How to Write an Essay for Philosophy Students Â
In philosophy, as in any academic discipline, the quality of writing is important. Undergraduate philosophy papers, whether defending or criticizing a philosophical argument, should be well-argued and clearly written.
Students should write for an imagined audience of educated non-specialists, like their family members and friends. This helps clarify abstruse, philosophical concepts and establish their logical inter-relationships.
1. Pick a good topic
It’s important to choose a good topic for your essay. You want to make sure that the topic is interesting and relevant to your class, but also challenging enough to be worth writing about. Ideally, the topic should be one that can be viewed from different perspectives.
In philosophy, a clear, undebatable answer is rarely possible. So, don’t be afraid to write an essay with a conclusion that does not have a definitive verdict.
The quality of your ideas and your ability to explain them is what counts in philosophy, not a sophisticated vocabulary or a perfect use of tense. A good way to improve your explanations is to read other philosophers’ works. A popular resource for this is the Reddit essay writing service for philosophy students (The University of Chicago Press).
2. Brainstorm
The first step in writing a philosophy essay is to brainstorm ideas. This can be done in a variety of ways. One method is to look at the topic from different angles. For example, you can take a topic like “environmental concerns” and think about it in terms of a particle, wave, or field.
Another way to generate ideas is to read philosophical texts and analyze them. This involves breaking down the text, issue or problem into its constituent parts, such as Plato's "forms," Aristotle's "substance" and accident", Kant's categorical imperative, or Sartre's mind-body dichotomy.
For many students, writing a philosophy essay is a new experience. It's important to understand the structure and aims of this type of writing. By following these guidelines, you can craft a high-quality essay.
3. Create an outline
Writing an essay is difficult for any student, but philosophical essays present an even greater challenge. By definition, the issues philosophers consider can have many possible answers, and students must consider all of them and address any objections in their paper.
A good way to prepare for a philosophy essay is by creating an outline. This will help you stay on track and avoid forgetting pertinent points throughout the process of writing your essay.
The first step in preparing an outline is to research the literature on your topic. This can be done by reading assigned text, journal articles, and scholarly books. Be sure to use a thesaurus to search for synonyms, as terms used in different sources may have different meanings. Also, avoid using direct quotes unless necessary.
4. Research
A research paper is a vital part of philosophy essays. It shows your instructor that you have the ability to take a stand and explain it in detail. You should always select a topic that is both interesting and debatable. This will make your essay sound stronger and attract the attention of your audience.
You should also be sure that you use relevant sources when researching your topic. You should not rely on the thesaurus because synonyms can vary in meaning and context.
Some of the best topics for a philosophy research paper include, Can humans be moral without reproduction?, Is there a need for family support to be happy?, and Should we be concerned about aging? These topics are well-researched and will help you create an excellent essay.
5. Write
Writing an essay is not easy, but it is a valuable activity for any student of philosophy. It helps students to articulate and express their thoughts clearly and relatively dispassionately. Moreover, it helps them to develop their own ideas about a topic and share those with others in a way that can be understood by non-philosophers.
Essays in philosophy are particularly challenging because they deal with questions that can have multiple answers. This makes the writing process even more difficult, as students must consider all the possible answers and then write an argument for one of them. Also, they must address any objections that might be raised against their argument. The result is an essay that demonstrates the student’s understanding of the topic. A well-written essay can help the writer to get a higher grade on their paper.