1. The structure of the essay should be: brief introduction, body, conclusion.
2. The brief introduction should state in a sentence or two or perhaps three what the
assigned passage is about and the thesis of your paper. The operative word here is
“brief.”
3. The body should include both an exposition and an interpretation of the passage.
4. Your exposition should explain in YOUR OWN WORDS what the assigned passage
says. This will require summarizing parts of the passage, paraphrasing parts of the
passage, and using quotations judiciously to support your reading.
5. The exposition should follow the outline of the passage, giving emphasis to the
salient points. There is not space to say every last thing in the assigned passage.
Identify what is important. What is the organizing principle of the assigned passage?
6. In the interpretative section, the task is to explain 1) what the assigned passage claims
and then 2) how the claim answers some question. For example, Descartes may be
responding to Aquinas. Another approach would be to interpret the claim in terms of
some long-standing philosophical question (e.g. “being, seeming and knowing,” “how
someone come to knowledge?” or “the relationship between the body and the soul”—
N.B. I am not suggesting these specific questions, rather I am only giving examples
of the kind of problem to which any philosopher might respond).
7. As you review the class-notes, and the required texts, watch for material which relates
to your assigned passage.
8. One way of understanding the difference between the expository and interpretive
writing is that the exposition explains what a passage says and the interpretation
explains what the passage means.
9. You are required to use at least two secondary sources; your grade will be affected by
the quality and quantity of your secondary sources. Cite those sources in your paper
with in-text citations placed within parentheses, e.g., (Hatfield, “Descartes,” SEP).
10. The conclusion should state again what the passage is about and how you have
interpreted it; the conclusion differs from the introduction, in that you have made
your reader familiar with the assigned passage in the body of the essay. Now you can
amplify your summary. Imagine drawing a picture of a person’s face. At first, you
sketch the features of the person in simple lines. That is the introduction. After you
have studied the person’s face in detail (the body of the essay), you can go back and
add specific features and color to the picture (the conclusion). The conclusion should
illuminate the examined passage.
11. Remember that this is not an opinion or reflection piece; you are to write NOT about
what you think, RATHER about what the passage says and then to interpret what it is
says.
NOTE: Please avoid generalizations or statements about historical context (except as it bears
specifically on your interpretation) or lessons for today. This essay is about your assigned
passage and how you expose and interpret the passage in relation to some philosophical idea or
principle.
Secondary Sources for In-Class Writing Assignments:
The primary source is the text about which you are writing. A secondary source is an
article, book, or other source which is about the primary source. A secondary source can provide
background material, can elucidate the text of the primary source or provide an interpretive
stance by which to read the primary text.
Students often use Cliff or Spark notes as default sources. While those sources may give
the reader a general sense of the text, they are inferior sources for use in a scholarly paper (which
is what you are being asked to write). Wikipedia often gives a good and occasionally an
excellent quick understanding of a topic, but it is a generalist’s resource and should only be used
as a possible beginning of your research. If you hope to earn an A or B grade and if you use any
of the above-named sources, you should use two additional sources of higher quality.
On-line resources which are more specifically philosophical as well as reliable are:
http://plato.stanford.edu/
http://www.iep.utm.edu/.
I commend both of them to you.
Students may want to use http://www.scholar.google.com to search for secondary
sources.
I also strongly recommend The Cambridge Companion series for Plato and Aristotle
(201) and for Descartes and Hume (202) which I have had placed on reserve in the Mullen
Library. Each individual article in the Cambridge Companion should be treated as a separate
source; that should be reflected in the in-text notes.
Libraries:
The CUA Libraries' wide range of resources and services, including databases, online journals,
and FAQs are on the main web site(http://libraries.cua.edu/). For assistance on papers and
assignments, consult the research guides(http://guides.lib.cua.edu/) or schedule an appointment
with a subject librarian(http://libraries.cua.edu/about/subjlibs.html).
