Paper GuidelinesPhilosophy is about using arguments to exp.docx

Paper Guidelines
Philosophy is about using arguments to express ideas, and doing
philosophy requires engag-
ing the arguments and ideas of others. Its value is found in the
fact that by articulating
the reasons that others use to support their views, and by
engaging those reasons critically,
we’re able to figure out what we ourselves think. Your papers
are your chance to think and
to express ideas, but to do that, you’ll need to engage the
arguments of others with your
own. I’ve provided a few pointers to help you do that.
Paper Requirement Checklist
• The following are conditions that must be met in order for
your essay to qualify for
more than 50% of the available points. If you fail to meet these
standards, I will grade
your essay on the basis of 1/2 the available points. As an
example: a paper would earn
80% of 5 points rather than of 10 points if it was ‘B-’ quality
and failed to meet the
conditions below.
Cover Page with your name and word count.
Your name appears ONLY on the cover page.
Word count falls within the assigned range.

Times New Roman, 12pt font.
Double spaced (no extra spacing between paragraphs).
1-inch margins.
Physical copy is printed single sided and handed to me.
Paper is on the assigned reading.
The first paragraph:
• The opening paragraph’s purpose is to give your reader the
information necessary to
understand your paper’s aim and purpose. It’s a good place to
say what the problem
you aim to address is and why it’s a problem. It’s also a good
place to introduce
terminology that is potentially vague, ambiguous, or
controversial.
• Avoid trite opening statements. For example, “Philosophers
have always . . . ” or “The
fundamental problem of philosophy is . . . ” or “Mill was one of
the greatest minds
ever.” Cut to the chase!
• Your first paragraph should end by stating your purpose,
which is a signpost that tells
the reader where you aim to take him. Without such a statement,
your reader will be
lost.
• The aim of your paper isn’t your argument; it’s a statement of
purpose. Conse-
quently, it shouldn’t include your reasons for resisting your

target. This means that
you shouldn’t have reason-indicator words in there—words like,
‘because’, ‘since’, and
so on.
1
The Paper’s Substance:
• An argument is the backbone of a philosophy paper, and
serves to give shape to your
thesis. Everything in your paper is done for your argument. If
you have a sentence, a
word, or a paragraph that isn’t filling in your argument, it
should be deleted.
• Your paper should use plausible reasons to support a
conclusion that your reader (if he
accepts your reasons) is forced to believe. Be clear about your
reasons and how they
work together to support your conclusion.
• Although your argument gives expression to an idea that is all
your own, it should
engage another philosopher’s views. Since I require your papers
to be critical, it’s
helpful to think of the person you’re engaging as an opponent.
• To engage another philosopher’s views, you’ll need to do
some exposition. The aim
here is to articulate just enough of your opponent’s view to
make your own argument.
However, keep in mind that good exposition articulates
supporting arguments, not

just conclusions. Saying that you disagree with someone’s view
without engaging the
reasons used to support it is no good. To be persuasive, your
argument should engage
your opponent’s argument. You have to get it right.
• Attributing a view to an opponent requires providing
supporting evidence. A short
quote works well, but if you can’t find that, you’ll need to argue
that they’re committed
to one or another view.
• Don’t overstate your opponent’s views or your own.
Overstating things undermines
your credibility, because it only happens when you don’t know
what you’re talking
about or you’re trying to be deceptive.
Questions to Guide Paper Construction: These questions
correspond to the three parts
of a philosophy paper. If you let them guide your thinking while
you work through
each part of your essay, you’ll have a better chance of
producing a decent piece of
philosophical writing.
1. Introduction: Your paper is a response to a claim (or a point)
made by an author
we’re reading this semester. What’s the claim you’re trying to
engage and why
does it matter? To find the claim, ask yourself, “What is the
author trying to
persuade me to believe?” The answer to that question is
something you can
evaluate for truth (is the claim true or false?), and you should
be able to say

something meaningful about why finding out the truth
concerning this claim
matters.
2. Body of the paper: What reasons does the author provide to
support his or her
point? Generally, there will be lots of these. You should pick a
couple that you
think are the most persuasive.
3. Critical Evaluation: Are there any weaknesses to which the
author’s reasons are
subject? Does the author’s evidence actually support the claim
he or she wants
you to believe? Why might one be skeptical of the author’s
evidence?
2
Grammar, style, and formatting:
1. Avoid vague, abstract generalities that don’t say anything
meaningful.
2. Do your very best to avoid jargon. Try not to adopt the turns
of phrase used by
philosophers. Generally, they mask confusion, which then finds
its way into your
own thinking.
3. Write to the correct audience. Work on the assumption that
your reader is a
fairly intelligent high-school senior.

