Term Paper Part 1: Research

Here's a link to your first term paper assignment: Term Paper Part 1

Contact me right away with any questions, and don't forget to spend at least one hour researching outside of class for every hour we work on the project in class (that means you'll spend at least 4.5 hours of homework time on initial research).

Ask the librarians for help! They can suggest databases or other sources where you're likely to find helpful information; alternative key words to try in your searches; specialized encyclopedias that will give you a beginning and introduce concepts to follow up with; or books that will give you a good foundation (the bibliography in a good book on your subject is a great way to find further sources).

If you're having trouble finding helpful information, don't give up! Get in touch with me for help right away.

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

Example Argument Map

Arguments are an excellent tool for critical thinking. In arguments, we first research facts and reasons on all sides of an issue, then evaluate the information we've gathered to determine what is the best position on the issue. Finally, we organize our thinking systematically to persuade others.

Argument maps provide a way to organize and visualize all of the complex pieces of a good argument. Here is an example of an argument map I made about an issue that's often a popular essay topic for students.

This week, you'll begin to use argument maps to learn how to put together your arguments. Above is a brief example of an argument map I made (using a different program, so it looks slightly different from yours), to give you an example of what a good map would look like. Click on the map to get a full-sized version that you can examine.

Term Paper 2: Argument Map

Here's a link to the argument map site: Cartargrapher

Once you've logged in to Google, just go to "my maps" in the upper left corner to see a list of the different maps you've worked on.

Play around with it, to give yourself a sense of which arguments are best supported!

First Term Paper

Here's a link to your first term paper assignment: Term Paper One - Research

Get started right away so that I can help you if you run into difficulties while you're working on your paper. Remember that your group depends on you being prepared for discussions!

Your first term paper is due Thursday, October 7. Contact me right away if you're having trouble with anything.

Photo (c) DanTadd under Creative Commons attribution/generic license