Outllines

An Outline of A Philosophy Paper

    Although philosophy papers can appear very complex, they all follow a basic structure which can be modified to suit your needs. Although it is written, a philosophy paper can be seen as a combination of a lecture and a conversation; your goals should be to combine the two. First, like a lecture, you must always make sure that your reader understands what you are saying. The burden of understanding is on the author not the reader. In other words, it is not simply up to the reader to struggle to understand the text -- although he or she must do that. It is essential that you, as the author, be as clear as possible and that you make every effort to be understood. Second, also like a lecture, you must use examples and be clear about identifying main points in connection with them. Always use examples that are easier to understand than the point you are trying to illustrate and never assume that the connection is obvious. Always explain why you used the example and how it is connected.

    Like a conversation, a philosophy paper requires making room for other opinions and for responding to that opinion. A paper requires that you include criticism of your own view and that you respond to that criticism. Always criticize yourself and your opponent fairly, don't misrepresent either opinion for the sake of a few paragraphs. In other words, don't provide criticisms that you yourself think are silly or not worth discussing.

Some Basic Paper-Writing Tips:

- When writing, don't think of the professor as the audience. Use your peers as your standard of understanding. Ask yourself if your roommate, or partner, or brother or sister -- all of whom are not members of the class -- could understand the paper. Have you provided enough information that they, without reading the required text, can follow the argument, can understand your explanations, and can evaluate your position?

- Always define your terms. Any word that has special...