The eight skills just listed are so central to philosophical writing that we may count them among the criteria most instructors use in grading essay assignments. Keep these eight skills in mind as you read the rest of this book, and we will dig into each more deeply in just a moment. But first, let us review the more general criteria that guides instructors in evaluating your written work.
Understand the assignment
Some students regard the classroom instructor as their boss. I won’t debate the merits of this analogy, but I do suggest that, where assigned work is concerned, the better comparison is to a customer or client. Given an assignment, your first task is to understand what your customer wants, so that you can deliver it and create customer satisfaction.
Sometimes, a professor will explain assignments orally. Sometimes these instructions will be delivered when the assignment is made. Sometimes they will be given as part of general introductory remarks at the start of the semester. Sometimes instruction will be a combination of both general and specific remarks. In other cases, the professor will create written instructions.
In whatever form the assignment is given, understand all instructions and guidelines. If you were absent on the day that the assignment was discussed, visit the professor after class or during office hours. You might also ask a classmate for his or her notes. Read your own notes. Read any handouts or online messages. Be certain you understand what is being asked for. If you have questions, ask them—and do so as early in the process as possible. Do not hesitate to ask for an explanation or clarification of anything you do not understand. Asking questions is at the heart of philosophy. Your instructor knows this and appreciates it.
Understand the criteria for evaluation of the assignment
Your instructor may deliver, orally or in writing, specific or general criteria by which your work will be evaluated. Take the requirements seriously. If the criteria are not clear to you, ask questions. If you are uncertain of the scope of the assignment—what you should/may include or consider and what you should/may exclude—ask questions about this.
Beyond any specific criteria your professor may stipulate, you can generally count on being judged by the following:
Originality (and absence of plagiarism). Nothing will kill your grade—and your reputation with it—faster than plagiarism. If you borrow, steal, rip off another author’s words or ideas without attributing their source and/or with the purpose of passing them off as your own, you are committing plagiarism. This has nothing to do with copyright infringement, which is a violation of federal civil law. If you try to pass off the words of John Locke (1632-1704) as your own, you won’t be sued for copyright infringement, because his works are in the public domain, but you will still be guilty of plagiarism, an offense against ethics, which is not tolerated in academia. Giving credit where credit is due by citing anything you borrow from another writer will save you from an accusation of plagiarism, but it may not save you from a disappointing grade. Unless your assignment asks you to collect writings on a certain philosophical issue or subject and present quotations from them, your professor expects a significant degree of originality from you, not just a collection of quotations.
Clarity. Review what has already been said about clarity and follow the advice given. Failing to create clarity will sabotage even the most brilliant writing. Imagine your favorite movie. What kind of review would you give it if the only version available was dark and blurry?
Structure (organization). We have already touched on structure and will have more to say about it as we explore specific approaches and subjects. The basics are simple. Devote your opening paragraph to an announcement of the tasks or objectives you are undertaking in the essay and then provide an overview or preview of the principal parts of the paper. Sometimes the nature of the assignment will dictate a specific type of organization. Sometimes the professor will even specify the basic parts of the paper. In these cases, follow instructions. Deliver what your “customer” orders.
Language and tone. Correct grammar, syntax, and even spelling count. Literacy is a baseline requirement of any assignment. We will have more to say about this shortly but know that you can intercept a great many errors on rereading your paper for a second draft. Never plan on turning in your first draft. Some of the most creative steps in writing take place in a second or third draft. Leave plenty of time between your first and second draft—at least overnight and preferably a full twenty-four hours. In reviewing your own work, look for more than grammatical and other errors. Rewrite anything that is obscure—that makes you read it over again. Transform passive voice into active voice where you can and break up unusually long or complicated sentences into smaller units. Check your vocabulary. If a word does not seem quite right, find another. Achieve precision.
