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WRITING A PHILOSOPHY PAPER
by K. Alpern
A. Suggested Procedure
1. Before you start to write, review your notes from class and reading;
reread the relevant parts of the text.
2. As you do #1, certain things will occur to you that you will want
to put in the paper; jot them down and identify them, if you can,
as positions, arguments, objections, concepts, etc. That will help
you to remember where they fit in when you are writing. At this
stage you may even find yourself sketching out parts of the paper.
3. Think of how you want to organize the paper. This task is hard
to do with any finality or completeness before you have fully worked
out your ideas. But the tasks set in the assignment itself should
help you to begin to organize the paper into a number of sections.
4. Try to write each section, drawing on your earlier notes and
sketches.
5. Reread and rewrite what you've written with an eye to:
(a) getting in all the material you think relevant; getting
rid of material that is not relevant. Especially important is
collecting all the problems and objections to your ideas that you
will eventually have to address to make your views plausible.
(b) explaining everything that needs to be explained.
(c) using exactly the best formulations and choices of words,
aiming at clarity, precision, and conciseness.
6. Reread and rewrite again, now making sure that the line of thought
of the paper is clear and that the arguments are as strong as you
can make them.
(a) Note places where you've been struggling to express a
thought. Unless there is something important about the struggle
itself, rewrite so the reader gets only the end result of that
struggle--the most precise, concise, and clear formulation.
(b) Look for weaknesses in your argument, and try to remedy
them. If you find your own arguments not to be persuasive, you should
probably consider taking a different position. On the other hand,
in rereading you may find strengths in your arguments that should
be emphasized.
7. Now you are in the position to write your introduction--because
you now know what you are going to say and how you are going to say
it. Give your reader an idea of the issue, your position, and the
general structure of the paper. In the rest of the paper, it is
often helpful to give "signposts" to your reader that explicitly
indicate where you are in the line of reasoning.
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8. Finally, reread and rewrite to make sure that (a) the paper can
be easily followed and understood by someone who doesn't already
know what you are trying to say, and (b) that the paper is mechanically
impeccable in diction, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and typing.
B. General Guidelines
Organization. First and foremost, your essays must be well-structured
and easily followed. Carefully organize your essays and tell your
reader what that organization is. Especially important is an
introduction in which you set out (1) the structure of the paper,
and (2) the paper's main ideas, issues, and conclusions. Though
an introduction appears first in the paper, it should be written
only after you are sure what you are going to say and how you are
going to say it.
Content. Second, you must show command of the relevant material,
and must not include material that is not relevant to answering the
questions asked. All of the topics require that you demonstrate
awareness of, understanding of, and the ability to explain the issues,
positions, arguments, and concepts from class and from assigned
readings. It is important that you explain so that someone who does
not already know what you are talking about can understand what you
are saying; your reader is reading your words, not your hopes or
intentions. Just saying words you have heard does not exhibit
understanding. It is also important that you are fair and exhibit
understanding even of positions and arguments with which you
disagree. In any case, you must answer the question; however
eloquent you may be, it does not count if you don't do what the
assignment asks for.
Thinking. Third, you must show that you have been thinking about
this material. The assignment requires that you go beyond your
review of what others have said, to develop your own positions in
a reasoned fashion. When you do this, you must state what position
you think is best and present good reasons why your reader should
agree. You are not merely presenting your "feelings," but you should
be developing a reasoned position that not only satisfies you, but
also convinces your reader on the basis of the good reasons you give.
In particular, you must recognize, present, and respond to plausible
objections to the position you hold and to possible
misunderstandings. Readings and class discussion should help you
in anticipating objections and misunderstandings. What you "feel"
is the best position doesn't count for much without effective
arguments for your position and against plausible objections. If
you can't give good reasons for your position, then you should change
your position! Note also that whether you happen to agree or disagree
with positions I hold is irrelevant; I am grading the clarity and
cogency of your presentation.
Expression. Finally, your papers must be clear, precise, and concise.
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By the time you finish the paper you should be able to go straight
to the point, no rambling. Choose precisely the right words and
terms, not just something close. Papers must be grammatical and
coherent. Ungrammatical and awkward constructions confuse your
reader and almost always indicate confusion in your own mind. An
idea that you cannot express clearly is an idea that you do not fully
understand, and it is not useful to you or to others. It is your
job to make things clear; you cannot leave it to the reader to figure
out what you are trying to say. In the papers I assign, you are
the teacher. Mechanically, the essay must be in correctly spelled,
correctly punctuated, grammatical English.
