Writing in Philosophy

Writing is especially important in philosophy because it allows you to clarify your ideas and arguments. Often times writing your ideas down reveals problems or areas that need improvement. Furthermore, writing is the primary medium for the exchange of philosophical ideas. Thus, to do philosophy well, one must write well. This page contains notes on form and standards for writing in the English language. I recommend reading this guide and then looking at a sample philosophy essay written by a college student, such as:

Notes:

  • If you need help figuring out how to write an essay in general, see my “How to Construct an Essay.”
  • Much of this page was adapted from “How to Analyze a Philosophical Essay,” which was initially written by Dr. G. R. Mayes (of CSU Sacramento). I have used much of it here with his permission. I have made some changes to the original, however.

Table of Contents:

  1. The Paper Topic
  2. Writing Style
  3. Format
  4. Content
  5. Grading Rubric
  6. Relevant Links

1. The Paper Topic

To write a philosophy paper, first, read the paper assignment prompt (a.k.a. topic prompt) several times. Make sure you understand exactly what you’re being asked to do. (It’s also a good idea to reread your assignment prompt throughout the writing process, including when you are writing your final draft, to make sure you stay on topic.)

Sometimes the assignment prompt gives you very narrow and specific directions for what to write on (for example, explain and evaluate Anselm’s ontological argument). This is good. In general, your paper should have a more narrow than broad topic. And now the topic is already found for you.

However, often times you will be asked to find a topic on your own (for example, you are merely asked to critically analyze an article or text such as Plato’s Republic or Frege’s “On Sense and Reference”). If this is the case, then you will need to select an aspect of the text that you find particularly interesting, troubling, exciting, confusing, or problematic. By an aspect of the article, I do not mean a particular section of words or bits of language; I mean a claim or set of claims to which the author is committed, either by explicitly arguing for them, or presupposing them.

Note: before you can select a topic, you should make sure to read the text(s) of interest several times until you think you understand it fairly well.

2. Writing Style

Your paper should be concise and thorough. Absolutely do not engage in:

  • Unnecessary editorializing
  • Pointless repetition
  • Personal attacks on the author or questioning of the author’s psychological motives
  • Complaining about the author’s writing style or choice of words

In short, always strive to express yourself in the simplest, clearest, and most precise terms possible. The paper should demonstrate a strong grasp and command of the material from the course. Remember that accuracy is still important regarding fine details—even minor differences in words can drastically change the meaning of a sentence.

Furthermore, a good essay goes beyond a typed up version of your class notes by demonstrating that you know how all the material connects together conceptually. (For example, providing your own examples to illustrate a point, whether in someone’s argument or your own, can often help to demonstrate that you understand the material.)

Don’t write as if your reader is the instructor, teaching assistant, or whomever is going to grade your paper. Instead, write as if your reader is someone who is intelligent, about your level of education, but has not studied the material in your topic before. So, make sure to define all technical terms. (A good rule of thumb: if you first learned the word or phrase in the class, then you should probably explain what it means to your reader.)

3. Format

There are two main types of philosophy paper assignments:

  1. Expository (Explanatory) – this type of paper assignment asks you only to explain something (for example, somone’s argument) and not to evaluate or critique it.
  2. Evaluative (Critical / Argumentative) – this type of paper assignment asks you to explain and evaluate something (for example, somone’s argument). This involves exposition like the previous assignment type but evaluation as well.

Expository papers should have the following sections:

  • Introduction
  • Exposition
  • Summary (optional)

in that order.

Evaluative papers should have the following sections:

  • Introduction
  • Exposition
  • Evaluation
  • Summary (optional)

in that order.

4. Content

Construct each section of your paper along the following guidelines.

1. Introduction

This section must accomplish the following tasks in the following order. A good option is to devote a single short paragraph to each task.

  1. Identify the article, and describe in one or two sentences what problem(s) it addresses and what view(s) it defends. Orient the reader to the topic and provide a conceptual map of the rest of the paper.
  2. State precisely which aspect(s) of the article your analysis will address and precisely what you intend to accomplish. This is something like a thesis statement. This must not be a vague statement like “I will evaluate the author’s views…” or “I will show where I agree and where I disagree….”. Rather, it must be a very specific and concise statement of the case you intend to make, and the basic considerations you intend to employ in making it. (You will probably find it impossible to write this section before your analysis has gone through the rough draft phase.)

Avoid lengthy or dramatic introductions, especially if they insult the discipline. For example, it’s not a good idea to write: “From the dawn of time, philosophers have debated the free will problem, and it will never ever be resolved, even though philosophers will continue blathering on about it forever.”

2. Exposition

The basic rules for constructing an exposition are as follows:

  1. For the most part, you should explain only those aspects of the article that are relevant to your evaluation. If you explain more than that, it should only be because anything less will not provide the reader an adequate understanding of the author’s basic concerns. Do not produce an unnecessarily lengthy or detailed explanation. As a general rule of thumb, the exposition and evaluation will usually be roughly equal in length.
  2. The exposition should present the author’s views in the best possible light. It must be a thorough, fair, and completely accurate representation of the author’s views. Misrepresentation of the author’s views, especially selective misrepresentation (i.e., misrepresentation for the purpose of easy refutation) is wrong and will be heavily penalized (recall the straw man fallacy).
  3. The exposition should contain absolutely no critical/evaluative comments. (This restriction does not prevent you from expressing some uncertainty about what the author is saying, however. )
  4. The exposition should be organized logically, not chronologically. Each paragraph in the exposition will ordinarily present argument(s) the author makes in support of a particular position. This means that, depending on the organization of the article itself, a single paragraph from the exposition may contain statements that are made in very different places in the article. The exposition itself should be organized in a way that makes the author’s views make sense. Under no conditions are you to simply relate what the author says the way she says them. An exposition that goes something like: “The author begins by discussing… Then she goes on to say… then, etc.” is very bad.

