Doug Thiel

Position Papers For Philosophy Classes

Instructor: Doug Thiel

To assist you in writing your philosophy papers, please indicate your thesis immediately after your title and prior to the first paragraph of your paper .

Example:

"Charity and the Demands of Ethical Conformity" (title of the paper)

thesis: Ellen Goodman's evaluation of the current AZT protocol in third world countries would require us to abandon "charity" for the sake of ethical conformity. I will argue that this position discounts the good intentions and benefits of charitable giving. It does not provide an ethical model for helping the less fortunate in a complex world.

The above thesis should be no more than three sentences. You may then repeat your thesis in the first paragraph of your paper.

Points to remember:

1.  You will have more experience with writing "research" papers than with a "position" paper. Remember, your "position paper" does not need to have outside sources, graphs, figures, or statistics.

2.  Your thesis is your viewpoint. However, unlike a mere opinion, you are going to defend your thesis with good reasoning. These reasons should be "neutral" as regards a pre-conceived religious affiliation. In other words, employ rational arguments that would appeal to both the "believer" and "non-believer" alike.

3.  Obviously, you want to avoid reliance on "fallacies" (the informal fallacies you studied in critical thinking courses) that would detract from your position.

4.  Do not summarize the article (or essay) that you are writing about. Your paper should not be structured as if it were a book report. However, it is okay to "clarify" points to indicate to the reader that you clearly understand the author's position.

5.  Your supporting argument should have sufficient grounds. In other words, don't reply on a single reason to be used as support for your position.

6.  Subject points in your argument to the test of a "general rule". If you advocate a certain position, attempt to translate it into a general principle or rule. Will this rule or principle work in other cases as well? This can also be used to critique the opposite point of view. Example: If is the conclusion of Ellen Goodman that we stop AZT distribution in Africa (because the AZT it is not distributed in the same manner as it would be in America) then shouldn't we stop all other charitable giving that does not conform to the same standards of distribution that we practice in this country?

7.  Employ "soft" language where possible. Example: Instead of. .."Ellen Goodman advocates an absurd position, it is very clear. that she hasn't given this AZT distribution much intelligent thought" ...use. .."It appears that Ellen Goodman does not give sufficient consideration to the negative consequences of denying AZT to poor countries on the grounds that it violates distribution rules. In Goodman's view, these distribution rules are the most important ethical standard that must be followed irrespective of dire circumstances.

8.  Do not use inappropriate, slang language or offensive words in your paper. Your paper should be something that you would want to see published or placed on the bulletin board for students and teachers to read.

Hopefully, your position paper will be fun to construct. Although you should be sensitive to rebuttal arguments, don't expect that your essay must be perfect and immune from any conceivable criticism. Begin with your position and write some "rough drafts" to outline your idea(s). Make revisions if you want to strengthen your argument and eliminate reasons that are not relevant. Strive for clarity.

The fun part is that you are "thinking" and writing. This is not something that you can "find" on the internet or through some other source. It is about you and your ability to conduct analysis and develop a critical response.

Remember, the grade does not reflect whether you have found the "right" answer (or assume that you need to "agree with" the instructor's position). It is about critical thinking and analytic writing. Therefore, your position is evaluated on "structure" and clear argument rather than the specific point of view. Regardless of the position you take, your paper should be clear, coherent, and unambiguous. Remember the basic criterions of acceptability, relevance, sufficient grounds and sensitivity to rebuttals (counter-arguments). I also believe that if you use the time you are in class to participate and stay involved in our discussions, you will find that you will receive ideas and stimulus that will assist you in your writing efforts.

Lastly, I have cut and pasted crieterion for a good paper developed by the English Department at Moorpark College...while it is not specific to position papers in philosophy, you can see that similiar concerns are expressed in this outline as was expressed in the one above (which shows that skills in one are overlap into other areas).

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

MOORPARK COLLEGE

STANDARD GRADING CRITERIA

These criteria apply to typical papers in English composition and literature courses. These standards do not consider a student's effort or ability; they apply only to the finished paper itself. A grade of C is considered adequate or satisfactory. Grades of A and B represent significantly higher performances, while D and F are not passing grades. Instructor may consider the context of the paper (type/level of the course, point in the semester, in-class preparation, focus of the assignment) in assigning a grade.

