People say that nowadays, those who live in Western societies are free to speak about everything they consider worthy of being discussed. As a matter of fact, they are right. The laws in developed countries envisage the freedom of speech as one of the basic human rights, and there is no institution that can deprive them of this right or even abridge it in any way possible. However, there must be a clear distinction between what is lawful and what is ethical because when it comes to academic writing, the authors often find it hard to remain on the ethical side when writing on the topics that are considered to be sensitive. Any misinterpreted conception can eventually trigger a lot of unpleasant conflicts, which is definitely not what the researchers long for. Hence, in order to avoid such situations, one may need to know how to prepare academic writing on a sensitive topic, and this article has been written pursuing the goal of telling you how it can be done.
Study the Argument of Both Parties
The general tendency that is being observed in regards to almost every sensitive topic is that there are always two conflicting parties within the framework of discussing it. For instance, the copious examples of the black lives matter essays that can be found in abundance online would definitely feature a mentioning that this movement is exaggerated, while it is not. Of course, the authors include such standpoints into their essays solely for the sake of refuting them. For example, they can take into consideration a statement that the BLM social incentive has been created by politicians who want to sow the grain of wrath within the nation and then immediately refute it by claiming that the results of empirical, and statistical data proves the value that the movement has for the entire nation. However, this is a vivid example or even testimony to the fact that when a writer embarks upon writing an academic paper on sensitive topics like the black lives matter movement, he or she has to make sure that the two points of view have been properly scrutinized and analyzed. Every essay on a sensitive topic must be aimed at simply contrasting the different points of view that are present in regards to the researched issue.
Make Sure There is no Conflict of Interests
One more crucial thing to keep in mind when writing about a sensitive topic is that the author should refrain from writing as soon as he or she does not even know but feels that he or she might eventually end up being involved in the conflict of interests. One peculiar feature that distinguishes an academic writer from a publicist is that he or she does not express his or her own thought on the scrutinized issue. For example, how a paper can be considered academic when everything the writer does is defending one party and chastising the other one.
For example, imagine that you are a person who has been impacted by the wildfires that took place all over California in summer 2018. All of a sudden, you are assigned with a task of writing a five-pager about these fires and analyze the efficiency of the response of the emergency to that catastrophe. It goes without saying that you will end up criticizing the state for not supervising the emergency services properly. Then, you will switch to criticizing the country for insufficient funding of the emergency services and global warming prevention programs. It seems that there is no need for further explanation why such a paper would not be considered an academic one. Therefore, when it comes to writing about sensitive topics, make sure that you double-check that you are not impacted by this topic.
Study the Ethical Rules and Principles
The final golden rule to remember when writing about a sensitive topic is to study the ethical principles and rules that might be connected to the scrutinized issue. For example, the theories of Kant, Lock, etc. might become a powerful weapon that you might eventually use to defend your argument and remain on the safer side. Almost every sensitive topic is based upon the differences in ethical views of the two or more parties involved in the conflict. Therefore, knowing what their stances are shall help you identify the very premises of the conflict. Judging on the experience of reading pretty decent academic papers on sensitive topics, those that were based on the ethical pillars were the most persuasive in terms of proving the rightness of the author’s argument
Conclusion
Regardless of how sensitive the topic might be, there is always a way to write about it. An average essay on the black lives matter movement cannot fail to feature at least one mentioning of the argument that stands against the movement. However, this argument was involved in the paper solely for proving once again that BLM is an important incentive, an example to follow, that is badly needed by American society. If you still have any doubts regarding how to write a proper academic essay on a sensitive topic, read this article in order to get more information on what may be considered as a “trigger” and how to discuss it in the right way.
