WRITING A PHILOSOPHICAL ESSAY
GENERAL GUIDELINES
WRITING A PHILOSOPHICAL PAPER
Writing for philosophy is different from writing in most other subject
areas. Philosophical papers should be concise, clear, and written in as
plain English as possible. The focus of philosophy papers should be the
arguments: either your arguments, or the arguments of the writers you
are analyzing. Every philosophy paper will have arguments; these should
be presented in as simple language as possible without unnecessary verbiage
or 'fluff and filler'. Fluff and filler is any extraneous material that
does not contribute to the thesis or goal of your paper. It might also
include any clichés such as "Since the dawn of time, man has
wondered about how to justify true beliefs." Do not be afraid to
write plainly. After reading dozens of similar papers, your reader will
be relieved to read a paper that is clear and plainly written, even dry;
such papers are easy to understand, unambiguous, and demonstrate your
points most effectively.
BASIC ELEMENTS OF A PHILOSOPHICAL PAPER
- You want to start your paper off with a clear statement of the question
at hand. Not only should the question be stated clearly, but it is a
good idea in the first paragraph or two to give a good clear statement
as to how you are going to answer the question, i.e., what approach
to the question you intend to take.
- State your position and defend your answer. The main
core of your paper should consist of a defense of the answer you gave.
You should carefully define your position (so as to avoid possible misunderstandings)
and defend it with reasons, relevant information and arguments.
- Identify and formulate the strongest potential objection(s) to your
position. Respond to the objection(s) and show how it/they aren't strong
enough to refute your position. (This applies primarily to papers of
4 or more pages.)
ORGANIZATION
It is essential that your paper be well organized.
- There should be a clear thesis statement at the beginning that serves
as a road map through your paper.
- Every paragraph should be directly related to your thesis and should
follow the road map put forth in your thesis.
- The paper should flow smoothly and each paragraph be logically linked
to the previous. Guide the reader through as clearly and carefully as
possible. BE KIND TO YOUR READER!
- Each paragraph should be fully developed and deal with only one topic.
Beware of anemic paragraphs of only one or two sentences. Chances are,
these will be underdeveloped.Also beware of bloated paragraphs (a page
long or so), ods are those contain too much information.
- The conclusion should serve as a wrap up, in which you make it clear
that the stated goals in the thesis have been met.
DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS
It is crucial that important concepts are clearly defined, especially
when you are dealing with topics in which there is some disagreement as
to what some term might mean. Just consider the disagreement over what
it means to be a person in the abortion debate!
Warning about the use of the Dictionary:
Dictionaries are essential for checking spelling and for using appropriate
vocabulary. However, dictionaries are not the best sources for understanding
philosophical terminology. Terms like 'intentionality', 'valid', 'practical',
'idealism', 'realism' and others have very specific philosophical meanings
which may be quite different from the first or most obvious dictionary
definitions. As a general rule, if you do not understand a term, do
not use it. If you must (if it is part of the assignment) and you
cannot understand the original materials that include the term, try using
a dictionary of philosophy or the glossary of some philosophical
text. The first source you should use in all cases should
always be the source material you are using for the class. If it is still
unclear, talk to the instructor or consult an alternative source. Some
possible sources are listed below.
Angeles, Peter, A. The Dictionary of Philosophy, Harper &
Row Publishers, 1981
Blackburn, Simon. The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy, Oxford
University Press, 1994
Online: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/)
Online: The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/)
WRITING AND REWRITING
Revising your paper is the most important thing you can do in making it
a better paper. Never turn in a first draft!! After writing your first
draft, put it down for a day or two, then go back and read it again--critically.
Revision should be done for more than just grammatical and spelling errors.
Don't be afraid of massive revision. Sometimes it may be necessary to
trash entire chunks of the paper, to rearrange paragraphs or to add new
material. It is a good idea to let someone else read your paper critically
to see if they understand it. If possible, it is a better idea to have
your instructor read the paper and make suggestions.
THE READER TEST
One good way of testing the clarity of your work is to have someone other
than you read the paper and explain to you the major points of your paper.
Another test is to read the paper out loud. This is a good way of ensuring
that your language makes sense. Frequently students write passages that
are neither grammatical sentences nor anything that a person is likely
to say informally. If you find yourself laughing at or simply puzzled
by some passage in your paper, you should change it.