The A paper is an outstanding performance; it may exceed the expectations of the assignment. It is thought-provoking, elegant, passionate, persuasive. It meets and exceeds the requirements for the B paper.

THESIS: clear and cogent; original, significant, insightful; promises in-depth explanation of the topic.

ORGANIZATION: logical, creative organization growing naturally from thesis and content; strong introduction and conclusion.

DEVELOPMENT: paragraphs thoroughly developed and linked by unobtrusive, organic transitions; graceful use of varied rhetorical strategies as necessary (narration, cause & effect, process, etc.); rich variety of convincing reasons, explanations, examples, illustrations; concrete, powerful details.

LANGUAGE: grace and economy of expressions; conscious choice of language; vivid, precise, inventive creative word choice.

TONE/VOICE: authoritative, honest; awareness of audience.

SENTENCES: rich variety and complexity of sentence structure.

MECHANICS: mastery of conventions of edited standard English.

 

The B paper is a good, better-than-average performance. It is interesting and competent. It meets and exceeds the requirements for the C paper.

THESIS: clear and well-defined; asserts purpose of paper; is directly relevant to and addresses all parts of the assignment.

ORGANIZATION: logical organization; well-developed introduction and conclusion; paragraphs linked to thesis and to each other using effective transitions; conclusion grows out of paper and gives closure.

DEVELOPMENT: rhetorical strategies used as necessary (narration, cause & effect, process, etc.); coherent paragraphs, fully developed with supporting reasons, explanations, examples, illustrations; generalizations supported with relevant, specific details.

LANGUAGE: accurate word choice; concise sentences; some flair.

TONE/VOICE: Engaging, lively; some awareness of audience.

SENTENCES: some variety and complexity of sentence structure; free of basic

errors such as fragments, run-ons, subject/verb agreement.

MECHANICS: observes conventions of standard written English.

The C paper represents adequate, readable college-level writing. Choice of topic and thesis is appropriate to the nature of the assignment. It may not respond to all parts of the assignment.

THESIS: focus or controlling idea relevant to assigned topic; may be overly general or not closely linked to content of essay.

ORGANIZATION: some evidence of organization or rhetorical framework; clear beginning, middle, and end.

DEVELOPMENT: uses paragraphs and topic sentences; gives supporting reasons and examples, but may not be logically reasoned or fully developed. May not meet length requirement.

LANGUAGE: clear writing, mostly accurate word choice.

TONE/VOICE: consistent, but little sense of authorial voice.

SENTENCES: complete, mostly correct sentences; grammar, syntax, word choice

appropriate to topic.

MECHANICS: free of distracting errors of spelling and punctuation.

 

The D paper is confusing, difficult to read, unfocused. It does not demonstrate competent college-level writing.

THESIS: lacks a thesis or controlling idea; does not address assigned topic.

ORGANIZATION: unstructured or disordered; lacks clear beginning, middle, and end.

DEVELOPMENT: severely underdeveloped; poor sense of paragraphs: paragraphs overly long or short, arbitrarily or illogically ordered, incoherent or not unified; lack of support for ideas; lack of concrete detail; irrelevancies, redundancies, oversimplifications, filler.

LANGUAGE: unclear or incoherent writing.

TONE/VOICE: little awareness of audience.

SENTENCES: vague, wordy, confusing, or incomplete sentences.

MECHANICS: numerous distracting errors; nonstandard English.

 

The F paper is weak in several areas. It fails to communicate its ideas effectively. The writer may not understand the assigned question. It may be late without instructor approval. Plagiarized papers merit an automatic F.

THESIS: no attempt to respond to assignment.

ORGANIZATION: lack of organizing principle; lacks paragraphs.

DEVELOPMENT: seriously and consistently illogical and/or predicated on false premises. LANGUAGE: incomprehensible.

TONE/VOICE: little or no awareness of audience.

SENTENCES: numerous grammatical errors.

MECHANICS: numerous mechanical errors.

 

 

 

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Last updated: 12/04/03.