<p>I'm writing my second essay for one of my applications, and the prompt is about a scientific or technological dilemm I may face in the future and how ethics and integrity would come into play.</p>
<p>It's for a science and math based school, and I want something that's different from global warming, cloning, or stem cell... because that's what nearly EVERYBODY will write on. I think if i write on that, it'll really be tough to make mine stand out.
I need help... :-(</p>
<p>ethics an integrity, eh?
Your post is a very ironic one. Think for yourself.</p>
<p>I'm not asking for a written essay, an outline for an essay, or anything of the sort.
I was just wondering if anybody had something that came to mind that wasn't something EVERYBODY thinks of (such as stem cell research, cloning, or global warming).</p>
<p>lol, if you want a topic that not everyone else thinks about, you'll have to think of it for yourself. Do some research, look up articles in the science sections of newspapers or in science magazines and see what controversial issues interest you. There's a ton of topics, which is probably (hopefully) the reason you're struggling with finding something to focus on. I can already think of one I would use, but the thing is, it's something that's specific to my interests. A given in most college essay prompts is that you discuss your interests, what makes you tick, what makes you who you are (as you identified, what makes you stand out from the crowd). So not only does the topic have to match the prompt, it has to match you as a candidate. Since none of us know what your interests are, you're probably not going to find many suggestions for personal essay topics on a forum.
Anyway, just because people will probably write about stem cell research, global warming, etc., doesn't mean that you can't. I mean, how many people are applying? The adcoms have probably read it all, have heard of every obscure issue. The thing that makes your essay unique is how you write and what your approach is (the ethical/integrity bit). So if one of those issues are particularly important to you, don't hesitate to try it out.</p>
<p>If you'd like to have an essay that virtually no one else will write, you can talk about how science and ethics will always conflict. The question, then, becomes how to resolve that conflict. The remainder of your essay would discuss (in abstract) what it means for the two to conflict, and how you propose resolving that conflict. (You can talk about how science is a tool to advance societal progress, it's necessity in the current international arena, etc.) This also leaves a great deal of room for a discussion of scientific ethics, which are very, VERY interesting and I suggest you read up on those! Good luck.</p>
<p>thanks for the responses.
I understand what you're saying, schitz.
oh, and yes, it's because of the wide array of choices that I'm having trouble getting started on one.</p>
<p>thanks, debatethic. From the many starts that I'd had on the essay, probably a third were heading in that general direction, but I continually ran out of room. It's only a 250 word essay, and when talking about scientific ethics, it's very easy to go over the limit.</p>
<p>you could write about the dilemma with using RFID technology in schools, and the idea of a national ID card...it's an interesting conflict, in that case...most people know about the technology but can't see it happening to "them"...I'm not saying go all Big Brother for your essay, but it could be a good discussion of technologically-enhanced safety versus individual freedoms/privacy.</p>
<p>Write about linguistic diversity and language barriers created between nations that have to be broke in order for global unity. You can talk about what langauge to use, or if conlangs should be imposed. Is one languge/culture/ethnicity necessarily better than the other?
This is what i would write a bout, I think t's definately unique.</p>
<p>it'd be great to write about, but it's not scientific (if it is, please explain more).</p>