Let’s add a word on tone. “Tone” describes how a written work conveys the writer’s attitude. Word choice can convey seriousness or flippancy. It can convey sarcasm or sincerity. Word choice may create a tone appropriate or inappropriate to the subject. If you are writing on a serious issue in ethics, for instance, you want to ensure that your choice of words reinforces rather than undercuts your argument. If you are writing on a complex issue of aesthetics or epistemology, you should use vocabulary appropriate the subject, including technical terms that have specific meaning in these areas of philosophy. Where special terminology is essential to the discussion, you will be evaluated in part on how you use these terms. It is up to you to acquire the understanding required to establish a knowledgeable tone.
Tone is also important when you are making an argument for one point of view or another in the case of a controversial subject. You can express a strong point of view, but it is always counterproductive to use language that conveys a closed mind.
Topic or thesis. Often, the choice of topic will be left to you. Even when a subject area or topic is specified, it may well be up to you to fashion a thesis or a hypothesis concerning it. Your choice of topic or thesis is one of the first features of your essay the reader will evaluate.
A topic has a Goldilocks zone. It should be neither too narrow nor too broad, but just right. If it is too broad, it will be impossible to cover adequately in the space of a typical essay exam, paper, or even term paper. If it is too narrow, the subject is likely to be too limited or too trivial to be worth writing about. Similarly, if you are formulating a thesis, hypothesis, or argument, it should not be so general or noncontentious that agreement will be virtually universal. (“Child molestation is immoral.”) On the other hand, if you take a point of view that is bizarre, outlandish, or far-fetched, it will be virtually impossible to make a viable or even plausible argument in its defense. (“Sometimes, child molestation is justifiable.”) Philosophy professors have little interest in affirmation of the bland and the easy, but neither are they typically impressed by an attempt to shock.
Argument and consistency. Because argument is so central to most philosophical writing, we will have a good deal more to say about it. For now, understand that your instructor is looking for a strong argument, which means an argument supported by evidence and reasoning that any intelligent and unbiased (open-minded) reader would find compelling. Moreover, your argument should be clearly and effectively organized, exhibiting an understanding of both inductive and deductive reasoning. It should also exhibit consistency, with terms defined and then used in accordance with the definition and without shifts in the definition (equivocation). No statement or conclusion should conflict with another. If an apparent conflict emerges in your discourse, it must be explained and resolved. It cannot be left standing.
Argumentative balance and accuracy. An argument for one point of view cannot simply ignore other points of view. If, for instance, you present and advocate for an ethical argument against abortion, you must also present relevant ethical arguments in favor of abortion and persuasively argue how and why they are flawed. As you cannot simply ignore the alternatives to your point of view, you must not misrepresent or distort them but must take care to present them accurately. A common flaw in arguing against a position is to create a so-called strawman to represent the opposing position and then knock that down. For instance, some who support stringent voter ID laws defend them by arguing that they are needed to combat “rampant” voter fraud. Statistics, however, do not support the contention that voter fraud is rampant. In fact, by the numbers, it is quite rare. The voter fraud argument in favor of voter ID laws is therefore a strawman.
Research. In many introductory philosophy courses, writing assignments do not call for research. In fact, one prominent philosophy professor advises students that they are “unlikely” to find most library research helpful in writing a paper for an introductory philosophy course. “Professional philosophers usually write for one another, not for the general public, and what they write for one another is often technical and obscure for the beginner.” There is some truth to this, but research is not limited to reading the work of professional philosophers. For instance, if you are asked to argue for or against abortion rights, you will probably want to find legal opinions and decisions, medical opinions, ethical opinions, statistics, and so on to support your argument. Your research should be relevant and never one-sided, and it should come from informed, unbiased, and credible sources. Philosophy professors are accustomed to evaluating the quality of data sources, and they will evaluate those you use.
Housekeeping. How you present your paper communicates how seriously you take your work. It should be thoughtfully formatted, and if your instructor prescribes certain formatting rules, follow them. If you believe that your approach cannot follow the prescribed format, discuss the matter with your professor before proceeding. Follow any instructions you are given concerning citation of sources and footnoting. Professional philosophers often use documentation (citation and footnoting) styles prescribed by the Modern Language Association (MLA), the American Psychological Association (APA), or the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). If your instructor does not specify one of these models to follow, ask. CMS is often the default choice.
