TAILIEUCHUNG - Writing Philosophy essays
How does one go about writing philosophy essays? Some of you may already have received, in other classes, detailed instruction on this matter. Some, however, may not. In Writing philosophy essays wil to offer a few suggestions concerning characteristics that I feel make for better essays. | Michael Tooley Department of Philosophy University of Colorado at Boulder WRITING PHILOSOPHY ESSAYS How does one go about writing philosophy essays? Some of you may already have received, in other classes, detailed instruction on this matter. Some, however, may not. In what follows, then, I want to offer a few suggestions concerning characteristics that I feel make for better essays. I. A Clear and Explicitly Stated Thesis In my experience, one of the best indicators of when an essay is likely not to be very strong is the absence of a clear statement, at the very beginning of the essay, of the thesis that the author is going to be defending. What I usually find is that when the writer has not indicated, in the opening paragraph, the thesis that is going to be defended, no thesis emerges later on. On the other hand, when a clear thesis is stated at the beginning, I usually find that the discussion that follows is generally well focused. Thesis Statement Checklist: Key Questions 1. Have I stated the thesis that I am going to be defending at the very beginning of my essay? 2. Is the statement of my thesis clear and concise? II. The Avoidance of Excessive ‘Stage-Setting’ Quite a common weakness consists in devoting too much of one’s essay to setting the stage – that is, to describing the background to the issue or question that one is going to tackle, thereby leaving too far too little time to setting out one’s own arguments, to defending one’s thesis, and to addressing possible objections. What is a good balance in this regard? My feeling is that in essays of the length that one is writing here, one should certainly not devote more than a third of one’s essay to describing the question or issue that one will be addressing, and that less than that would be even better. Using Your Space Properly Checklist: Key Question 1. Have I devoted at least two-thirds of my essay to setting out my own arguments and/or analyses, and considering objections? III. A Clear, Concise, .
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