For this assignment, you will write a 3-5 page argumentative essay. You will choose from one of the
writing prompts below. Each prompt asks a business ethics question. In your paper, you will take a
position and argue for it using the skills and knowledge you have learned from the course. You
should read “A Brief Guide to Writing the Philosophy Paper” to understand how to write
an effective, “A-worthy” paper.
• The paper should be no less than 3 pages and no greater than 5 pages. Your Works Cited
page does not count as part of the page count.
• You must cite at least two readings from the course. You can cite Spinello or one of the
other PDFs we have read for this course. You may also cite articles from the website we have
used, but you may not cite the website itself. Make your citations using a standard format
(MLA, Chicago, etc.) and include a Works Cited page at the end. Do not cite any sources
that haven’t been assigned in the course.
• Your thesis statement should be either the first or last sentence of the introductory
paragraph; the choice is yours. Your thesis statement must start with the phrase, “In this
paper…” See below for a few examples of a thesis statement.
• Use proper spelling and grammar.
2. Is hiring wage labor exploitative? Is it unethical? Is it always exploitative/unethical, or only
under certain circumstances? Support your position.
Some of these writing prompts are straightforward, while others are somewhat broad. This is
intentional: it leaves you some room to develop a unique thesis if you wish.
For example, if you choose 1., your thesis statement will probably look something like this: “In this
paper, I will make a [utilitarian/Kantian/etc.] argument against Milton Friedman’s position that the
only social responsibility of corporations is to maximize profits.” Conversely, if you choose 3., your
thesis statement might look like this: “In this paper, I will argue that advertising is manipulative,
but not unethical.” Or it might look like this: “In this paper, I will argue that advertising is
manipulative, but it is only unethical when directed towards children.” I am not saying you should
copy one of these exactly; they’re just here to give you an idea of what your thesis statement can look
like depending on the prompt you choose. Just make sure that your thesis is on-topic and replies to
the prompt.
Remember: do not simply quote or rephrase an author’s position and assert that it is right or wrong.
You must support your argument with reasons, above and beyond the author’s own reasons. That
means you should be giving arguments, drawing analogies, coming up with examples (or counterexamples), and/or offering objections.