As every good student learns soon enough, every teacher expects something a little bit different from a writing assignment. The following is intended to give you a preliminary idea of my expectations, but you are encouraged to ask questions, in class or in private, whenever the need or desire strikes you.

I. Basic Essay Requirements
II. What is the Main Point of your Assignment?
III. What Needs to be Included in your Essay?
IV. Organizing your Thoughts
V. Writing Clearly
VI. How Should your Essay Conclude?
VII. Proofreading your Essay
 

• Your paper will not be accepted if it is less than 600 words long. I do occasionally count words, and I have given "F"'s for papers with 590 words. If you are that close, don't take the chance. A MINIMUM length of 600 words means just that. Try not to go unreasonably beyond this length: 700 words is okay, but 900 words is a bit too long. Part of the point is to express yourself clearly and concisely.

 
• Title pages are optional, and in general I would rather that you save the paper. Be sure, though, that you include your name and the word count on the first page of your essay.

 
• Although there are many literary ways to express philosophical ideas, I would like you to stick to writing a traditional "position" paper. This is the most basic, straightforward approach, which involves taking a stand on an important issue and defending it. As this is the most common means of defending ideas in an academic setting (and other settings as well), it should be mastered before you go on to write short stories, parables, dialogues, poems, aphorisms, etc.

 
• You are surrounded by BAD models for essay writing (and for thinking), including most letters to the editor, political propaganda, advertisements, journalism, and talk show discussions. Such sources often lack coherent development of ideas, good organization and use of paragraphs, the development of a thesis, etc. I recommend that you avoid such misleading models when putting your essay together.

• Your opening paragraph should explain the purpose and plan of your essay. What are you writing about and why?

 
• Included in your first paragraph should be a THESIS STATEMENT, a simple statement of your position on the main issue that your essay discusses.

 
• Don't waste time thinking up a "gimmick" to start your essay. This means:
(1) no dictionary definitions, no irrelevant historical information, and no sweeping generalizations that go far beyond anything your essay will defend.

(2) Elegant flourishes are just that: flourishes. Get the basics down first.

(3) Be straightforward, but do so without being mechanical or formulaic. For instance, avoid such phrases as "My thesis statement is...," "In conclusion, I have shown that...," etc.

A. an explanation of the views you are discussing:

• it is essential that your explanation of these views be clear, concise, fair, and accurate. The clarity of your explanation often reveals how well you have understood the view you are explaining.

 
• a good summary emphasizes the main points of another's view and the reasoning behind it (if this is known).

 
• "Badmouthing" an argument is not the same as challenging or refuting it. While in political debates it may be useful to denigrate your opponent, if you are interested in finding out the truth about something, you must portray the views of others accurately and carefully -- ESPECIALLY if you disagree with them.

 
• Paraphrasing and quotation may be helpful here, but cannot be used as a substitute for explaining the ideas in your own words. All quotations must be thoroughly explained.

• this may involve explaining any words which might be misunderstood.

 
• it may also involve a comparison of your view with those of others, especially concerning any different assumptions you make, different implications of your views, etc.

• This is not just an explanation of why you believe what you believe, but provides good reasons for believing it.

 
• If your reasons would not convince your roommate, is that because your roommate is a blockhead or because your reasons are lousy ones? If your reasons are lousy, is this view really worth believing?

• None required. In fact, reading a whole lot about one of these authors from some other source is more likely to complicate the issue rather than help you. I am only concerned that you understand the positions as we have discussed them.

 
• Any use of outside sources must be documented. If I don't recognize our class discussion in what you have written, I must assume that you haven't understood it--even if you are relying on some other book for your views on the subject.

• All quotations from the texts should be followed by the page number(s) in parentheses.

 
• Quotations or references to other sources should include full bibliographical information (author, title, publisher, page #), preferably in a footnote or endnote.

 
• Don't waste paper including a bibliography or anything like that. I am interested in being able to trace your source, not in forcing you to follow stylistic formalities.

 
• Plagiarism meets with little sympathy from me. If I catch you, expect to fail this class and be reported for administrative action. Plagiarism includes:

 
• making use of the ideas of others without credit--EVEN IF these ideas are explained in your own words

 
• paraphrasing by changing a few words in the original (which leads me to believe that you have not understood well enough to explain in your own words)

• Each paragraph should focus on explaining one key idea

 
• It must be clear to the reader how these different paragraphs fit together: what leads from one thought to the next?

 
• The paragraphs must be ordered in a coherent way, a progression which makes the development of your thoughts clear.

 
• Decide on the organization of your essay before you begin writing. Identify the main points you wish to make, decide the best order in which to discuss them, and organize the content of your essay in relation to these key points.

 
• Usually, there are a couple of ways to put things together. Use the one that works best for you.

 
• Examine the main ideas in the finished paper: can you isolate the topic sentences? Do you see how each leads naturally to the next? Do you need to add some transition phrases or make the connection clearer? If you don't see how they fit together, I won't either.

• Be clear in your choice of words: define any ambiguous terms, use correct punctuation and straightforward sentences, and avoid jargon. Write your essay so that your roommate (who has not been in this class) can understand it.

 
• For instance, writing "I believe that everyone has a soul" does not indicate to me what YOU mean by "soul."

 
• Be precise: say exactly what you mean, without unnecessary wordiness, or convoluted sentences. Don't make me guess what you mean.

 
• Consider, for instance, the sentence "Hume's idea that we do not have souls is bad." Bad how? A bad idea? An unsupported idea? An idea that makes you feel bad? An evil idea? An idea you don't agree with?

 
• Avoid sexism:
(a)Does "men" mean males or humans? This kind of ambiguity is to be avoided.

(b) Sexist language has been considered unacceptable by most academic and educational organizations since before the typical college freshman was born.

(c) In addition, use of sexist language is likely to mark you as provincial and uneducated.

(d) Habits are hard to break, so start breaking them now. I do not accept sexist locutions.

(e) Copies of the American Philosophical Association guidelines concerning sexist language (which explain the rationale for eliminating sexist language and offer suggestions for non-sexist locutions) are available on the web.
 

• Avoid slang expressions and phrases that are inappropriate in an academic paper.

 
• It is fine to refer to yourself in the first person. Often it is preferable to claim a position as your very own.

• A good conclusion will remind the reader of your thesis and summarize your position.

 
• Don't make broad generalizations and speculations. Your conclusion shouldn't claim more than what you have developed in your paper.

 
• As in the introduction, rhetorical flourishes are unnecessary, but do your best to restate the main points without being mechanical.

• Unless you are perfect, your paper is likely to contain mistakes after the first draft: typos, grammatical errors, clumsy transitions, unclear sentences, etc.

 
• Some time away from your paper can give you a fresh perspective. Reading it aloud to yourself or others may help, and you are encouraged to have others read it.

 
• It is particularly irritating to receive papers in which the name of a philosopher we have spent several days discussing is routinely misspelled.

 
• It is also irritating to read a paper filled with obvious typos, since this indicates that you didn't care enough about the assignment to bother reading what you wrote. Why should I have to read what you wouldn't bother to read?

 
• When confronted with a paper that has obviously not been proofread, I reserve the right to return it to you, have you fix it, and count it as if you had turned it in late when I receive it back.

 
• I will not bother marking grammatical problems when I grade your essays, but poor grammar makes your paper hard to follow and frustrating to read. This will certainly effect your grade.

 
• Well-written papers are a joy to read and very easy to grade.