Final paper
Your paper is to be based on a topic. Here is a list of relevant books to give you some ideas. Please note that this list is not meant to be exhaustive: you are free to pick another topic that you like, as long as it is related to ethics and technology. I will not give a list of suggested topics so that you can decide what you want to talk about. Again, topics only need to be related to ethics and technology. Be careful not to pick a topic that is too broad. I suggest that you discuss your topic with me early on.
Your final paper will be a topic analysis where you pick a topic of interest, and analyze at least 5-10 academic papers on the topic. Greely's paper is a good example of what I'm expecting here.
The paper should be no less than 2000 words and no more than 2500 (about 8-pages). The paper should be written with an intended audience of me and your classmates. Write something that you yourself would want to be given to read.
Your paper should be carefully written: it will be graded for writing quality. Make sure to give full references in the bibliography (eg., author, title, journal, publisher, pages, date; a URL alone is rarely a reference by itself). Include all necessary citations and footnotes.
The paper is a research paper—research in the sense of learning some of the scholarship for some particular area, not research in the sense of doing creative scholarship of your own. Make sure your sources represent actual scholarship, not random web pages, blogs, or the like. Please also take a position. This position should be short and it must be well marked, but I would also like to hear your conclusion of the topic.
You will use LaTeX for your milestones and final paper, and I will provide a LaTeX template for you to use. It provides great support for bibilographies and produces high-quality documents.
We will spend time in class discussing how to write an appropriate paper. Think, organize, think, and organize. Write and rewrite. Please check the appropriate lecture notes for more details on this.
A team project
You will work in a team of two on your project (term paper + oral presentation). Larger or smaller teams will not be permitted unless you make a good case for it. Each team will submit one paper and do one presentation. All team members get the same grade.
Organization
There are two required milestones:
- Milestone 1: The paper proposal. In it you will identify the topic you want to cover, with whom you will work, and the name of your group. Submit Milestone 1 via Canvas. Feedback will be minimal: either I like your book/topic, or I don't. If I don't like your proposal, you will have to find another topic. The most common reasons for my rejecting a proposal: (a) the book or topic is already taken; (b) the topic is unclear or too broad; and (c) the topic or book is not related to ethics and technology.
- Milestone 2: A complete draft of your introduction, plus an outline for the rest of your paper. Your outline should be at least a paragraph-level summary of what you plan to talk about. You should have picked your references and know most of the arguments you're going to make. Please submit Milestone 2 via Canvas. Include a word count at the top of your Milestone 2.
Due dates
| Item | Due date |
|---|---|
| Milestone 1 | 4/16/2018 |
| Milestone 2 | 5/7/2018 |
| Final paper | 5/28/2018 |
Milestone 2
Milestone 2 consists of three parts: an introduction, a rough outline of the rest of your paper, and a list of citations you plan to use.
For your introduction, here is a suggested outline:
- 1-2 paragraphs: Summary of technology in question and why it's important
- 1-3 paragraphs: Summary of ethical issues with that technology
- 2-4 paragraphs: Summary of points you will cover, classify positions and summarize
- 1 paragraph: Your position -- keep this short
If you do a good job on your introduction, you can use it directly in your final project. The purpose of your introduction is to give the reader a brief introduction to the topic without going into too much detail. A reader should be able to read your introduction an know where you are going to take the rest of the essay, even if they don't know specifically how you'll back up your claims.
For the rest of Milestone 2, please include
- An outline of the rest of your essay. About one sentence per paragraph is the right level of detail at this point in time.
- A list of potential references
Milestone 2 requirements
For Milestone 2, you will:
- Use LaTeX and submit a PDF. I have a latex template that you are welcome to use to get you started.
- Your intro should be around 600-700 words. Please do not go over 800 words.
- Submit via Canvas using your group. We will create groups for you based on what you turned in for Milestone 1.
- If you would like early feedback, please submit to Canvas by the end of the day on 4/30 and we'll provide feedback by 5/2. This is your best way to understand what we're looking for if you're feeling uneasy about this assignment.