How would the author defend their argument(s) against your critique in Part II? Put yourself in their shoes and try to think how they would argue to save their position. You should push the debate beyond class lectures and readings — i.e. in this part don’t merely explain material that we have already covered.

Term Paper: The paper is to be a critical examination of an argument presented in one of the required readings. The paper must be typed, double spaced, in 10 or 12 point type with normal margins. The paper should be at least 8 pages and no more than 15 pages long. State the position that you are defending clearly, preferably early in the paper and be sure to consider probable objections to the arguments you give. Each paper should contain Parts I–IV.

Part I. Choose one of the required readings and clearly present (explicate) the author’s position and arguments (if the author gives a number of arguments then pick one or two that you consider to be the most central). Be sure to explain what conclusion(s) they argue for and what evidence or support they give for their conclusion(s). Note: this is the most important part of the paper because it lays the groundwork for the rest of the assignment.

Part II. Give, in your view, the most damaging criticism of the argument or position explicated in Part I. Be sure to develop your criticism in some detail. Where exactly does the author go wrong? What empirical claims (matter of fact claims) do they make that are false, if any? Do not use the shotgun method — don’t briefly mention five or six problems, develop one or two in detail.

Part III. How would the author defend their argument(s) against your critique in Part II? Put yourself in their shoes and try to think how they would argue to save their position. You should push the debate beyond class lectures and readings — i.e. in this part don’t merely explain material that we have already covered.

Part IV. Present and defend your views on the subject that you have chosen to write about. Do you agree with the author? If so, why? If not, why not? Whatever your views be sure that you give reasons or arguments in support of them — remember opinions are only a starting point.

This assignment is intended to be primarily an independent piece of scholarship; some additional readings will probably be necessary, but comprehensive knowledge of the literature is neither expected nor desired. The point is to struggle through the issue you choose in a philosophically sophisticated way, making sense of the issues involved and the arguments that surround them, and defending a position which you find tenable on the basis of those arguments.

Please see syllabus for due date.

Plagiarism: If you consult sources and borrow direct quotes, paraphrased arguments, or ideas you must footnote or endnote your sources with complete bibliographic information.

Assignment Rubric: Term Paper

Part I: Presents, analyzes, and defends an argument given in an assigned reading. This must be done correctly or Parts II-III cannot be completed.

10.0 pts

Full Marks

10.0 pts

Part II: Attacks a premise given and supported as part of an argument discussed in Part I.

2.5 pts

Full Marks

2.5 pts

Part III: Defends the premise(s) and argument given in Part I against the critique offered in Part II. Does the student demonstrate the ability to take the different “roles” of critique and reply.

2.5 pts

Full Marks

2.5 pts

Part IV: The part that separates the high honor grade papers from the B-level papers. The student gives, analyzes, defends, critique, and responds to the critique . . . their own argument related to the topic or issue being discussed? This requires the student to go beyond what was covered in class material and to do some independent thinking and scholarship. Might consider issues of DEI etc.

15.0 pts

Full Marks

15.0 pts

Total

30.0 pts

Guidelines for Grading Written Work:

A The high honor grade goes to papers which,

— demonstrate a clear and insightful attack or presentation of the problem;

— develop a logical, coherent argument and a sequence of related paragraphs

which lead to clear conclusions; provides reasons for claims;

— show a firm grasp of classroom sessions and assigned readings and an ability to

use the right information in the right place in substantial enough amounts;

— adds something to what has been said about the problem in the classroom;

— are correctly written in a technical sense.

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