Assignment Question
Using the reading This Is Water: David Foster Wallace answer the following and meet the criteria, Find a philosophical claim or a line of reasoning that interests you in the reading that you are discussing. It should play some significant role in the essay. It need not be the main thesis, but it should not be just an incidental remark in the essay. Your discussion will have as its theme either giving support for the truth of the claim, or for the soundness of the argument, or giving support for denying the truth of the claim or the argument’s soundness.
2. Use clear sentences. If a sentence in your paper is long or complicated, try to say the same thing into two or more simpler ones. Usually you can. Do not attempt to describe the broad significance to humanity, to history, or to philosophy, of either the essay that you are discussing or its topic.
3. At the beginning of your paper, provide a brief introductory description of what you intend your paper to accomplish. For instance, tell the reader that you are going to offer a new reason to accept a premise in the discussed essay’s argument for such- and-such conclusion, or that you are going to argue against the truth of such-and- such, which is the main thesis of section 3 of the essay.
4. Before making your main point, explain the role in the discussed essay of the claim or the reasoning that is your topic. Is it the main thesis, or the main thesis of a section of the essay? Is it the target of objections there? Something else? Use quotes, or close paraphrases, to substantiate your claim about the role of your topic in the essay discussed (properly reference all attributions in your paper with page references).
5. Present your main point. For instance, give your own argument in support of the claim in the reading that is your topic. Make clear the premises and conclusion of your argument and why they are worthy of belief. Or give your counterexample to the claim in the reading that is your topic.
Explain how your example shows us that the claim is untrue. Whatever sort of point you make, illustrate with examples to help the reader to see your point.
6. Present the strongest objection that you can think of that might be made against your own point. That is, give the best basis you can think of for someone to argue that your point is mistaken.
7. Reply to that objection with your best defense of your point. For instance, argue that the objection employs a doubtful assumption and explain something doubtful about it.
8. Connect idea(s) to FEED 9. Conclude with a brief summary of what your paper has tried to accomplish. This may largely repeat your introductory description of what the paper would do, but it can have differences that reflect the familiarity that the reader will have with your discussion. For instance, if you use an example involving a pineapple, then you can say in your concluding summary something like, “As my pineapple example illustrates …” it need be 5-8 pages, double spaced and work cited in MLA format
