” or “I don’t understand what you’re saying here” “This passage is unclear (or awkward, or otherwise hard to read)” “Too complicated” “Too hard to follow” “Simplify” “Why do you think this. You may use the word “I” freely, especially to tell the reader what you’re up to (e. These would be more interesting and satisfying ways of engaging with Philosopher X’s view. Or something else of that sort. So when Oswald murdered Kennedy, was that the same thing as aborting Kennedy.
Can you write your paper as a dialogue or story. ” It’s not clear whether these are the same thing. But don’t treat the philosopher or the views you’re discussing as stupid. ” “What’s the connection between these two sentences. You can assume that your reader is stupid (see above). ) However, direct quotations should be used sparingly.
If this is all you do in your paper, it won’t be a strong paper and it will get a mediocre grade, even if it’s well-written. Do you say exactly what you mean. Created and maintained by jim. ) I find that making an outline is at least 80% of the work of writing a good philosophy paper. This will of course not be true. Beat him over the head with it. Use technical philosophical terms only where you need them. There are three reasons to believe Q. You can only correct these sorts of failings by rewriting your paper from scratch.
If you have a good outline, the rest of the writing process will go much more smoothly. These are optional, and are for your independent study. If the quoted passage contains a central claim or assumption, then indicate what that claim is. If necessary, you may want to distinguish the author’s claim from other claims with which it might be confused. So it’s important to ask yourself: What are the most important things you have to say. I’m sure they had a hard time of it. Then you should come back to it and rewrite it. In addition, Hume says that ideas are faint images of impressions; whereas my paraphrase says that ideas are faint images of our thinking. It’s not good enough for you merely to get the general idea of somebody else’s position or argument. Or do you mean something different. Often it will be more appropriate to paraphrase what X says, rather than to quote him directly. Even if your TA is able to figure out what you mean, it’s bad writing. An impression is a very ‘forceful’ mental state, like the sensory impression one has when looking at a red apple.
About writing arguments read more
In addition, Hume says that ideas are faint images of impressions; whereas my paraphrase says that ideas are faint images of our thinking. Acknowledgements I don’t want to claim undue credit for this work. In a philosophy paper, it’s OK to use this verb as much as you need to. So you can’t just say: My view is that P. Full licensing details are here. B seems unattractive to me.
And when you do quote an author, you still have to explain what the quotation says in your own words. Try harder to figure out what’s motivating them. (Start with a new, empty window in your word processor. At what point should you present your opponent’s position or argument. Full licensing details are here.
Full licensing details are here. Please note that much of the “evidence” here will be made up to serve as a model—don’t use this page as a source for any actual research on pornography. Because people don’t always agree on what is right or reasonable, appropriately constructed argument helps us arrive at what is fair or true. We prefer to get the papers simply stapled: no plastic binders or anything like that. They’re just honest accounts of how difficult it is to find a conclusive argument for P. For instance, some philosophers use the word “person” to mean any being which is capable of rational thought and self-awareness. ) Use your draft and the comments you received on it to construct a new outline, and write from that. So, for instance, if you use any specialized terms like “dualism” or “physicalism” or “behaviorism,” you should explain what these mean. They’ll change some words, omit others, but generally stay very close to the original text. If they were stupid, we wouldn’t be looking at them. Is your writing clear and well-organized.
Do you explain your central notions. And you should say something about how the question might be answered, and about what makes the question interesting and relevant to the issue at hand. It’s okay to change your thesis to one you can defend. ” then you are claiming that P is a good reason to accept Q. Edu
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URL: http://www. If this is all you do in your paper, it won’t be a strong paper and it will get a mediocre grade, even if it’s well-written.
