Philosophy of Religion

Final Paper Rubric

for THL 325, Spring 2017

 Due by 10:00 a.m., Thursday, May 4th

For this assignment, your grade will be based on:

Expectation                                                                       points available

Completion of assignment (1500 words)                                          20

Do you thoroughly explore your 2 ethical stances?                          16 (8 each)

          See the particulars below l

Do you provide justification for your choice of topic?                       3

Do you provide a fair and objective treatment of each side?              3

Do you make an effective argument for your stance?                         3

                                                                                                           45

Points deducted for:    Not enough words (-3 for every 50 words short)

                                    Grammar, spelling and punctuation errors (-1 for each)—typos OK

Any ethical philosophies you choose from the course can be used to explore your two ethical stances. At a minimum, however, you must investigate your topic of choice (historical or current) through at least two of these “lenses” (This means that you CANNOT use two stances from Group 1, but MUST USE A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE from Groups 2 and 3): 

Group 1

--The ancient values of the Greeks (Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, the Epicureans, etc.)

--The utilitarian principles of Bentham and Mill

Group 2

--The Christian concepts of Creation, Sin, Incarnation, Redemption, and Resurrection Destiny.

--Law & Gospel

Group 3

--Christian Synergy, Integrity, Realism, and Liberation

--Kant's "Categorical Imperative"

Other notes:

Ø  For this final exercise, you must use third-person voice and keep your tenses consistent. Present tense is appropriate for this work because you will be talking about ideas and ideas are always current. Do not use “I,” “me,” and especially not “you”—you cannot presume to take an informal voice with your readers.

Ø  We will have some class time built in to address any questions and concerns you may have about this assignment as you work on it, but if you need to meet with the instructor privately to discuss your progress, e-mail () to arrange a time. I anticipate that it will require up to twenty hours to research, draft, and polish your paper (the Writing Center can be a good resource for polishing).

Ø  Lastly, remember that you will need to prepare a short, five-minute summary of your work to present on the day of the scheduled final exam. This presentation counts for five (5) points, so you should take some time crafting a concise synopsis of your findings and conclusions.