4. In general, numbers should be spelled out.
5. A disagreement isn’t a reason.
Saying, “Mary Midgley is wrong because it is a mistake to
judge people too
harshly” isn’t giving a reason. It’s pointing out a disagreement.
Disagreements
are resolved by reasons.
6. Keep tense consistent: don’t switch between past, future, and
present. Generally,
it’s best to write using present tense.
7. At first use, one should use an author’s first and last name.
After the first use,
it’s correct to use only the second name.
8. Pronouns refer, so they should only be used when the object
to which they refer
is clear.
9. Use the word ‘argue’ correctly: 1) I am going to argue for X;
2) I am going to
argue against Y; 3) I am going to argue with Z; or 4) I am going
to argue that
[fill this in with a statement that you think is true]. Generally,
you’re arguing for
views that are either true or false and the ‘that’ in the above
statement carries
an implied truth claim. For example, “Plato argues that . . . .”
10. ‘They’ and ‘Their’ refer to groups of people. ‘He’, ‘She’,
‘one’, ‘individual’, and
‘agent’ refer to single persons. It doesn’t make sense, then, to
refer to an individual
as ‘they’. For example, the following is no good: “An individual

is mistaken
when suggesting that everything is relative, since they confuse a
fact about moral
disagreement for facts themselves.”
11. Be mindful of possessives, which are a grammatical tool
used to show possession.
For example, “Tim’s Desk” shows that Tim owns or is in
possession of the desk.
With very few exceptions, possession is indicated by adding ’s
to a word.
12. Quotations that are more than three lines long should be set
off from the rest of
the text by being single-spaced and indented. (As a general rule,
quotations of
this length will hurt your grade. There might be exceptions.)
13. Double quotation marks and single quotation marks are used
for different pur-
poses. If you are mentioning a word, use single quotation
marks. Otherwise, use
double. For example, “The word ‘cup’ is easy to spell.”
14. Punctuation goes inside double quotations, but outside
single quotations.
15. What is the role of a question in writing?
Well, to ask a question. Only use them when you plan on
answering the question,
3
and remember, remember, remember: questions aren’t

arguments. If you ask a
question as a way of objecting to a view, it demonstrates that
you either don’t
understand the view or you don’t know how to argue against it.
16. Don’t overstate your claims: avoid words that are too
strong. Take measure of
what you write. It shows that you’re thinking and not merely
regurgitating what
you’ve memorized.
17. Citations are required when quoting or attributing an idea to
another person.
Citations must be in either Chicago or APA style. There are a
number of ways
to cite people and you’ll have to decide which way you prefer.
Citations are not
optional and failure to include them is plagiarism.
18. When you first refer to a text, cite it using a footnote like
this one.1 Sometimes
you’ll have to be inventive, like this.2 Keep in mind that there
are different ways
to cite different sources, and you have to follow the rules. To do
so, us The
Chicago Manual of Style.
19. Titles of books are italicized. Titles of articles or book
chapters receive double
quotation marks.
20. Avoid mixed metaphors. Make sure the metaphors you use
make sense.
21. Avoid the word ‘you’ and only use a semicolon if you have
mastered the rules of

grammar.
22. Avoid slashes. For example, don’t say ‘he/she’, ‘and/or’,
etc. If you’re going to
use gendered pronouns, pick one and stick with it. If you can’t
decide between
‘and/or’, you’re likely confused since they serve different
logical purposes.
23. Your first paragraph (and all subsequent paragraphs) should
be indented.
24. Restating what you’ve said using different words isn’t the
same as offering a reason
for what you’ve said. Reasons, remember, are facts that support
other facts.
25. Get started on your papers early so that you have time to
proofread.
1Williams, B., Morality (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1972), p. 21.
2References to Mill’s work will be to the volume and page
number of the standard edition of John Stuart
Mill’s Collected Works (Toronto and London: University of
Toronto Press, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1967-
1989). So, for example, the citation (VII: 235) is to Mill’s
Collected Works, volume VII, page 235.
4
Extra Credit

Jean Paul Sartre articulates a solution to the problem of free
will on pages 320–325 of Cot-
tingham’s textbook. While avoiding Sartre’s abundant jargon,
articulate his position and
the reasons he uses to support it. Once you’ve done that,
provide an argument of your own
that challenges the reasons used by Sartre to support his view.
Your essay should be between 1,000 and 1,250 words and
conform to the requirements spec-
ified in the document titled “Paper Guidelines.” Be especially
mindful of the requirement
checklist contained in that document. If you fail to meet the
conditions specified in that
checklist, it will severely impact your potential to earn extra
credit. The essay is due no
later than 8:45am, December 8th.
1

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