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Instructions for Extra-Credit Essay 1 (20 points)
Due: March 7 (Thursday) by 11:59p.m.
Materials in this course are protected by copyright and may not be redistributed or
reproduced in any manner or in any media.
Please remember that students are NOT allowed to use any type of AI software, to plagiarize,
and to collaborate with others. Students must submit their own work. For the possible
consequences of an academic honesty infraction, see the section on the ACADEMIC HONESTY
POLICY in the syllabus.
Extra-credit essay question 1 must be submitted to Turnitin using the relevant link in Canvas.
Please make sure that you receive a confirmation from Turnitin that your essay was successfully
submitted.
• The essay response MUST be based on the information presented in the REQUIRED
video “Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Marketing Disease & Pushing Drugs”
(46
minutes).
▪ Please see the relevant PDF file on my lecture on how to access this video.
▪ Students are NOT allowed to use information from additional sources.
▪ I will NOT give points for the information provided from additional sources.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
I will take points off if your response does not follow the following instructions:
• Responses to questions must be typed (font – Times New Roman, 12-point font size,
double-spaced, 1-inch margins). Please also number the pages of your papers (page
numbers must be provided in the top right-hand corner).
• Responses to questions must be structured in multiple meaningful paragraphs. The
general rule is to have two paragraphs per page or three paragraphs per two pages. Do not
include extra blank lines/spaces between paragraphs.
• Paraphrase and reword everything, including the transcript to the video.
• You are required to write in complete sentences (no bullet points).
• I will not assess your writing skills, but your understanding of the material presented
in the video.
• Please proofread your responses. That is, please try to use the correct spelling and
grammar.
In order to receive the maximum number of points for responses to the essay question,
students must provide specific details/examples in their responses. I will not give points for
vague and very general statements.
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Not counting the space for the question prompt, your response must be at least 2.5 pages
(two and a half pages) and not longer than 5 pages.
Please provide your first and last names and the course number.
Please provide the entire question. The question can be single-spaced. I will not grade your
response if you don’t provide the entire question.
Extra-Credit Essay Question 1:
Discuss how and why the pharmaceutical industry in the U.S. engages in practices such as
production of me-too drugs, DTC advertising, disease mongering, and provision of free
samples and other stuff to medical doctors/students. Specifically, discuss the advantages of
each of these practices (from the viewpoint of the pharmaceutical industry and/or from the
viewpoint of others such as consumers and doctors) and why we should be concerned about
each of these practices.
