, all premises
can be listed on one slide.)
Section 3: Eliminate weak premises (1-2 slides) Eliminate any
weak or irrelevant premises and say why
they have been eliminated. Do not make eliminations based on
whether the premises mesh with your
particular opinion regarding moral issues. Rather, eliminate
them on their own lack of merit: Are they
weak? Irrelevant? Do they use fallacies? Rhetoric? Emotive
language? Be specific, and use the
appropriate terminology in your explanation.
Section 4: Come to a conclusion (1-2 slides) Make sure your
conclusion is relevant and logical (it is
based directly on, and logically follows, the premises). Make
sure that your conclusion is clear and

14. specific – not too broad or too narrow.
Section 5: Try your argument on others (1-2 slides) Practice
arguing your point with at least two
people. Then, in these slides, identify important parts of your
conversation (i.e., least and/or most
effective parts) and list relevant feedback that you may have
received.
Section 6: Revise your argument (1-2 slides) Based on further
reflection and on the feedback, revise (if
necessary) and say why you revised it. Then, restate your
argument (premises and conclusion) If you
did not revise your argument, say why not.
Section 7: Reference page. Also, include in-text citations if
needed. (1 slide)
* Remember that this is a presentation with slides for visual
aids. In a presentation, the presenter doesn't
put every word of the script in the slides. Rather, use bullet
points, graphics etc. to show your main points,
but fill in your visual information with narration – just as you
would in an in-person presentation. In other
words, do not fill up each slide with verbiage and then simply
read it aloud – or expect the audience to read
too much. Either use audio narration, or place your written

15. narration in the "notes" sections of the slides.