To help you with writing your papers, we are going to spend some time in class discussing some model papers. On the following pages are three papers written for an Introduction to Philosophy class. They are actually adapted from some papers I have received over the years, but none is exactly by any particular student. The papers can be accessed by clicking the “Next” button at the bottom of the page.
Here was the assignment for these papers: In the Apology, Plato has Socrates tell the jury that if they released him on the condition that he stop doing philosophy, he would disobey them. In the Crito, on the other hand, Plato has Socrates say that one should never disobey one’s city. Develop and defend a thesis about this apparent contradiction. If you think the two positions are compatible, explain, with evidence from the text, how that can be. If you think that the one or the other of the passages is more definitive of Plato’s thought, explain why we should place less weight on what he says on the other passage. If you think Plato is, in fact, contradicting himself, try to help us understand what could have let him to such a contradiction. Do not assume that your reader automatically agrees with what you say.
Your assignment: Write an evaluation of the three papers. Read all three papers carefully, judging them by the paper rubric below. Give each paper a grade, according to the paper rubric, and write a paragraph explaining the strengths and a paragraph explaining the weaknesses of each paper. Turn in your report on the “Paper Preparation Exercise” page. This assignment must be completed before you can move on to the next unit.
Term Paper Rubric
1,Details:
A meaningful title, student name, course number, professor’s name, a date, page numbers, and works cited section at the end. References follow MLA style. Under five pages of double spaced text in length (there is no minimum length).
(10%)
2,Assignment:
Does the paper actually fulfill the assignment?
(10%)
3,Audience:
Should be written for members of this class who have already read the passage fairly carefully. Should not assume that the reader already agrees with the paper.
(5%)
4,Introduction:
Avoids pompous generalizations such as ‘since the dawn of time, men have always…’ Indicates what the paper is about, excites reader’s interest in the paper. States a thesis that the paper will defend. Possibly gives the reader a brief map of how the argument will proceed.
(10%)
5.Thesis:
Should be clear, but not obvious to someone who has already read the text. It should appear near the beginning of the paper, preferably in the first paragraph. Sometimes the thesis may even seem surprising, until the reader has actually read the paper and been convinced by the argument.
(15%)
6,Topic sentences:
Ideally each paragraph should begin with a topic sentence that offers support to the thesis. (Some writers recommend that if all topic sentences are put together they would form a summary of the paper).
(5%)
7,Evidence:
Points made should be backed up with evidence from the text. Check to see if the evidence actually supports the point being made. If you find that you can do this paper without detailed textual evidence, you are probably doing the assignment in too superficial a way.
(20%)
8,Avoiding unnecessary summaries:
Since the audience already is familiar with the text, the paper should not merely summarize the texts. Instead, the paper should focus our attention on aspects of the text that are important to supporting the thesis.
(15%)
9,Conclusion:
In a short paper, the conclusion should be more than just a repetition of what the reader has already read. Ideally, the conclusion gives the author an opportunity to draw broader implications, raise new ideas or reflections, or raise thoughtful questions.
(10%)