OUTLINING
It is often difficult to actually begin a paper with an outline. However,
once a draft is actually written, it is quite easy to go back and outline
it. Do this. It will give you a sketch of the paper and help you check
the paper's organization. Here is an example of a very general outline.
- I. Introduction. (Should include a clear statement of the problem
and the approach to be taken in the essay.)
- II. Reasons/Arguments.
- A. Reason/Argument 1 supporting your position.
- B. Reason/Argument 2 supporting your position.
- C. Reason/Argument 3 supporting your position.
- III. Strongest challenge(s) to your position.
- IV. Reasons/arguments that show why the strongest challenge doesn't
show your position to be incorrect.
- V. Conclusion.
The advantage of an outline is that you can see, in short form, what
you need to say and where you plan to say it. If you can't find a good
reason to include a section, then do not include it. Frequently students
think that everything said in the text needs to appear in some form or
another in the paper. That is not true, focus your paper on the relevant
information only. This concern particularly applies to the history, explaining
complex examples, and giving detailed biographical information about the
writer or philosophers discusssed. Sometimes that information is relevant,
but typically it is not. Use the outline to help avoid unneeded work.
CITING SOURCES
Different instructors have different preferences for citing sources. Any
generally acceptable method is okay with me. However, I will offer one
simple method.
QUOTING FROM THE PRIMARYTEXT
If the class is using just one primary text, it is acceptable, when
quoting or paraphrasing, to cite the author and page number parenthetically.
For example, if you were quoting Thomson, it might look like this: As
Thomson says, "it is by no means enough to show that the fetus is a
person, and to remind us that all person have a right to life-we need
to be shown also that killing the fetus violates its right to life"
(Bonevac, 322).
CITING OTHER SECONDARY SOURCES
Academic integrity demands that whenever you utilize an idea
or quotation that is not your own, you must acknowledge the source of
that idea or quotation. In our class, if you only utilize the text,
then the above method is acceptable. If your use other sources, though,
then more extensive citation is necessary. You should include a bibliographical
reference either on a separate page attached to the end of your essay
(endnotes) or at the bottom of the page (footnotes). Either is permissable.
The following is an example of a possible reference:
Brody, Baruch. "The Morality of Abortion," as it appears in Contemporary
Issues in Bioethics, 3rd ed., Tom L. Beauchamp and LeRoy Walters,
eds. Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1989.
When citing this essay in the text, you would cite it parenthetically
just as you would do according to the previous example. If you are citing
a text written by one author as opposed to an anthology, an example
of how your citation should look is as follows:
Bok, Sissela. Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life.
New York: Vintage Books, 1978.
Again, you would cite the author and page number parenthetically in
the text. Note: If you have two citations by the same author, you should
include the year of publication in your parenthetical citation. For
example, if you had two bibliographical references to works by Sissela
Bok, you would cite the one above like this: (Bok 1978, 23).
CITING FROM WEB RESOURCES
Web resources must also be cited completely, including the author, the
name of the page or association and the complete URL (with adequate
information that any reader could access the page). Note it is plagiarism
to "cut and paste" any text from web pages into your own papers
unless you fully cite the source.Changing a few words here and there
does not constitute original work.
There is nothing wrong with using a wide range of sources, but you
must cite all sources, and if you are using the ideas you find there,
you must either quote directly (encapsulated in quotation marks), or
explain the view of the author in your own words.
Hint: It is a trivially easy matter for a professor of philosophy
to distinguish the sort of work typical of an introductory student from
that of a Ph. D. or Graduate Student, trying to pass off another's work
as your own, is not only wrong, it is a wrong that is easily detectable.
GENERAL TIPS ON WRITING
In the real world, how you express yourself is as important as what you
say. Careful expression is especially important in philosophy, where problems
frequently arise because of imprecise language. I offer this handout as
an aid to more effective philosophical writing.
Compare: Writing is always a struggle for people. In the real world,
the way you write the things you say is just as important as what you
have to say. It is an undeniable truth that this is especially important
in philosophy, where, frequently, people have problems because you are
not being precise enough. This handout is offered with this in mind.
- Write with an ignorant (but not stupid) person reading in mind. Ask
yourself, "Would this paper be intelligible to someone outside of the
course?" Keep clarifying what you've written until the answer is "yes."
- Have a clear thesis in mind. Express it in one or two sentences, preferably
at the beginning of your paper. Furthermore, have a definite plan in
mind for the steps you will take to prove your thesis (preferably in
the form of an outline).
