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Term Paper Part 3

Philosophy 130 Fall 2010

Term Paper Part 3: Final Draft

*Note: the term paper due date has been extended to Tuesday, December 7.*

Your term paper will have three main sections: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.

Introduction

The introduction will be fairly short, and will have 3 parts:

1. “Motivating the question”: give just a very brief background about what makes your question interesting and difficult (in other words, explain why it’s an important question to address).
2. Say what conclusion you’ll argue for in your paper. Philosophy papers are different from English papers this way – you’ll repeat your conclusion at the end, but you also start off by saying what you’ll be arguing for. (“In this paper, I’ll argue that we should do away with capital punishment.”)
3. Give a very brief outline of the main reasons you have for your conclusion. (“Because it fails to act as a deterrent to crime; research shows that its application is strongly biased against the poor and racial minorities; it devalues human life; and any method of application will constitute cruel and unusual punishment.”)

Body

The body of the paper will constitute most of the length of the paper. It should have 3 or 4 (possibly more, depending on how many main premises you have) main part. Each of the main reasons you have for your conclusion will be a main part of the body of the paper. Like this:

Premise 1

1. Explain your first premise (“Capital punishment does not act as a deterrent to murder”)
2. Give all the evidence and arguments you have to support your premise (show us why we should believe that your premise is true)
3. Say what someone might argue against you – give the best possible arguments against your premise
4. Show why those arguments against you are either wrong, or are outweighed by more important factors

Premise 2

1. Repeat steps a through d above for each subsequent premise.

Conclusion

The conclusion will be fairly short. Just remind the reader of what you argued for, and what your major premises were. The conclusion is just restating the shape of your general argument, because you’ll have gotten into so much detail in the body of the paper. You should not include any new arguments in the conclusion. If you have a point to make, make it in the body of the paper and defend it.

Citations

You should cite your sources in both of two ways in your paper. Use MLA style.

1. Parenthetical citations: whenever you’ve used someone else’s words or ideas in the body of your paper, those words, or that idea, should be immediately followed by a parenthesis with the author’s name and the page or paragraph number from where you got the information.
2. Works Cited page: include all the required bibliographical information for each source on a separate page at the end of your paper.

General Instructions

• Your paper should be typed, double-spaced, and around 8 pages long.
• Cite all of your sources properly, using both parenthetical citations and a Works Cited page
• Number every page after page 1
• Include your name, the name of the class and the section number, and the date
• Do not use a cover sheet
• Late papers will not be accepted unless you have contacted me prior to the due date to arrange for an extension

Here's a link to a PDF of the assignment: Term Paper Part 3

Presenting an Extended Argument

Organizing and Presenting an Extended Argument

In addition to the quality of the content of your argument, you have three main goals for your presentation:

• Clarity
• Depth
• Maintaining interest

Clarity

By the time you present your group project to the class, you’ll be very familiar with all of the issues and questions raised by your topic, and familiar with the arguments. Don’t forget that many people in the class will have only a glancing familiarity with the topic, though – you have to make sure that you present the material clearly so that they can follow your arguments.

1. Determine your main arguments – these will form the basic outline of your presentation. For example, a group that was arguing about capital punishment might decide, after an extended discussion, on the following basic outline:

a. Thesis: Capital punishment is ethically indefensible, for the following reasons

b. Premise 1: capital punishment devalues human life

c. Premise 2: evidence shows that capital punishment does not deter crime

d. Premise 3: evidence shows that the application of capital punishment is strongly biased against racial minorities and the poor, and

e. Premise 4: any available method of killing the convicted person would constitute cruel and unusual punishment, violating the 8^th amendment to the U.S. Constitution

2. Use this outline frequently in your presentation. At the beginning of your presentation to the class, after a brief introduction to the issue in general, tell the class clearly: what thesis you’ll be arguing for, and the three or four main arguments you’ll make to support that thesis (“Today, we’ll be arguing that capital punishment is ethically indefensible, for these four reasons etc.”). Then, in the same order you just presented those main arguments to the class, go through each of your three or four main arguments and support them with argument and evidence (“First, we’ll show you why the use of capital punishment devalues human life: argument argument argument” “Furthermore, contrary to the assertions of those who support capital punishment, capital punishment does not deter any crime: argument argument statistics argument.” Etc.).

