Philosophy Essay Writing Guide

Essay Writing Guide

Guidelines for writing Philosophy Essays


To write philosophy requires that you handle a pen as a surgeon handles a scalpel.
Philosophy is not about learning facts and then regurgitating them. It is the skill of reasoning clearly. The essay should show that you have mastered this skill. Further, If you can write philosophy well, you will be able to read it well. And if you can read philosophy, you should be able to read anything.

BEFORE YOU START

You should both understand what the essay question is about, and what the relevant arguments and theories are, before you start writing anything. If you can explain to someone the theories and arguments without your notes, and have some idea of what your conclusion will be, you are ready. Otherwise, the essay will just be a bunch of notes that you have thrown together.

1). Structure
The essay should follow a clear argumentative structure. Write in paragraphs. Each paragraph should have one main idea. The following is a rough guide:

Paragraph 1. Introduction- in which the problem is introduced.

Paragraph 2 (a, b, c etc) . Present the main argument to be discussed
Paragraph 3. (a, b, c etc). Present one or more counterargument(s) to the main argument
Paragraph 4. Present the possible responses to these counterarguments.
Paragraph 5. Conclusion: A coherent statement of your findings. Explain which of the two
positions you think is stronger, and why.

For example: The Cultural Differences Argument

Introduction: Presentation of the CD Argument
Counterargument a: the first premise (premise a)is false, or at least weak. Cultures actually have a common morality.
Counterargument b: The logic of the argument is flawed. Disagreement across cultures does not imply that there is no universal morality.
Reply to argument a. There might be good reasons for accepting premise a). nevertheless.
Reply to argument b. Perhaps this counterargument is not sound.
Conclusion.

Each part of the text should fit in with those preceding it, and should be presented as such (“the first objection is that…” “It has been argued that this argument commits a fallacy”… “furthermore,” “finally,” “in conclusion” etc).
The worst thing you can do is state something in the conclusion that contradicts the rest of the essay. This simply shows a lack of understanding. Another serious error is mixing up two different arguments for the same claim- for example the CD argument and the Tolerance argument.
Good philosophy essays have a clear structure- a sequence of paragraphs that slot together into a coherent whole. It is often possible for a marker to distinguish the A- essays from the C’s within seconds, just by looking to see whether they are written in paragraphs or not. (Of course, that isn’t how I mark them!). Numbering paragraph sections might also be suitable (1.1, 1.2, 1.3 etc).

2). Style
Include everything about the argument that is relevant, but explain it as efficiently as possible.
Do not skip over important argumentative points.
Write as impersonally as possible.
Do not mention anything that is not relevant to the argument.
Do not write long introductions or conclusions.
Do not write general statements, like

Since the dawn of time, philosophers have argued over whether the soul is immortal.

This is sloppy. Philosophical writing should be hard and sharp.

A good style guide is the William Strunk and E. B. White text The Elements of Style. (Available free on Wikipedia).

Avoid redundancy. Write concisely.

If a word, a sentence or a paragraph can be removed without changing your argument, take it out.

Grammar and Syntax:
Only the quality of the argument is relevant in marking philosophy essays. Having said that, if the grammar is so poor that it is not clear what you are trying to say, this will seriously harm the essay.

3). Coherence
The argument should be clear. An intelligent, non- philosophy student should be able to read the essay and understand your writing perfectly. Further, do not write something that you don’t yourself understand, or you can’t explain to someone face to face.

4). The Principle of Charity
Explain the argument that you are discussing as strongly as possible. This is so that, when you analyze it, you are testing the strongest version of that argument. Analogy: a medical researcher who is looking for a cure for a disease wants to show that the cure works on even the strongest version of that disease.


5). References.
All quotations or citations should be referenced. We’ll use the Chicago Manual of Style rules.

Do not give references to my lectures or course notes. These are not publications. And they aren’t original. The first time you cite a reference, you put the full reference in a footnote, and tell the reader which abbreviation you will use, like this:

Geoffrey Gorer (1905-1985) wrote The Life and Ideas of Diderot (hereafter LID),in 1934, motivated, he wrote, to understand the rise of Capitalism.

Whenever you refer to the same text again, just give the letters and pagination (page numbers), like this:

Writes Gorer, “for this reason alone, I consider Doraemon a classic of
Japanese anime” (LID:231).

Put short quotes in brackets (“”). Put longer quotes in 10- point font and indent them an inch from the edge. This makes it easier to read them.
Only use quotes when it is not possible or appropriate to paraphrase.
Bibliography references (at the end of the essay) for a book should be like this:

Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Anti-Christ. trans. Michael Tanner. London: Oxford University
Press, 1972.

For an essay in a journal:

Newfield, Paul “Nietzsche’s Dream: Romantic Love in Zarathustra,” Corporate
Philosophy (Vol 3 no.4: November 2001):34-35.

Online resources used should have a full URL.(web address) , as well as the date that you accessed it, so that I can go straight to it.

DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA.
EVER.
It is high- quality graffiti. It is not a reference work.


6). PROOF READ
When you finish writing an essay, put it in a drawer and go have a coffee or something. Come back to it after a few hours and do the final check. Don’t rely on anyone else to find your errors, and do not rely on spill- checking software. (spell checking software). Finally, don’t even bother writing the introduction until the rest of the essay, in particular the conclusion, is finished.

If you just hand in the first draft and rely on luck, you’re just throwing marks away.

7). Hard Copy

Type the essay on a computer. Use 12 point font (10 point for indented quotes), and use double spacing, so that I can write comments in the margins. I prefer Times New Roman font. Please number the pages and staple the essay together. NEVER hand in an original essay without keeping a spare copy. That’s just asking for trouble.

8). Plagiarism.
Don’t even think about it. At the least, you will fail the course. Refer to the Lakeland College Information Booklet for details.

Summary:
How are philosophy essays marked?

Spelling, grammar, research and so on are secondary to whether the following objectives have been met.

1).Show that you have understood the essay question
2).Show that you have understood the material
(by this I mean the arguments and positions discussed in the lectures- I don’t expect
anyone to be able to understand every line of Kant in the original).
3).Show that you have answered the essay question
4).Show that you have understood the philosophical problem(s) at hand
5).Show that you have thought about the problem
6).Express your own reasoning in a clear, structured manner.

Basically, philosophy essays fall into four classes.
D- range (fail)- did not answer the question. Did not show understanding.
C-range- Answered the essay question, correctly, but did not show clear understanding.
B- range- Answered the essay question, showed understanding; did not show much original discussion.
A- range- Answered the essay question, showed understanding of the material, gave an original analysis.


Pitfalls

Avoid all writing that does not directly contribute to the argument of the essay
Avoid merely expressing an opinion
Avoid fallacies
Avoid excessive quotation.


Dr. Geoffrey Roche
Lakeland College Shinjuku

Ethics Course Blog
Lecture notes and so on:
www.unblinking-gaze.blogspot.com