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1. The structure of the essay should be: brief introduction, body, conclusion.
2. The brief introduction should state in a sentence or two or perhaps three what the
assigned passage is about and the thesis of your paper. The operative word here is
“brief.”
3. The body should include both an exposition and an interpretation of the passage.
4. Your exposition should explain in YOUR OWN WORDS what the assigned passage
says. This will require summarizing parts of the passage, paraphrasing parts of the
passage, and using quotations judiciously to support your reading.
5. The exposition should follow the outline of the passage, giving emphasis to the
salient points. There is not space to say every last thing in the assigned passage.
Identify what is important. What is the organizing principle of the assigned passage?
6. In the interpretative section, the task is to explain 1) what the assigned passage claims
and then 2) how the claim answers some question. For example, Descartes may be
responding to Aquinas. Another approach would be to interpret the claim in terms of
some long-standing philosophical question (e.g. “being, seeming and knowing,” “how
someone come to knowledge?” or “the relationship between the body and the soul”—
N.B. I am not suggesting these specific questions, rather I am only giving examples
of the kind of problem to which any philosopher might respond).
7. As you review the class-notes, and the required texts, watch for material which relates
to your assigned passage.
8. One way of understanding the difference between the expository and interpretive
writing is that the exposition explains what a passage says and the interpretation
explains what the passage means.
9. You are required to use at least two secondary sources; your grade will be affected by
the quality and quantity of your secondary sources. Cite those sources in your paper
with in-text citations placed within parentheses, e.g., (Hatfield, “Descartes,” SEP).
10. The conclusion should state again what the passage is about and how you have
interpreted it; the conclusion differs from the introduction, in that you have made
your reader familiar with the assigned passage in the body of the essay. Now you can
amplify your summary. Imagine drawing a picture of a person’s face. At first, you
sketch the features of the person in simple lines. That is the introduction. After you
have studied the person’s face in detail (the body of the essay), you can go back and
add specific features and color to the picture (the conclusion). The conclusion should
illuminate the examined passage.
11. Remember that this is not an opinion or reflection piece; you are to write NOT about
what you think, RATHER about what the passage says and then to interpret what it is
says.
NOTE: Please avoid generalizations or statements about historical context (except as it bears
specifically on your interpretation) or lessons for today. This essay is about your assigned
passage and how you expose and interpret the passage in relation to some philosophical idea or
principle.
Secondary Sources for In-Class Writing Assignments:
The primary source is the text about which you are writing. A secondary source is an
article, book, or other source which is about the primary source. A secondary source can provide
background material, can elucidate the text of the primary source or provide an interpretive
stance by which to read the primary text.
Students often use Cliff or Spark notes as default sources. While those sources may give
the reader a general sense of the text, they are inferior sources for use in a scholarly paper (which
is what you are being asked to write). Wikipedia often gives a good and occasionally an
excellent quick understanding of a topic, but it is a generalist’s resource and should only be used
as a possible beginning of your research. If you hope to earn an A or B grade and if you use any
of the above-named sources, you should use two additional sources of higher quality.
On-line resources which are more specifically philosophical as well as reliable are:
http://plato.stanford.edu/
http://www.iep.utm.edu/.
I commend both of them to you.
Students may want to use http://www.scholar.google.com to search for secondary
sources.
I also strongly recommend The Cambridge Companion series for Plato and Aristotle
(201) and for Descartes and Hume (202) which I have had placed on reserve in the Mullen
Library. Each individual article in the Cambridge Companion should be treated as a separate
source; that should be reflected in the in-text notes.
Libraries:
The CUA Libraries' wide range of resources and services, including databases, online journals,
and FAQs are on the main web site(http://libraries.cua.edu/). For assistance on papers and
assignments, consult the research guides(http://guides.lib.cua.edu/) or schedule an appointment
with a subject librarian(http://libraries.cua.edu/about/subjlibs.html).
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