C. Attitude for Writing this Sort of Philosophy Paper
You are writing for an intelligent, but skeptical reader. Imagine
that your reader has not been in the class, but wants to form an
opinion on the issue you are addressing. You cannot assume that
this reader knows what you are trying to say. Through the
organization of the paper and your explanations, you must make things
clear to the reader. In this essay, you are the teacher. Imagine
that when done reading your essay, your reader is then going to discuss
the topic with people who hold positions opposed to yours. Thus,
you will not only have to present the strongest arguments for your
position, but you will also have to recognize and respond to likely
misunderstandings of your position and to counter-arguments and
objections. Think like a lawyer, first taking one side, then the
other, attending to understand both sides of the argument. Then,
think like the jury: what conclusion do the arguments in fact support?
That is the position you should hold. The aim of the paper is not
just to get to a point where you feel comfortable about the issue,
but to have a clear and critically examined position that provides
understanding and that should convince a rational reader.
D. Hints & Reminders
Answer the Question. However eloquent you may be, it doesn't count
if you don't do what the assignment asks for.
Grasp of the Material. You are not completely on your own in the
papers I assign. A large portion of the paper involves presenting
relevant material from class and reading. You absolutely must
exhibit your awareness and understanding of this material. The best
papers will do this and then go further by critically using this
material to formulate and defend the position you ultimately come
to hold.
Explanations. In rereading and rewriting your essays, try to read
papers with the mind of someone who has not been in the class. This
will help you to see where more explanation may be needed than you
first recognize. Another way of putting this point: you have learned
things that may now appear obvious to you. But they weren't obvious
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at first. You should get credit for having learned. You will get
that credit by teaching your reader. Beware that examples and
quotations do not always explain themselves. Use them if they help
to make a point particularly well, but make sure to add to your own
further commentary when that is necessary to make the point clear.
Craft Your Writing. Write and rewrite and rewrite. Say what you
mean and say it well. I am reading your words, not your intentions
or hopes. Words have meanings independently of what you personally
want them to mean. Use a good dictionary for checking the meanings
and spellings of words. Choose the right word, not just something
near to it. Force yourself to write clearly, concisely, and
precisely. Reread what you've written. Make sure that it makes
sense grammatically and conceptually. Be sure that it says what
you want it to say and that it can be understood by your reader.
Be demanding of yourself. Becoming a good thinker and a good writer
takes effort, practice, and enough self-respect to think that your
abilities are worth developing.
Fancy Talk. Keep it simple. Avoid fancy language unless you are
in control of it and it makes your meaning clearer than would simple
words and simple sentence structure. Almost always you will be in
better control of your ideas if you don't try to pack too much into
each sentence.
Dictionaries. Dictionaries are useful for ordinary vocabulary. Know
the meanings of the words you use. Note, however, that in this course
we often analyze concepts more thoroughly than a dictionary can.
In such cases, the dictionary definition is less insightful than
the understanding of the term that we have developed in class.
Rhetorical Questions. Rhetorical questions are not arguments or
explanations. E.g., "How can anyone hold that discipline creates
imagination?" Well, if you think it can't, then say so, and explain
why. Almost always it will be better to replace rhetorical questions
with the corresponding direct assertion. E.g., "Discipline cannot
create imagination"--and then show why that assertion should be
believed!
Guide Your Reader. Remember that your reader doesn't know what you
are trying to say. So when you are getting close to your final draft,
go back through the paper and make sure that you have guided your
reader.
(1) Make sure that you have made the structure of your paper
clear to your reader. This can be done in just a few phrases, e.g.,
"The position I will argue for is..." "I will consider three
arguments against this position." "Having answered the first
objection, I will now turn to the second."
(2) Be sure to make clear to your reader which of the following
is going on: (a) You are stating your own view. (b) You are stating
someone else's view. (c) You are interpreting what someone else says
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and trying to make clear what they mean. (d) You are criticizing
a certain position. Again, short phrases can make all the
difference: "According to Plato...," "Mill says..." "A relativist
might reply..." "I disagree, because..." Be careful about the
implications of the words you choose, e.g., "Plato claims that X
is true," leaves open whether or not you agree; "Plato points out
that X is true," leads your reader to think that you agree.
