How to write a Philosophy Paper?

Alexandria Popik: A good philosophy paper starts like any good paper - with a clear introductory paragraph stating the objective of the piece. Many philosophy paper prompts will ask you to consider a piece of philosophic writing and respond to it. There's a good chance your paper follows this structure. If it does, keep in mind this basic overview of the paper: 1) Introduce the topics discussed in the paper with a clear thesis statement in a short paragraph; 2) Summarize and accurately present the philosophical view that you are asked to consider (with all of the important considerations). If there is a lot of material in the philosophical work, only summarize that which is relevant to your prompt and your objections (discussed in 3); 3) Respond to this view with an objection to either the conclusions the author claims or the reasons the author offers for his or her conclusions. Most importantly, make sure to understand the view of the author before trying to offer object! ions or recognize shortcomings. Otherwise, the objections will likely not be fair or relevant, and likely worse; 4) Summarize neatly the main points of the work you are considering and your main objections and the support you have offered for these objections in your paper with a short concluding paragraph.1-4 will comprise your paper. One helpful way to split up the material and help you get used to how philosophy papers are written is with headers (italicized type that separate the main sections of the paper). Use a header for the Introduction, Summary of X's View, Objections to X's View and Conclusion.There are a good deal of other considerations when writing a philosophy paper. I'll deal with one more - make sure to follow MLA guidelines when quoting from the work you are considering (remember to keep all of the summations in your own words!).Good luck!...Show more