GUIDE TO WRITING AT3 - THE ESSAY
Select a case study from given options (see AT3) and address the following points:
1) Identify the ethical issues at stake in your chosen case study
2) Establish and defend an ethical perspective on the issues
3) Discuss the ethical issues from the perspectives of:
• The requirement to respect human dignity & human rights;
• Your future profession’s codes of ethics/ professional conduct & professional standards;
• One ethical theory you have studied in the unit; & • The principles of health care ethics
4) Make recommendations for professional practice
A week by week plan
Week Activity My Notes
1 Read assessment task & marking criteria. Prepare to jot down ideas & note the sources from where you read those ideas each week. It is very helpful to record your references as you use them. Don’t waste valuable time later on looking for
references/ sources that you have not already recorded
2 Choose a case study that addresses concerns that are most likely to involve members of your future profession.
Identify one or more ethical issues in the case scenario.
Consider the issue(s) in the light of the professional codes of conduct, code of ethics (if relevant), and professional standards
3 Choose one ethical theory (e.g. deontology – duty-based ethics or virtue ethics) from which to draw theoretical support for your discussion/ argument(s). This is required on the marking rubric under the section: Analysis of ethical issues and conflicts
4 Consider the issues you have identified in relation to the notions of human dignity & human rights. Jot down some ways of applying them in your discussion
5 Consider the issue(s) from the perspective of the principles of beneficence, non-maleficence and respect for patient autonomy. What if those principles conflict? Consider, also, confidentiality, privacy and veracity (truth-telling). You don’t have to be able to solve the conflicts between the principles yet – just be aware of them at this stage. You may wish to at least acknowledge/ mention this awareness in your essay
6 Consider the conflict(s) in relation to the principle of justice (if relevant). What would the law/ professional tribunals require?
Prepare questions on the essay for this week’s tutorial class
7 By week 7, you should have a plan for how to go about writing the essay. If you require assistance with essay writing, go to the
ACU website, or click on here:
https://www.studentportal.acu.edu.au/ACUInfo/ss/academic-skills-unit
A QUICK OVERVIEW ON ESSAY WRITING
? In an essay, you are attempting to answer a question.
? In this essay, you will be asking, in general: what does a health care professional do when faced with particular ethical issues and conflicts. You go about answering that question by considering it from a range of perspectives (as set out in the assessment task)
1) Your essay should have:
? an introduction in which you identify the case study you have chosen, outline the essay discussion, briefly specify the main points, and briefly state your proposed recommendations for professional practice
? a body in which you work through the required perspectives in order to answer the essay question. Each paragraph should address one idea only. Keep working through the perspectives until you have considered the ethical issue(s) from all the required perspectives and made some recommendations for professional practice. Remember:
all the ideas you use should be supported by reference to the literature/ course material.
? A conclusion in which you bring together your main points and provide an answer to your question. Do not introduce any new material in your conclusion – just sum up the discussion and make a final comment to lend strength to your argument.
? A reference list formulated in accordance with the APA referencing convention (6th edition). Remember: only include those references you have actually used in your essay (as indicated by in-text citations). Always use credible, peer-reviewed sources – you will lose marks if you use non-peer reviewed sources (e.g. consumer websites, informal blogs etc)
2) Ensure that your name and student number is on each page of the essay, use size 11 font, double space your essay, and remain within the 2,000 word limit (+/- 10%).