Quotations and Making Contact with the Text. Papers must make relevant
reference to the materials we have been reading. When ascribing
a belief, distinction, argument, etc., to a writer, reference should
be made to the place or places in the writer's text that support
that ascription. Normally, only the page reference need be given.
Direct quotation is appropriate when the writer's precise
formulation is particularly important. Note that what a quotation
means nay not always be crystal clear; it is up to you to explain
difficult passages. Locating something important and repeating it
is one thing; understanding and explaining it is another.
Unnecessary long quotations and extensive quoting will be viewed
as padding. For this essay, you may use a simple form of reference:
page number in parentheses when the author and work are clear; include
author and/or the work, when they are not clear. E.g., (Mill, On
Liberty, 16) or (Mill, 16) if it is clear that the work cited is
On Liberty, or simply (16) if it is clear that the reference is to
Mill, On Liberty. For references to Plato and Aristotle, the
preferred form of reference is not by the English page numbers, but
by the numbers in the margins, e.g. "Plato asserts that the guardians
should fear slavery more than death (387b)"; "Aristotle concludes
the discussion with a characterization of friendship (1156a1-3)."
Quotations longer than 25 words should be separated from the main
text, indented, and single-spaced, with the quotation marks deleted.
This sort of format is exemplified below in the comment on
introductions.
Fudging Conclusions. Believe what is justified; don't try to justify
what you believe. Your own position should be the result of your
thinking and writing. You may begin your paper believing that X
is true, and so begin with a sentence such as: "In this paper I will
show that X is true." However, as you think and write you may come
to find that you cannot adequately answer the objections to your
position, and so you become convinced that X is in fact false. That
doesn't mean that you are in trouble. It means that you have changed
your position. So, just go back and rewrite your introduction: "In
this paper I will show that X is false."
Agreement With Me. There is no particular merit in your agreeing
with (what you think are) my views. I have given A's to papers that
have demonstrated a solid grasp of the material and good argumentative
skills even when I have not been convinced of the paper's conclusion.
A paper that exhibits poor comprehension of the material and weak
argumentative skills gains nothing by happening to agree with me.
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Padding. Don't. (Don't use more words to say what you want to say
than you need to say what you want to say. Or, as Mark Twain put
it: Eschew surplusage!) By the way, I am not so stupid as to be
taken in by "creative formatting" intended to make papers look
longer--such things as larger margins, large type, large spacing.
Introductions. Papers must have suitable introductions. Though an
introduction appears first in the paper, it should be written only
after you are sure what you are going to say and how you are going
to say it. A good introduction for this sort of paper should make
it easier for your reader to follow the paper and to know, in general,
what to expect. It should make clear to your reader (1) the issue
or issues to be addressed, (2) the structure of the paper, and (3)
the paper's main ideas and conclusions. Example:
In this paper I will critically examine John Stuart Mill's
defense of the freedom of expression, as presented in
chapter II of On Liberty. I will begin with a brief review
of what are, in my opinion, his two most compelling
arguments supporting his position. I will then present
three major objections to Mill's position. In the final
section of the paper, I will weigh Mill's reasoning, the
objections, and further considerations, arriving at the
conclusion that although Mill's position can successfully
withstand the first two objections, the third requires
that his view by modified in the way I suggest at the end
of the paper.
This sample introduction is not elegant, but it makes clear to the
reader (and the writer!) what the paper is about and makes it easier
to follow the paper. Your introductions should do the same.
Plagiarism. Don't. You are expected to do your work and to present
your own understandings. Ideas from other sources must be
acknowledged. Discuss things with each other. Write by yourself.
E. Grading
1. I look first for basics. Is the paper well-organized and clear?
Does it exhibit the writer's awareness of the relevant material
from class and readings? Is there a clear thesis and a clear line
of thinking throughout the paper?
2. Are the issues, arguments, distinctions, concepts relevant to
the discussion solidly understood? Is their significance
recognized? Are they presented and used well?
3. Are the positions critically examined?
opposing views?
Is justice done to
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4. Is there any originality in criticism, position, clarification,
approach?
5. Is the paper, after all, convincing?
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