3. Back this outline up with visual aids. You MAY NOT use a computer-based slide presentation program like PowerPoint or Keynote. Use one or more of the following: posters, the blackboard, or transparencies. Your goal is to lay out your thesis and three or four main arguments visually for the class so that they can continue to refer back to it briefly during your talk. You’ll be going into each of the main arguments in depth, and it will be all too easy for the audience to get lost in the details of the presentation, and forget how those details fit into the argument as a whole. By making posters or some other visual aid (they have to be large enough for the class to read) with a basic summary of the main arguments (see number 1 above) that the class can continue to refer to throughout your talk, you make it a lot easier for them to follow.

Depth

You want to present a really persuasive and sophisticated argument on this topic. That means you should include as much of your evidence as is feasible in your presentation. Show the class in detail why you think your conclusions are right by including the argument and evidence you have to support those conclusions.

Be sure to include considerations of the strongest possible opposing arguments. Be very clear when you’re considering an opponent’s argument and when you’re rebutting that argument (for example, be sure to introduce each opposing argument with something like “an opponent might argue…,” “someone might argue against us that…,” “you might object that…,” etc.). Then introduce your rebuttal by saying something like “this argument fails, however, because…,” “this is mistaken because…,” etc.

Don’t forget to give your rebuttal (show why your opponent is wrong and you’re right)!

Holding Audience Attention

You’ll be presenting a detailed, extended argument with lots of pieces that fit together. Going through three to four sub-arguments in detail, considering opposing arguments, and rebutting opposing arguments takes longer than you think – typically, these presentations actually last for about 40 minutes each.

In order to hold your audience’s attention, think about breaking up the style of your presentation a bit. You might intersperse straight lecture-style presentation with some back-and-forth argument between group members, take a couple of questions from the class at the end of every segment, or present each sub-argument in a slightly different style.

Preparing for the Presentation

You’ll only have 40 minutes total for your presentation, so be sure to be on time and ready to begin!

As part of your group’s preparations, prepare your ideal presentation in advance, and then get together to practice running through the presentation. Don’t forget that you’ll need time to set up visual aids, get the group together, arrange desks if necessary, and set up the room. See if your practice run-through fits into 40 minutes or less. If it goes over, think about what can be cut out while still retaining the strength of your argument.

Work as a group in developing and organizing the entire presentation – don’t parcel out sections of the presentation to individual group members! This should be a seamless whole, and you should all be aware of everything that’s going to be presented.

Presentation Style

Your group may choose any style in which to present your arguments. The only criteria are: (1) everyone must have participated in the development of the arguments and the development of the presentation; (2) your presentation must cover all of the necessary ground to substantiate the argument, in a fair amount of depth. Don’t choose a slick and entertaining style of presenting unless you can do so without any sacrifice of content.

Here's a link to the PDF of this document: Organizing and Presenting an Extended Argument

Example Posters

			Because: it devalues human life,		It does not deter crime (i.e., fails to accomplish its stated purpose)
	Capital Punishment is ethically indefensible:

	Its application is biased against minorities and the poor, and		It violates the 8th amendment (it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment).

Forum: Background Assumptions and Bias

Think about your sub-topic for your term paper. Then spend AT LEAST 10 full minutes brainstorming about what background assumptions, knowledge, principles, preferences, and ideas might influence the way you perceive arguments about your sub-topic.

Post your answers in comments. Don't forget to include an explanation of your sub-topic.

Photo of Rodin's Le Penseur (c) 2005 by Piero d under Creative Commons Attribution license
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