Essay Preparation
Contents
General Guidelines for Essays
Engage with the Assigned Authors and Works
Summarize the arguments given by the assigned authors. Cite relevant examples from the key works assigned. Quote the key authors. Compare and contrast the works. Then give your assessment of the arguments. Are they right or wrong?
Think of Your Fellow Students as Your Audience
Write your essay to an audience of your peers at school. And think of your audience as your fellow students who are not taking this particular class. Explain what you know, or think you have discovered — and explain that as clearly as possible to someone who doesn't know what you know, but who is also in college.
Use the Ordinary Language of Students
Since your reading audience is fellow students, use the language that students use. Keep the language simple and ordinary as much as possible. As much as you can, write the way you talk on a day-to-day basis. When the language necessarily gets complicated — which happens in the philosophy — take some time to unpack and explain the complicated language. Define technical terminology, and give alternate phrasings of complex constructions. Make sure that a typical college student will be able to follow along with your argument.
Construct a Cogent Argument
Give your own argument on the issue. Make sure your argument is cogent. State your thesis clearly, provide factually correct evidence, and show how the evidence you cite logically compels the reader to agree with your thesis (see Cogency). Your opinion in regards to the main question of the essay prompt is your thesis. Your explanation of why you think your opinion is correct is your argument.
In the rubric (below) you will see that most points are based on the cogency of your argument. Focus on argumentation, and avoid spending too many words on anything that does not contribute to your argument.
There are certain styles of writing that may work in other courses, but which will not be appropriate for this course. For example, a sequence of descriptions is not an argument. Likewise, a sequence of platitudes and clichés is not an argument.
Be Creative
Practice reworking your writing style. As indicated above, your writing should be rooted in the way that you talk on a day-to-day basis. But you also want to construct a philosophically cogent argument with the appropriate academic precision and completeness. To accomplish all of this you are going to need to be creative. Consciously work on transforming the way you ordinarily speak into something that effectively communicates — to a readership of your peers — the rigorous logic of your argument.
Follow the Chicago Manual of Style Tutorial
Before submitting your first essay, complete the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) Tutorial. Follow those guidelines for all essays.
Follow the Rubric
You will be graded using the rubric below. Use the rubric as a checklist. The rubric is the means by which your grade is calculated — not by anything else.
The Rubric
Please review the Rubric for Essays.
Cogency
Note that in the rubric above the most significant points are assigned for "cogency." See the following Wikipedia resources for an understanding of what "cogency" means.
Wikipedia, "Argument"
Wikipedia, "Argument Terminology Used in Logic"
Individual Exercises
Rubric Upload
The rubric is found above under "The Rubric." Simply create a copy of the file, and upload that. I just want to make sure that you have seen the rubric before you start working on your first essay.
Chicago Manual of Style
As indicated in the rubric, you will be required to use Chicago Manual of Style formatting for the essays. The following resources will give you a good understanding of the formatting style.
Introduction to Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) - Lecture Video
CMOS Described by Purdue Online Writing Lab
Create Your Google Account (If You Don't Have One Already)
How to Use Google Docs (If You Are Unfamiliar)
Chicago Manual of Style Template Document
After reviewing the resources above, watch the following tutorial. In this video I give you step-by-step instructions to create a CMOS document. Watch the video, and copy what I do, creating your own document. For the content of the document, you can just type exactly what I type. Save this document as a template for your essays.
Rough Draft
Write a rough draft of your essay. Include:
your main thesis
evidence, including at least one quote from the assigned authors and works
an argument demonstrating that your evidence logically supports your main thesis.
The rough draft does not need to be formatted in any particular way.
Feedback for a Fellow Student
Complete the following form to provide feedback on a rough draft written by a fellow student.
Read Markup of Previous Essay
Create a digital recording of you reading the graded and marked up copy of your previous essay. Read the content of your essay, and the comments that I made. If you have difficulty finding the markup file, ask your group for help. For full credit, record both audio and video.
Production quality and personal appearance are of no concern (to me). Complete the recording immediately and quickly. Try to do the recording in one take. I just want to make sure you have read my comments, and that you have read your own writing out loud. If you get interrupted during the recording, pause the recording and pick up where you left off, or simply create another recording picking up where you left off and submit multiple files. I will examine the recordings only to the extent necessary for establishing a grade. I will only check to see that it is of an appropriate length, and that you are consistently reading your essay throughout.
You do not have to read the rubric out loud. But please do look it over, and make sure you understand how the grading works.
Individual or Group Exercise
The following Google form can be completed as an individual or with a group. As needed, this will be assigned for readings.
Group Exercises
When assigned, you will complete the Google forms linked below with your assigned group.