{"id":818,"date":"2023-05-24T19:37:55","date_gmt":"2023-05-24T19:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/writingcenter\/?p=818"},"modified":"2023-09-22T12:48:57","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T12:48:57","slug":"tips-for-writing-a-philosophy-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/writingcenter\/archives\/818","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Writing a Philosophy Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"
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  1. Philosophy papers are not reports, or research papers, or reflection papers. Generally, they ask students to use their reasoning skills to defend a particular idea or test the validity of an argument. Considering that, look at the prompt. Does your instructor want you to apply a philosophical argument to a new situation? Does the prompt ask you to amend an existing argument? Or object to an argument? Read the prompt closely and take a look at these frequently used tasks<\/a> to better understand the prompt.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    1. Choose a stance to argue for or against. Do not choose both sides or neither side. Playing the middle-ground can be much more difficult and might require a longer paper.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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      1. Have a precise thesis statement that defines your stance, how you will prove your stance, and why your stance should matter to your reader. Check out some adaptable thesis templates here.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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        1. Define any abstract terms, concepts, or perspectives before you dive into your draft. Have the definitions accessible so you can use them correctly to support your reasoning. Make sure you are using philosophical terms correctly. Here\u2019s a brief guide with frequent concepts. <\/a>Here is a guide with vocabulary<\/a> to help you describe arguments as you analyze them.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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          1. Make a detailed outline before you start writing. When dealing with abstract concepts, it\u2019s easy to go on tangents or lose focus. One possible way to approach these papers is to use the They Say\/I Say method, which is further explained here<\/a>.\u00a0 Another point-by-point method of organization is here<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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            1. Use your instructor\u2019s office hours once you have a detailed outline to make sure you are on track for success.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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              1. Write a brief introduction. Be concise and respond directly to the main question within the prompt.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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                1. Don\u2019t use too many direct quotes. Remember, philosophy instructors generally want to see your reasoning skills, not your summary skills. Select and integrate material from others that best illustrates or supports your idea. Don\u2019t let them overshadow your ideas.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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                  1. Communicate your stance and thought process clearly. Avoid all vague words (a lot, stuff, things) and empty language (basically, just, great, fine)\u00a0 unnecessary adverbs (really, very, importantly) that can distract your reader. Make sure you are choosing the most appropriate words.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                    1. \n
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                        1. Use examples and illustrations to demonstrate your thoughts.<\/li>\n
                        2. Use transitions and signposts<\/a> to indicate how ideas relate to each other.<\/li>\n
                        3. It\u2019s wise to have a peer review your argument to make sure it\u2019s clear with no gaps in your logic.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                          1. Be confident\u2014don\u2019t preface your ideas behind phrases like \u201cIn my opinion,\u201d \u201cI believe,\u201d or \u201cFor me at least,\u201d because it discredits your argument.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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                            Other Resources\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
                            Student Sample Papers<\/td>\nAn Annotated Student Sample Paper<\/a><\/p>\n

                            A Student Sample Paper with Instructor’s Commentary<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

                            Common Issues\u00a0 in Philosophy Papers<\/td>\n\u00a0Examples of What Not To Do<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                            Strong Writing vs. Poor Writing<\/p>\n

                            in Philosophy Papers<\/td>\n

                            		Examples of Student Writing<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                            Philosophy papers are not reports, or research papers, or reflection papers. Generally, they ask students to use their reasoning skills to defend a particular idea or test the validity of an argument. Considering that, look at the prompt. Does your instructor want you to apply a philosophical argument to a new situation? Does the prompt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":376,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-writing-tips","category-resources-for-freshmen","post-preview"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/376"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=818"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":841,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/818\/revisions\/841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/writingcenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}