| Course | HSC 412 Health Issues in Later Life |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 6 |
| Paper type | Ethical will |
| Length | About 511 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Arizona State University |
| Program | BS in Health Sciences |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HSC 412 Module 6
What I Want You to Keep: An Ethical Will for My Children
Student Name
BS in Health Sciences, Arizona State University
HSC 412: Health Issues in Later Life
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
What I Want You to Keep: An Ethical Will for My Children
To Maya and Eli, and to Whoever Comes After You
I am writing this while I am healthy and busy, which is exactly why I want to write it now. Most of what I own will not matter to you in fifty years. What I believe might. This is the part of me I want to leave.
On Work
Your great-grandfather worked in a copper mine near Globe for thirty years. He told me once that he never minded hard work, only work that did not matter to anyone. I chose respiratory therapy because I wanted my tired days to mean something. I hope you find work that lets someone else breathe a little easier, whatever form that takes.
On Honesty
When I was nineteen, I lied to cover a mistake at my first hospital job, and a nurse I respected found out. She did not report me; she made me tell the charge nurse myself. It was the worst afternoon of that year and the best lesson of my career. Tell the truth early, especially when it is hard. People forgive mistakes far more easily than cover-ups.
On Family
Our family is not perfect. Your grandparents divorced when I was ten, and for years I thought that meant we had failed. It did not. Family is the people who show up. Call your grandmother on Sundays. Show up for each other, and let others in.
On Caring for Your Health
I have spent my career beside people who could not breathe. Many of them told me they wished they had quit smoking sooner or walked more. Please do not smoke. Move every day. Go to the doctor when something feels wrong. Your health is the one thing you cannot buy back later.
On Trusting People
At work I meet people on their worst days. Almost all of them are kinder than you would expect. Believe the best of people until they prove otherwise, and be the kind of person others can believe the best of.
My Hopes for You
I hope you will be braver than I was, kinder than you need to be and patient with yourselves. I hope you will sit with your elders and ask them about their lives before it is too late; I wish I had asked my grandfather more.
With all my love, Mom
Reflection: What Writing This Taught Me
Writing an ethical will was harder than I expected. It forced me to choose what mattered. Ethical wills have deep roots in religious and family traditions, and modern guides encourage anyone, not only the old, to write one (Baines, 2002). The process felt like a small version of the life review Butler (1963) described in older adults, looking back to find meaning. It also reminded me of the stage Erikson (1982) linked to generativity, the desire to guide the next generation. At work, I now listen differently when older patients start telling stories; they may be writing their ethical wills out loud.
References
Baines, B. K. (2002). Ethical wills: Putting your values on paper. Perseus Publishing.
Butler, R. N. (1963). The life review: An interpretation of reminiscence in the aged. Psychiatry, 26(1), 65-76. https://doi.org/10.1080/00332747.1963.11023339
Erikson, E. H. (1982). The life cycle completed: A review. W. W. Norton.
What the HSC 412 Module 6 instructions ask for
Also weighted at 50 points, the HSC 412 Ethical Will Assignment belongs to Module 6, which covers end-of-life issues. An ethical will is not a legal document; it passes on values rather than property. The syllabus asks you to construct a personalized ethical will that bequeaths your own values through heartfelt words, the way older adults use ethical wills to share life lessons, private thoughts, hopes, dreams, stories and beliefs with the people they love. Follow the assignment's guidelines in Canvas on length and format, and decide whom you are writing to before you begin, since a clear audience makes the writing personal. Some students write to children, others to friends, students or a future self; any heartfelt audience works.
How this HSC 412 Module 6 example is built
The sample is written as a letter to the student's children and future grandchildren. A short opening explains why the writer is writing now. Five values each get a heading and a specific story, from a grandfather's words about work to a lie told at nineteen. A section of hopes closes the letter with a signature. A separate reflection connects the experience to the history of ethical wills, life review and generativity and to the writer's work with older patients. The letter's warmth comes from specific memories, and the separate reflection shows the student understands why ethical wills matter in later life. The closing signature keeps the letter's voice personal.
HSC 412 Module 6 rubric: what earns full marks
The ethical will is worth 50 points. Readers look for genuine personal values expressed in the student's own voice, specific stories or examples that make each value meaningful, a clear audience and a thoughtful reflection that connects the experience to course concepts about aging and the end of life. Marks drop for generic lists of virtues, for writing that sounds like an essay rather than a letter, for missing hopes or lessons and for a reflection that does not mention what the student learned. Readers also look for a document that sounds like the writer, with plain words and real feeling rather than formal phrasing. Sincerity is the core criterion.
HSC 412 Module 6 help from the desk
Write to one or two specific people. For each value, ask yourself where you learned it and tell that story. Keep sentences simple and warm. Include at least one hope for the reader's future. Read it aloud; if it sounds like a speech, make it more personal. Add a short reflection if your instructor asks for one. If you are stuck choosing values, the desk can suggest prompts. Consider sharing your ethical will with someone you love; many students find it meaningful. Give yourself a day between drafting and revising. Keep the reflection short and honest, and connect it to at least one course idea about aging or legacy.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Arizona State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More HSC 412 and BS in Health Sciences sample papers
- HSC 412 Module 2: Interview Assignment: Health in Later Life
- HSC 210 Module 7: Cultural Practices Presentation
- HSC 432 Module 5: Case Study #2: Transactional Legal Issues
- CHS 340 Module 5: Module 5 Theory Expert Brief: Organizational Level
- HSC 310 Module 3: Health Communication in the Wild #1
HSC 412 Module 6 questions, answered
Where can I find a free HSC 412 Module 6 sample paper?
The full ethical will written to the student's children, with a reflection, is on this page.
What is an ethical will?
A personal document that passes on values, life lessons, stories and hopes rather than property.
Is an ethical will legally binding?
No; it is a personal letter, separate from a legal will.
What should an HSC 412 ethical will include?
Your values, life lessons, stories, hopes and dreams, written to people you hold dear.
How does an ethical will relate to aging?
It resembles the life review and generativity that older adults often experience.