Intro to Ethics PAPER 1: How do you write a philosophy paper?
Due Friday, Sept. 25, 2009: submitted via the Turnitin system: http://turnitin.thomson.com
4-5 pages, typed (i.e., word-processed), double spaced, 12 pt font Times New Roman, 1” margins
There are two main writings on how to write a philosophy paper that you need to carefully read and study:
1. Read and study Vaughn Ch. 3. Rules of Style and Content for Philosophical Writing, Ch. 4. Defending a Thesis in an Argumentative Essay and Ch. 6. Using, Quoting, and Citing Sources
2. Read and study an online article by Jim Pryor called "Guidelines on Writing a Philosophy Paper": http://www.jimpryor.net/teaching/guidelines/writing.html
The assignment is this:
A friend knows that you are in a philosophy course. This friend asks you to come to her group to give a little presentation on what philosophy essays are like and how to effectively write them. Your job is to carefully read the readings below on how to write philosophy and then effectively summarize them for this person. Write up the text that you could read -- or pass out -- to this audience so that they can learn from you. Write so you teach them how to write a philosophical essay: pass on what you learn from Vaugh and Pryor! This assignment requires you to summarize advice from a number of different sources and explain this advice to other people in your own words.
Papers must by typed and carefully written: put your name, email, the date, course # and course time at the top of the first page; DO NOT USE A COVER PAGE. And give your paper a title.
Grading:
9-10= excellent
8 = good
7 = fair
6 = poor
5 or below = very poor
They will be graded on clarity, organization, thoroughness, grammar and spelling, and, most generally, whether your reader would get a good sense for what philosophical / argumentative essays are like and how to write them.
Although citations -- i.e., direct quotations -- are not necessarily needed for this paper, if you use them you should use an official citation method that you learned in introductory English. These are presented in Vaughn as well.
