Assignment

Your assignment is to write a four-to-five-page double spaced paper that uses the readings assigned for the course to develop and argue a thesis explaining why the controversy about vaccination still exists despite the fact that the science has ruled out links between vaccination and autism. Your goal for this paper is to situate this heated debate (as presented in Vaccine Wars and the personal essays from Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics) within a larger social context, drawing support for your argument from the analysis of the debate presented in Vaccine Wars and your own analysis of the topic based on the readings assigned on the syllabus.

In your paper you are required to use the following:

· at least one of the analytical articles (“Public Health Strategy” and “Medical Ethics for Children”)

· at least two of the personal narratives from the assigned readings from Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics.

· You may choose to include other readings from the syllabus, but please make sure that you do not include so many that you are unable to focus your paper with a unifying thesis.

Please remember that the goal for this paper is analysis. You ARE NOT being asked to take sides on the vaccine debate.

Additional requirements

· Your paper must include a clear thesis that presents a debatable argument. In other words, your conclusion must be something that another reasonable person might use the same evidence yet reach a different conclusion.

· The paper should be structured so that each paragraph works to develop your thesis.

· Paragraphs should be coherent with a clear topic sentence and conclusion at the end of the paragraph.

· All quotations and references must be properly cited both in-text and on a works cited page using MLA formatting. Make sure you incorporate quotations into your sentences (no dropped quotes) and discuss their significance.

· Your paper must run at least four FULL pages of text. Your font can be no bigger than 12-point Times New Roman and margins should be no bigger than one inch. Spaces between paragraphs should be no larger than the double spacing used between lines (if it is the default setting on your computer to insert an extra space after paragraphs please turn it off). Do not use overly large headers or footers—this includes the first page of your paper if you use this as a title page. The page count is based on the text of the body of your paper and nothing else.

· Papers should be submitted on paper to me in class and on Canvas on time to receive full credit. However, I recognize that we are living in unusual times and this may not always be possible. If you are unable to meet this deadline but wish to receive full credit, please contact me about receiving an extension. You must contact me by the beginning of class time on the day the paper is due in order to receive full credit on a late paper.