At many points in your professional life you will need to take a position on an issue and provide evidence to convince your supervisors, peers, subordinates, customers, suppliers, etc., of your position.  The objective of this assignment is to gain experience in researching, structuring, and presenting a strong position and supporting evidence, anticipating and countering objections, and making recommendations for moving forward on an issue.

You will be writing a position paper on one of the business ethics topics listed below.  A position paper is intended to generate support on an issue.  It describes the author’s position on a specific issue and his or her rationale for the position.  The author uses facts to build the foundation for their position and paper.  In your paper you will need to do the following:  

•    Use evidence to support your position, such as statistical evidence or dates and events.
•    Validate your position with authoritative references or primary source quotations.
•    Examine the strengths and weaknesses of your position.
•    Evaluate possible solutions and suggest courses of action.

Choose from one of the following topics:

•    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [is or is not] effective in ensuring the safety of pharmaceuticals.
•    The U.S. Government [should or should not] have “bailed out” automotive manufacturers during the 2008 financial crisis. 
•    The Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund [is or is not] fair environmental legislation.
•    Advertising directed towards children [should or should not] be regulated more directly by the U.S. Government.
•    Businesses [should or should not] be permitted to hire illegal immigrants.
•    Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) [should or should not] be banned from use in the U.S. food supply.
    
Required Content/Structure:

1.    Use the following structure:

a.    Introduction
1.    Strong statement of your position
2.    Enumeration of evidence used to support your position
3.    Identification of the issue
    
*The introduction should clearly state your position; state the “themes” of evidence which will be used to support your position; and identify the issue.  It should be written in a manner that catches the reader’s attention. 

b.    Body
1.    Background information on the issue
•    In other words – What history, conditions, and/or concepts does the reader need to be aware of in order to fully understand and appreciate your position and evidence.
2.    Supporting evidence or facts 
•    This section should be the bulk of the paper “body.”
3.    A discussion of both sides of the issue 
•    You must present and refute opposing viewpoints.

* The body of the position paper may contain several paragraphs. Each paragraph should present an idea or main concept that clarifies a portion of the position statement and is supported by evidence or facts. Evidence can be primary source quotations, statistical data, interviews with experts, and indisputable dates or events. Evidence should support the main concept or idea presented in the paragraph. The body may begin with some background information and should incorporate a discussion of both sides of the issue.



c.    Conclusion
1.    Suggested courses of action
2.    Possible solutions 

*The conclusion should summarize the main concepts and ideas and reinforce, without repeating, the introduction or body of the paper.  Include suggested courses of action and possible solutions. (“Xavier University Library”)

2.    Use a minimum of six authoritative information sources to support your position.  (I.e. Wikipedia is not an “authoritative” source.)  You may use your textbook as a source, but it will not count towards the required 6 sources.  

Grading:
Your grade on the final draft of the position paper will be based on the following:
1.    How effectively you develop and support your position using evidence from the sources you select.
2.    The organization of your paper – does it follow the structure indicated above?  Does the evidence provided in the paragraph support the main point of the paragraph?  Do the paragraphs flow making the paper easy to read – in other words are paragraphs organized in an order that makes sense?
3.    Writing style – is the paper written in a manner which makes it interesting and easy to read – i.e. varied sentence structure and diction.  Are you concise in your writing or does the paper ramble?
4.    Mechanics – grammar, punctuation, spelling.
Important Dates:
1.    The initial draft for review by the instructor is due Monday, October 28th.  
2.    On November 18th, after receiving feedback from the instructor and making necessary revisions to your initial draft, you will be exchanging papers with a peer and providing constructive, thoughtful feedback.  You will receive a grade for the peer review based on the quality of constructive feedback you provide your peer on his or her paper.  (More details on the peer review will be provided as November 18th approaches.)  
3.    The final draft of your paper is due Monday, December 9th.  
Technical Requirements:  
1.    Minimum 2000 words (approximately  8 to 10 pages), double-spaced, Times New Roman Font, 12 pt., one inch margins on all 4-sides
2.    The paper must be written in formal writing style – i.e. do not write in First Person (I, me, my).  More explanation on formal writing style will be provided in the coming weeks.    
3.    Use headers throughout the paper to call out major sections and themes of evidence.
4.    You must include a “Works Cited” page with at least 6 authoritative sources. Do not use Wikipedia or “blogs” as sources.  You may use your textbook as a source, but it will not count towards the required 6 sources.  Use MLA Citation Style.  Reference CSU’s Writing Center website for details on MLA Citation Style: www.csuohio.edu/academic/writingcenter/mla.html.
5.    Include your name, date, BUS 351/502, and title of your paper on a cover sheet.

Plagiarism will result in an “F” on the paper, and an “F” in the course.