B seems unattractive to me. Of course, there’s often no way to deal with all the objections someone might raise; so concentrate on the ones that seem strongest or most pressing. Many of the same words have different, specialized meanings in philosophy. So it’s important to ask yourself: What are the most important things you have to say. Is it obvious to the reader what your main thesis is. Is it obvious to the reader what these arguments are. I don’t think A is true. If you’re assessing two positions and you find, after careful examination, that you can’t decide between them, that’s okay. He hasn’t really done much philosophical work. When you are paraphrasing what somebody else said, be sure to say so.
These would be more interesting and satisfying ways of engaging with Philosopher X’s view. It is possible to improve a paper without improving it enough to raise it to the next grade level. ” “This needs more support” “Why should we believe this. Hence, don’t start with assumptions which your opponents are sure to reject. If something in a view you’re examining is unclear to you, don’t gloss it over. In fact, we may not agree amongst ourselves about what the correct conclusion is. However, this argument is faulty, for the following reasons. If you’re a teacher and you think your own students would find this web site useful, you are free to point them here (or to distribute printed copies).
Is your writing clear and well-organized
If this is all you do in your paper, it won’t be a strong paper and it will get a mediocre grade, even if it’s well-written. Do you say exactly what you mean. ) I find that making an outline is at least 80% of the work of writing a good philosophy paper. Use technical philosophical terms only where you need them. There are three reasons to believe Q. You can only correct these sorts of failings by rewriting your paper from scratch.
If you have a good outline, the rest of the writing process will go much more smoothly. These are optional, and are for your independent study. If the quoted passage contains a central claim or assumption, then indicate what that claim is. So it’s important to ask yourself: What are the most important things you have to say. Then you should come back to it and rewrite it. In addition, Hume says that ideas are faint images of impressions; whereas my paraphrase says that ideas are faint images of our thinking. It’s not good enough for you merely to get the general idea of somebody else’s position or argument. Even if your TA is able to figure out what you mean, it’s bad writing.
Read also writing arguments:
We’ll make fun of you if you use big words where simple words will do. Mechanics Aim to make your papers less than or equal to the assigned word limit. Keep in mind that when I or your TA grade a rewrite, we may sometimes notice weaknesses in unchanged parts of your paper that we missed the first time around. Minor Points Beginning your paper Don’t begin with a sentence like “Down through the ages, mankind has pondered the problem of. Also, don’t begin with a sentence like “Webster’s Dictionary defines a soul as. So I can just reject A and thereby avoid B.
You need to master ordinary philosophical writing before you can do a good job with these more difficult forms. In philosophy, a slight change in vocabulary usually signals that you intend to be speaking about something new. I’m sure they had a hard time of it. Your paper should do some philosophical work A kind of complaint that is common in undergraduate philosophy papers goes like this: Philosopher X assumes A and argues from there to B. We do not judge your paper by whether we agree with its conclusion. P might still be true, for all that. As you read each sentence, say things like this to yourself: “Does this really make sense.
Philosophers sometimes do say outrageous things, but if the view you’re attributing to a philosopher seems to be obviously crazy, then you should think hard about whether he really does say what you think he says. In the first place, it’s done rather mechanically, so it doesn’t show that the author understands the text. You may want to give some examples to illustrate the author’s point. Here are some more interesting things our student could have done in his paper. ) Use your draft and the comments you received on it to construct a new outline, and write from that. Peter Horban’s site deserves special mention. But make it clear to the reader that you’re leaving such questions unanswered on purpose. Minor Points Beginning your paper Don’t begin with a sentence like “Down through the ages, mankind has pondered the problem of.
Keep in mind that when I or your TA grade a rewrite, we may sometimes notice weaknesses in unchanged parts of your paper that we missed the first time around
B seems unattractive to me. Of course, there’s often no way to deal with all the objections someone might raise; so concentrate on the ones that seem strongest or most pressing. Many of the same words have different, specialized meanings in philosophy. I don’t think A is true. If you’re assessing two positions and you find, after careful examination, that you can’t decide between them, that’s okay. When you are paraphrasing what somebody else said, be sure to say so.
