Grade 12 Religion Morality Essay
The Christian vision of morality centers on what it means to be fully human as modeled by Jesus. Part of
our present challenge is to hold true to Christ’s example by being critical of the values we find in our pluralistic and
secular society. We need to examine the values that permeate our contemporary ethics by using the teachings of
the Catholic Church as both a basis for exploring and responding to these dilemmas.
Research one of the Following moral issues in light of our Catholic teaching:
Abortion
Ageism
Artificial Insemination
Assisted Suicide
Bio-Patenting
Business Ethics
Capital Punishment
Child Abuse
Child/sweatshops Labour
Cloning
Date Rape
Divorce
Ethical Investments
Censorship
Female Circumcision
Health Care
Homelessness
Genetic Engineering
Hate Literature
Invitro-Fertilization
Pre-Marital sex
STD’s and Infertility
Suicide
Violence in the Media
Youth Violence
Workers Rights
HIV/AIDS in Africa
Pharmaceutical Patents
Gun Ownership
Environmental Responsibilities
Female Feticide
Each student will research a different topic in order to widen your understanding of an ethical issue. You are
required to compose a research essay. Students wishing to choose their own topic are encouraged to do so.
However, the approval from the teacher is required.
There will be one opportunity to conference with your teacher regarding questions and/or concerns about your
research. During the scheduled date, you are required to present all research findings and a typed outline for the
essay.
The Research Component:
You are required to make research notes in defining your topic. In this process you should be compiling arguments,
statistics and scholarly research findings that are pertinent to your area of study. You should include a variety of
resources (book, internet, magazines, newspapers, journals) to present the various arguments pertaining to your
moral issue. Remember to keep a record of your documentation, you will be held accountable.
You are required to make research notes by examining our Church’s teaching and how it addresses your topic of
interest. You are required to make specific reverence to scriptural passages and The Catechism of the Catholic
Church. These required sources of reference are easily accessed via the internet. You will be required to include
this component of the assignment in the written essay. Remember to keep proper documentation of your citing.
The Evaluation Component:
After collecting your data and conferencing with your teacher, the next step is to analyze and present your findings
in written essay and oral presentation.
The Written Essay:
a) Using full APA format a typed, written essay must include a reference page of all the collected material. It
must be presented in proper essay format: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.
b) Your thesis will center on the main conclusion you have drawn from your research. As such, your body
paragraph must support your thesis. Don’t forget to include the Catholic Church’s position on your topic.
c) Proper referencing must be used!!!!
Research and Inquiry Unit Tasks:
1. Topic Selection: Choose a topic from the possible choices. If you wish a research topic not on the list you
must see the teacher for approval. One student per topic. Topic selection will take place during class.
2. Reference List: Using the APA referencing format create a list of potential references that may be used
during the course of writing the research paper. A minimum of 15 references must be listed, all of them
may not be used during the writing of the report but 15 must be found. Only 7 of the references may be
found on the internet. The rest must be books, articles and other primary and secondary sources.
Due: September 28, 2012
3. Research Notes: As the class progresses through the research paper process, proper note taking will be
an important component of the research paper. To ensure that students are keeping up with the workload
required for the research paper, the teacher will be monitoring note taking as component of the unit mark.
A proper note taking process will be established and checked three times as the class progresses through
the research paper process.
Due: First Check – October 12, 2012
Second Check – October 19, 2012
Third Check October 26, 2012
4. Research Paper Outline & Teacher/Student Conference: Students will complete a detailed outline of each
section of the paper allowing the student to understand the structure of their research paper. The objective
is to determine the extent of understanding you have regarding your research paper content. The outline
will give the student a firm basis to begin writing the research paper.
The Teacher/Student Conference allows the student to meet with the teacher to discuss
their research paper. The objective of the conference is to ensure that the student is using the proper
quantity of sources and that the student is on the right track. Students are strongly encouraged to talk to
the teacher about the progress of their paper and any difficulties they are having.
Due: Week of November 19, 2012 (per teacher’s schedule)
5. Rough Draft/Turn-It-In Submission: Each student will be required to have a completed rough copy of their
research paper on the set due date. This includes the introduction, body, conclusion, and references in
rough form. An in-class editing session will take place on the set day. Each student will be provided with a
checklist to follow as they edit their own paper or another students in classes. A copy of the edited
research paper and the check list will be handed in to the teacher on the assigned day. The paper will be
given back the next day to allow for the completion of the final research paper on the due date.
The Turn-It-In Submission will also be due on this date. This will allow the student and
the teacher to better assess the progress of your written research process. The teacher will alert you to
any concerns regarded your research papers integrity thus allowing you time to make the necessary
changes to your report.
Due: December 7, 2012
6. Final Paper/Final Turn-It-In Submission: The final research paper is to be between 4-6 pages in length.
The paper must be typed, double spaced using Times New Roman 12 point font with 1 inch margins and
follow the proper APA citations and referencing format. When using Internet source hard copies of the
information must be included with the paper.
Due: December 14, 2012