Please write an essay (3–4 pages, double-spaced) in which you carefully present and critically assess an argument in one of the cases that we read from (and including) Grutter/Gratz up to (and including) Casey. (The topic of this paper will examine Roe v. Wade.
Be sure to:
• Think of a real title (please, no “Phil 203 Final Essay” and the like);
• Start with a brief introduction in which you introduce some sort of a question/puzzle/problem, and then offer an answer/solution/response to it (which makes up your thesis);
• Motivate and explain the argument that you are considering (if you can, reconstruct the argument in a premises-conclusion form, although you should still also walk your reader
through the argument using prose)
• Raise a plausible (that is, a non-strawman) objection to the argument and explain how the objection challenges the argument (such as by rejecting one of the premises or by denying its validity)
• Present a critical evaluation of the objection—if you think the original argument ultimately succeeds despite the objection, then offer your critical reply to the objection, or if you think the objection ultimately succeeds in undermining the original argument, then consider how a proponent of the original argument would reply to the objection and explain why the reply would not work.
Evaluation
Your essay will be evaluated based on the extent to which it demonstrates your ability to understand the material discussed, to clearly and accurately present the relevant arguments, to charitably but critically assess those arguments, and to defend your own views using reasoned arguments. An excellent essay should be both accessible to a typical undergraduate student who has not taken this course (and so has no prior familiarity with the readings) and insightful to members of our class (usually by building on but extending beyond class discussions).
