Tips on Essay Writing
Philosophy Papers: For specific advice about writing a philosophy paper, see www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/humanities/philosophy.shtml or www.princeton.edu/~jimpryor/general/writing.html.
Philosophy papers usually take the form of (1) developing and defending a position on a particular issue, (2) elucidation and interpretation of a particular philosopher’s views, or (3) a combination of (1) and (2).
Audience: Your intended audience should not be the instructor but rather another student at your level who hasn’t taken this class. When you assume too much familiarity with the material on the part of your audience and fail to sufficiently define terms and explain your points, it isn’t apparent to the instructor that you really understand the material. In contrast to popular opinion, there isn’t any relevant difference between the ability to think and the ability to clearly express what you think: You only understand something if you can state it clearly.
Quotations and Citations: Similarly, when students rely on quotations to explain key points in the paper, it isn’t clear that they understand the material. After each quotation, restate the main point in your own words unless the quotation is very brief (only a few words) or the meaning is obvious in the context of the paper. Another way that students rely too heavily on quotations is by using too many of them or by using very long ones. It is clear to the reader that the author is trying to do as little original writing as possible. Indent and single space quotes longer than 4 lines. In order to avoid plagiarism, cite any sources that are quoted, paraphrased, or merely influenced the content of your paper, including all of the relevant information (especially the page numbers).
Exposition: Make sure that you have already explained a claim in detail before you criticize it.
Organization: Stay focused on the central theme of the paper and how the various points you are making fit into this theme. The paper should be unified in structure and not a random collection of points from your notes. Use clear transitions so that ideas flow smoothly and logically into one another. The amount of space you devote to each issue should depend on how closely it is related to the central theme: Make sure to adequately develop the main ideas, though being exhaustive is usually excessive. In a short essay, every sentence should count, so make an effort to avoid tangents. If a secondary point can’t be adequately stated in a few sentences, it should probably be left out.
Style: Approach essay writing like an artist, varying word choice, sentence structures, and paragraph length, using precise vocabulary, an interesting organization and style, and elements like suspense when appropriate. You may find it hard to believe, but essay writing can be fun and original – it is a revealing expression of your personality and your own unique style of thinking.
Editing:
Carefully reread and edit your papers before turning them in. Avoid making the
same errors that you made in previous papers. Correcting writing errors is the
most labor intensive and least enjoyable part of teaching, and there is nothing
as annoying to instructors as students who ignore their comments and make the
same basic errors over and over again. If you have significant problems with
grammar, organization, etc., I strongly recommend that you take drafts of your
papers to the
Students who turn in sloppy work will be required to take
drafts of each of their subsequent papers to the
Following Directions: Make sure to carefully read and follow the instructions and formatting guidelines. Although this may seem obvious, a significant percentage of students don’t follow the instructions, which has a serious impact on their grades.
The Writing Process: (1) Begin by reading the topic and instructions carefully. (2) Without worrying about organization, write down the key words and concepts that you think you will address in the paper, and then the major claims you will make. (3) With the limited length of your paper in mind, pick out the ideas in your list that seems most relevant to your topic. (4) Arrange these ideas in a logical and lucid order, so that there are smooth transitions between them. Writing an outline can be helpful at this stage. (5) Expand your ideas into paragraphs, explaining them, illustrating them with examples, and supporting them with arguments and textual evidence. (6) Write your introduction and conclusion last. (7) Revise and edit your paper: Good writers generate multiple drafts of a paper and spend a great deal of time crafting what they say.