- Cut to the chase. Students tend to spend too much time "throat clearing"at
the beginning of essays (giving a history of the problem, referencing
the textbook or author). Often, the first few paragraphs of an essay
can be deleted without any loss in content (and with a corresponding
gain in effectiveness). In other words, eliminate fluff for more effective
writing.
- Make the paragraph the unit of composition. Each paragraph should
express one and only one main idea. Keep them short and simple. You
should be able to explain in a single sentence (perhaps in your outline)
the purpose of each paragraph.
- Summarize your overall argument, even if you don't include the summary
in your essay. If, after completing your essay, you can construct a
clear outline of your overall argument (either in your head or on paper),
chances are you reader can, too. If not, your argument is likely either
confused or unclear. (This point relates to (1) and (2)).
- Make your transitions clear. For example, consider the opening phrases
of six successive paragraphs from Charles Landesman's Philosophy:
An Introduction to the Central Issues:
An argument against hedonism was developed by G. E. Moore....
The hedonist has two responses to Moore.
First...
Second....
Another argument against hedonism....
The hedonist replies....
Thus hedonism is not refuted....
Without even seeing the essay, we know where the author is going and
how he is getting there. Your reader will appreciate similar clarity.
(This example is taken from Martinich's Philosophical Writing
(cited at end of handout), p. 97
- Don't write anything you yourself don't understand. Although this
point seems obvious, consider the following sentence, which I once received
in a student's paper: "Aquinas believed that God was omnipotent
as Lao Tzu believed that the Tao was omnipotent as Aristotle believed
that his Unmoved Mover was the purpose of all things, this in itself
is a manifestation of the definition of infinity, for there is no limit
to any of their power and energy." When I asked the student what
he meant by "manifestation of the definition of infinity," he couldn't
tell me. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that fancy or obscure
writing will sound more philosophical. It won't.
- Avoid using "this" as a pronoun. This is confusing. "What is confusing?",
you ask, and rightly so. This practice is confusing. See how much clearer
it is to use "this" as an adjective? For another example, consider the
student's sentence in (7). When he says "this in itself," does he mean
Aquinas's belief, Lao Tzu's belief, Aristotle's belief, the coincidence
of all of their beliefs, or something else? He doesn't tell us and we
are left confused.
- Make your pronouns agree with their antecedents. The problem of pronoun-antecedent
agreement usually arises when people are trying to be gender inclusive.
Consider the following sentences:
(a) Everyone should proofread their writing.
(b) Everyone should proofread his writing.
(c) Everyone should proofread his or her writing.
(d) One should proofread one's writing.
(e) People should proofread their writing.
(f) Everyone should proofread her writing.
(a) is ungrammatical.(b) is grammatical, but gender-exclusive.(c) is
both grammatical and gender-inclusive. In long sentences with many pronouns,
however, the method employed in (c) can be cumbersome. (Consider: "Everyone
should proofread his or her writing when he or she wants others to correctly
understand him or her.") Moreover, the fact that the masculine pronoun
always precedes the feminine pronoun makes it sound like an afterthought.(d)
sounds awkward and pedantic; avoid it. (e) is preferred; it puts the
entire construction in the plural, rendering the sentence grammatical,
gender-inclusive, and natural-sounding. In some cases however it is
impossible to use the plural, another (and increasingly common) option
is to alternate between the masculine and feminine; that is, to alternately
use (b) and (f). If you find it strange to use the feminine pronoun
as the gender neutral, try it and think about why it is strange.
- Ixnay on the colloquialisms; they just don't cut it in philosophical
writing. Bad: Just what is Descartes smoking here? This guy's out of
his tree. Better: I find several problems with Descartes's argument,
including.... Also, remember that a calm, rational tone is almost always
more effective than a polemical, sarcastic one.
- Don't be afraid of the first person. One does not care what your fifth
grade (or college) English teacher told you on this point. See how pedantic
that last sentence sounds? It should read, "I do not care what your
fifth grade English (or college) teacher told you on this point," because
I don't. Students often write things like, "It will be argued that..."
or "My argument will be that...." Such constructions are passive, awkward
and wimpy. Own up to your position; say "I will argue that..."