3. Evaluation

Your evaluation (a.k.a. critique) should be organized in a way that reflects the structure of your exposition. This is easy to do since you have selected for exposition only those aspects of the article about which you have something to say. Be sure your evaluation obeys the rules laid out in the Writing Style section above.

The evaluation should engage carefully with some of the primary texts in the literature. Don’t just summarize views; extract the detailed arguments from the texts themselves and scrutinize them. You don’t have to defend a groundbreaking theory or idea, but you should push the discussion forward, beyond what’s already in the literature you’re engaging with. (Note: If you find yourself struggling to come up with your own ideas, go back and re-read the papers you aim to engage with, or read related articles in the literature. That should help get your thoughts going.)

There are two main approaches to doing an evaluation:

Negative Evaluation

For a negative evaluation, define your project in terms of arguments and views with which you disagree. In your evaluation, show how the author’s conclusion is problematic either because:

  1. the author’s reasons (or premises) are false (or implausible), or
  2. the author’s reasoning is faulty or fallacious (the reasons don’t make the conclusion true or probable), or
  3. the author has failed to make other important considerations that tend to undermine the conclusion.

Positive Evaluation

For a positive evaluation, define your project in terms of arguments and views with which you basically agree. In your critique, consider ways in which the author’s views might reasonably be criticized. Then attempt to strengthen the author’s position by showing how these criticisms can actually be met. If you use this technique, be sure you don’t consider criticisms that the author actually does respond to in the context of the article (unless, of course, you think that the author has failed to answer the objections effectively).

Note: The evaluative part of your analysis should demonstrate an awareness of other relevant readings. You should be careful to note when you are reproducing criticisms that are made by other authors, especially those read in the class. You should be careful to include or consider important criticisms made by other authors when they are clearly relevant to your own concerns.

4. Summary (Optional)

A summary is optional (note: a summary is often misleadingly called a “conclusion”). However, if your analysis is sufficiently complicated, it may help the reader to briefly recapitulate the steps you have taken in reaching your conclusions. The summary should be very short and it should contain no new information or claims. This restriction prevents you from making closing comments which are not sufficiently articulated in the body of the paper. For example, avoid pronouncements like: “Thus, the problem of free will remains unresolved as it always will, for it is one of the many mysteries in this great universe that our feeble human minds cannot fully comprehend.”

5. Grading Rubric

Here are the criteria I use to grade philosophy essays in my classes. 

  1. Task Completion (20%):
    • The essay completes the entire task set forth by the instructor in the assignment instructions.
    • Makes an argument by doing some critical evaluation that ultimately pushes the discussion forward, beyond the arguments and ideas covered in the class.
    • The body of the paper supports the paper’s thesis with the student’s own thoughts but also grounded in the class readings, lectures, and (if appropriate) outside sources.
  1. Accuracy & Acumen (25%):
    • The essay demonstrates an accurate and precise understanding of the ideas, evidence, and arguments discussed. (Accuracy is still important regarding fine details.)
    • Demonstrates philosophical acuity in critically evaluating arguments and in anticipating and responding to objections.
  2. Depth & Clarity (25%):
    • The essay moves beyond simple description and summary to reflect a clear understanding of the topic and material. (Tip: Imagine the reader is someone who hasn’t taken this class. Think: “If my friend read this, would they be able to understand exactly what’s going on?” This will help you demonstrate your understanding of the material.)
    • Detailed when explaining key ideas. Focuses on quality or depth of analysis over quantity. But stays on topic; avoids going on tangents or adding details that aren’t crucial for understanding the issue at hand.
    • Uses examples to illustrate points (especially ones that connect the ideas to relatable experiences or events).
  1. Introduction & Thesis Statement (10%):
    • The essay avoids a lengthy or dramatic introduction. The introduction(1-2 paragraphs) briefly orients the reader to the topic in plain language and briefly describes the plan for the rest of the paper.
    • There is a clear thesis statement (usually best stated toward the end of the introduction) that addresses the paper topic and expresses an interesting claim to be defended. The thesis statement is clear, specific, and on-topic. (Students can absolutely use the first person in an argumentative essay, especially for their thesis statement—g. “I will argue….”)
  2. Structure & Organization (10%):
    • The body paragraphs are organized in a logical manner, appropriate in length, and ideally framed by topic sentences that make clear what the paragraph’s main point is. Ideally, there is some “signposting” that makes the structure of the discussion easy to follow, such as transitions and section headings. (The paper may have a short conclusion/summary, but it’s not required.)
    • Quotations aren’t overused. Quotes used only when necessary to ground discussion of someone’s view. Quotes, when used, are introduced, not just insertedwithout any explanation of who said it and what the relevance is.
  3. Style & Writing Mechanics (10%):
    • The paper demonstrates a command of the writing process and the author’s care in crafting it.
    • Uses good citation practices. Provides full bibliographic details (no particular citation style is required; any standard style, like APA, OK).
    • Avoids many errors of spelling, punctuation, grammar, sentence structure, etc. (But the writing doesn’t need to be fancy; clarity and organization of thoughts is most important.)

6. Relevant Links