How to Write a Philosophy Paper
Philosophical writing and thinking is distinct from other forms of scholarly
writing and thinking in a number of important respects. First, although all scholarly
writing aspires to be clear, clarity is the supreme virtue of philosophical writing. Good
philosophical writing thus employs simple language and avoids the use of jargon, flowery
language, and rhetorical flourish. As well, unlike other disciplines, philosophers often
adopt the first-person perspective in their writing. In contrast to scholarly writing in other
disciplines, philosophical writing might therefore seem informal and somewhat awkward.
Second, unlike other disciplines, philosophical thinking and argumentation is
highly abstract and conceptual and also often concerns normative questions. Philosophers
test the truth of claims not through empirical investigation, but rather by testing their
conceptual and logical consistency. As well, philosophical thinking does not only bear on
descriptive questions, but also normative questions: how should I act? What is a just
society? What is knowledge?
The second part of this handout discusses these features of philosophical writing
and thinking in more detail. However, because philosophical writing is a form of
scholarly writing, it will be helpful to first discuss scholarly writing more generally.
Writing a Philosophy Paper
Your instructors will design their writing assignments in a variety of ways.
However, in general, writing assignments in philosophy will require you to give a
reasoned defense of a position or thesis on some philosophical question. This will involve
reconstructing the positions and arguments articulated in assigned texts that concern this
philosophical question; critically evaluating these positions and their supporting
arguments; and formulating and defending your own position on this question.
i. The Goals of Philosophical Writing
When writing your philosophy paper, you should keep a number of goals in mind:
1. You should aim to formulate the question that you are addressing in your paper in
a clear fashion and you should aim to motivate it. Why is it interesting? Why
should the reader care about this question?
2. You should aim to reconstruct the arguments and positions articulated in assigned
texts in a comprehensive, clear, fair, and careful manner. A clear and careful
reconstruction of the assigned text is accurate and illuminating for the reader. A
comprehensive reconstruction does not leave important parts out or relies too
much on quotations. Instead, it demonstrates to the reader that you have a strong
understanding of the text. Finally, a fair reconstruction is not mean-spirited but
gives the author of the text the benefit of the doubt. How can their position be
reconstructed as strongly as possible?
3. Finally, you should aim to articulate a clear and well-defined position or thesis on
the philosophical question that is the subject of the essay, and you should defend
it with strong arguments. This will likely involve not only providing strong
positive arguments for your position, but also considering and rejecting the
arguments of others – both those that you find in the assigned text, but also those
that you can think up.
ii. The Structure of Philosophical Writing
Philosophers generally adopt a standard paper-structure to realize the three abovementioned goals:
1. Introduction
2. Exposition
3. Critical Analysis
4. Conclusion
1. Introduction
The introduction is unsurprisingly an introduction to the paper. Here, you need to
introduce three things:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
The Question
Your Position
The Structure of the Paper
(i) The Question
The first thing you need to do is introduce the question you will address in your
philosophy paper. In most undergraduate philosophy classes, the question will be
provided by the instructor. You might also want to say a little bit about why the question
is important.
(ii) Your Position
After stating the question, you need to provide a thesis statement. A thesis statement
outlines the position on the question that you will defend in your paper.
(iii) The Structure of the Paper
Having introduced the question you will address, and the position you will take on the
question, next let the reader know how your paper is structured – that is, what you do in
each part of the paper. In other words, provide a map of your paper.
Evaluation: Your introduction will be evaluated in terms of its clarity and conciseness. In
the introduction, you want to outline (i) – (iii) as clearly and concisely as possible. Avoid
grand statements, such as “Since the beginning of time…” For a 6-8 page double-spaced
paper, your introduction should be about ½ to 2/3 of a page.
2. Exposition
Whatever the question of the essay is, you will need to reconstruct the positions and
arguments articulated in your assigned texts. This might require a discussion of the views
that you will take a position on, or it might require a discussion of different attempts to
solve the question you are taking a position on. Here, you should aim to make clear the
structure of the arguments found in the assigned readings, including premises,
conclusions, and assumptions. As well, if it is unclear what the argument is, this is the
place to discuss interpretive questions.
Evaluation: The explication is evaluated in terms of its comprehensiveness, clarity,
accuracy, and organization. The explication should present an accurate, clear, and
complete account of the views in question without discussing material that is not relevant.
You need to discuss the aspects of the views that are most relevant to the question in an
organized manner. Depending on the question, in a 6-8 page paper, the explication should
take up about 2 – 4 pages.
3. Critical Analysis
This is the crucial part of the paper. Here, you need to present your position on the
question and provide arguments for it. This will involve not only providing arguments in
favour of your position, but also critical evaluating the positions explicated in your
exposition. As well, you should also reply to possible objections that you imagined
interlocutor might propose. This is particularly important if one of your arguments seems
to invite an immediate and forceful objection from your interlocutor.
Evaluation: In terms of your mark, this is the most crucial part of the paper. Philosophy
is about critical thinking and this is where you need to do some serious critical thinking.
Your arguments will be evaluated in terms of their clarity and strength. Are the reasons
you give for your position good ones? Do they invite immediate objections? Do they rely
on questionable assumptions. This part of the paper should take up 3-4 pages in a 6-8
page paper.
4. Conclusion
The conclusion is just the introduction in reverse. Here, you need to summarize what you
have done in your paper. Restate the question, the main points of your explication, and
what your argument has been. It is a good idea also to suggest what the implications of
your argument are. What issues does it raise that need to be addressed? What
consequences does it have for other positions?
For more information/resources on writing a philosophy paper, please see:
http://philosophy.utoronto.ca/undergraduate/stg/philosophy-resources