- Omit unnecessary words. This practice will make your writing more
forceful, and will also help you to keep within the prescribed word
limits. Less is more. Consider: Weak: From my perspective, it would
seem to be the case that Descartes fails to... Better: Descartes fails
to... Weak: I feel that Hume's second premise is faulty. Better: Fumes'
second premise is faulty. The last example is a case where you should
avoid the first person construction simply because of its superfluity.
Moreover, stay away from "feel" in philosophical writing.
- Observe the distinction between "that" and "which" clauses. "That"
is restrictive; "which" is not. Consider:
(a) The theory of forms that Plato expounds should be rejected.
(b) The theory of forms, which Plato expounds, should be rejected.
(a) claims only that Plato's theory of forms should be rejected; it
leaves open the possibility that someone else's might be acceptable.
The use of the "that" clause in (a) restricts the scope of "theory of
forms." (b), on the other hand, makes the general claim that any theory
of forms should be rejected, adding the additional fact that Plato expounded
this theory. People often use "which" when they want "that"; therefore,
go which-hunting when you proofread. (If you find this rule confusing,
try substituting "that" every time you write "which" and see if the
substitution sounds right. If so, then you probably want "that").
- Don't misuse the thesaurus. Ideally the thesaurus should remind you
of words you already know, not provide you with words you've never heard
of. If you are unsure of the precise meaning of a word, avoid it, or
at least look it up in the dictionary. A student once intended to covey,
"I saw the deer dance across the field," but thought that "dance" was
too ordinary, so instead he borrowed "mazurka" from the thesaurus. As
it turns out, a mazurka is a Polish folk dance.
- Avoid category mistakes. Consider: Berkeley ponders the truth of
both his mind and the environment. The Meditations also believes in
this position. He protested Bush's election for taking a strong stand
on abortion. "Minds" and "environments" cannot be true or false; propositions
about them can. Books don't believe in positions, their authors do.
Elections don't take stands; candidates do. Make sure your words fit
together sensibly.
- Proofread for cogency. Anticipate objections to your arguments, and
deal with those objections in your essay. Your writing will be stronger
as a result. When you proofread, constantly ask yourself, "Does this
make sense" Is the argument airtight? What will my teacher say?" In
other words, try to pre-grade your essay and then revise it in light
of your own comments. Critiquing your own work often works best after
putting the essay aside for a day or two. And, most importantly, be
sure that your essay addresses the assigned topic.
- Don't overuse qualifications. Consider the following sentence:
"Turing indicates that he beleives that it is true that computers
are somewhat able to think to a certain degree or another."
Compare this to the following:
"Turing believes computers can think."
If you mean the latter sentence, use it. Qualifying your sentences does
not add to their strengh.
- Proofread for grammatical mistakes. (Notice that spell checkers aren't
full proof (sic).) Have a friend read your essay to pick out typos and
missing words. (If you make a mistake in the first place, there's a
chance you will read over it during proofreading.)
- Follow the specific instructions given by your teacher, even if you
think they're nitpicky. Why needlessly annoy the person grading your
essay? In particular be sure that your paper completes the assignment
given you. Do you answer the question or provide the information asked
for?
- For all papers, you should do the following.
- NUMBER your pages.
- Include your NAME and CLASSNAME (and SECTION number if there is one)
- STAPLE your pages. Buy a stapler if you do not have one.
- Leave reasonable MARGINS.
- DOUBLE-SPACE your text
- Use a legible FONT SIZE (i.e. 12 pt), please use only black text (colored
text is more difficult to read)
- NEVER use plastic report covers or cover pages (unless asked for).
- Observe the required PAGE LIMITS. (However, do not add fluff to reach
the minimum limit)
The minimum page number is the least amount of space in which
I think you can complete the assignment. If you have less to say be
check to see that you answer all questions and clarify all terminology.
The maximum page number is the most amount of space I want you
to use. Writing concisely is often difficult. But if you find yourself
exceeding the page limit, it means you are likely including more information
than I want, or needlessly repeating yourself.
- Keep a HARD COPY of all work handed in. You never know when I might
lose something.
- Always include the marked (graded) copy with any REVISION.
For more information, I recommend the following books: A. P. Martinich,
Philosophical Writing, (Prentice Hall, 1989) William Strunk and
E. B. White, Elements of Style (Macmillan, 1979) Rulebook for
Arguments, Weston, A. (Hackett Press) (Note: The "General Tips on
Writing" are courtesy of John Corvino, The University of Texas at Austin.)
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