Essay #1
PHL 210 Moral Philosophy
Assignment: Write a philosophical essay (excluding title and bibliography, at least 990 words and at most 1650 words, which is 3-5 pages of content) on some ethical question we have covered in class. You can use the following essay topics. You may also propose your own essay topic, but it needs to be cleared with me in advance. As a rough guide for how to think about your paper, consider using this Worksheet.
Requirements:
You are submitting on Canvas a non-fiction academic piece of writing, which meets the following expectations:
Formatting and Basics:
The essay has an original title and bibliography. The bibliography follows one of the recognized citation styles (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) Any citations follow that same style.
The essay has no name-date-class heading at the top. (I know that you have been trained to do a heading automatically for essays, but I grade essays anonymously. Canvas will know whose paper it is.)
The essay has an accurate word count at the end that does not include your title or bibliography.
The essay uses 12 point, non-silly font in black, 1″ margins.
The essay contains no obvious grammatical mistakes or misspellings.
Standard Structure of an Academic Essay:
The essay has an introduction including a thesis statement, which is the key claim that you accept and you will contend that readers should also accept. The thesis should clearly address the topic question.
The body of the essay is made up of discrete paragraphs, each of which is well-organized (each paragraph contains only one main idea) and builds upon other paragraphs to create a sustained a discussion.
The body of the essay ends with a brief conclusion.
Philosophical Content:
At some point in the body portion of the essay, you spend time clarifying a philosophically significant claim (usually the thesis or its reason) using definitions, distinctions, OR examples. (For explanations of these terms, see the Five Components handout.) This could be its own paragraph or part of another paragraph. Up to you.
At least one body paragraph is devoted exclusively to accurate discussion of one author we read from class. This author must have written one of the philosophical essays or chapters we have read, not the case studies. This paragraph could occur as part of general exposition of the topic after the introduction, or could be used an objection to your views. It could take place over more than one paragraph. Up to you.
At least one paragraph is devoted exclusively to trying to offer an argument for why your thesis is true. That is, it offers readers a “reason” in favor of your thesis. (For explanations of this term, see the Five Components handout.) You can spend more than one paragraph expanding upon the same reason, following up by challenging it with an objection, or you could have multiple reasons. Up to you.
Your body discussion contains at least one objection and one reply. (For explanations of these terms, see the Five Components handout.) The reply could be contained within the objection paragraph or a separate one. The objection could also be the same your accurate discussion of a source. Up to you.
Grading:
Did you follow all formatting and basics requirements exactly, including a title, word count at the end, margins, no name-date-class heading, and avoiding obvious spelling and grammar errors? = 15 points
Did your essay include an introduction with a relevant thesis? = 5 points
Did each body paragraph have a clearly identifiable main idea? = 10 points
Did your body paragraphs effectively build upon one another to create a sustained discussion? How well was this done? = 10 points
Was space in the body section spent clarifying an important claim using definitions, distinctions, or examples? How well was this done? = 15 points
Did you include at least one paragraph in which the views of some philosophical author were clearly and accurately presented? How well was this done?= 25 points
Did you include at least one paragraph in which you explained the reason in favor of your thesis? How well was this done? = 20 points.
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