Topic: philosophy

Order Description Paper-Writing Dos and Don’ts Do • ... ask yourself, “What is my main idea in this paper?” Your paper needs to have a central claim it is making, and it should appear in either the first or the second paragraph. • ... be as specific, explicit, and concrete as possible. (See the section on “Clarity) • ... support your main idea with argument and evidence. (See the section on “Reason”) • ... avoid thesis statements that are obvious or trivial. Read your paper and ask yourself, “So what?” If there is no interesting way to disagree with your argument, then your argument is probably not interesting. • ... step back and be self-critical. Write part (or all) of your paper, put it aside for a day or two, and then go back and reread it, as if you were someone else — someone who doesn’t know what the author is trying to say, someone who must discern the ideas solely from the words on the page. Be merciless! • ... think carefully about your choice of words. Remember that every word makes a difference to the overall meaning of a sentence. Always ask yourself if there’s a clearer and more precise way of saying what you want to say. • ... cite your sources fully in footnotes and/or a bibliography. Don’t • ... begin your essay with a grandiose introductory paragraph or sentence, for example, “Since the dawn of time ...” or “Mankind has always wondered whether …” Such sweeping pronouncements are almost always either false, trivial, or hopelessly speculative. Just get to the point. • ... assume the reader can read your mind. Explain everything. It may seem excruciating and tedious, but failing to articulate your point fully will leave your reader in the dark. • ... use quotations as a crutch to avoid speaking in your own voice. If you’re discussing or analyzing a text, don’t let it do all the talking for you. Make your point in your own words as much as you can, then quote the text sparingly when you need to, as supporting evidence. • ... sprinkle your prose with free-floating indexicals like “this” and “these.” Be especially careful not to begin a sentence with “This,” unless it’s absolutely clear what it refers to in the previous sentence. • ... rely heavily on passive voice. Passive voice obscures the agency of the action and muddles your prose. Instead of saying, “It is assumed that the perpetrator must have been a man,” say “Creon assumes that the perpetrator must have been a man.”