5SC004 Ethics of Care
Assessment
You are required to write a 2000 word essay on a case study that will be provided. You need to identify the ethical issues within the case study and write about them in relation to ethical practice and theory.
Learning Outcomes
LO1: develop a critical understanding of key ethical concepts introduced in the module as they relate to social care as a ‘public good’.
LO2: develop a critical understanding of ethics as they relate to social care organisations as businesses.
LO3: develop a critical understanding of the ethics of professional practice in social care work, including social care codes of conduct.
Guidance
To write this essay, I am suggesting the following structure (although I have used headings in this guidance, you must not include them in your essay).
Introduction (Do not use this heading in your essay)
Start with a punchy statement which helps to answer the essay question. This is followed up by an overview of the essay which gives the reader the context of the subject. Finally you need to signpost the rest of the essay (this section should be approximately 10% of the word count).
Main body (Do not use this heading in your essay)
There are many ethical issues in the case study which you need to identify. Therefore, it is suggested that you focus on two or three ethical concerns to allow you to write on the subject in some depth. For example, you could focus on discrimination as one of your ethical issue.
As well as describing the ethical issue, you need to write critically in relation to ethical practice. This could focus on the practice elements associated to the ethical issue you described previously. For example, you will need to include the codes of conduct.
You then need to write critically in relation to ethical theory. Here you will apply theory to the ethical issues you mentioned above. You need to critically analyse and debate which theory helps you understand the ethical issues (this section should be approximately 80% of the word count).
For example, your essay plan could look like this which you would then need to develop:
Main body – ethical issue 1
Describe ethical issue
Critically relate to practice
Critically relate to theory
Main body – ethical issue 2
Describe ethical issue
Critically relate to practice
Critically relate to theory
(Main body – ethical issue 3)
Describe ethical issue
Critically relate to practice
Critically relate to theory
Conclusion (Do not use this heading in your essay)
The conclusion needs to be a summary of what you have already written. State how the essay question was answered and summaries the key point. Do not introduce any new material; just sum-up the essay. The conclusion is usually a mirror image of the introduction (this section should be approximately 10% of the word count).
Please Note
• Although I have suggested this essay structure, there are other ways in which you can organise the assignment.
• Do not forget that the essay has to meet the learning outcomes (above) in order to pass the assessment.
• Assignment guidance will also be provided during assignment unpacking sessions (see module guide) and during seminars.