A Student's Guide to Coldwrites
Help!
Writing essays is difficult, and having no previous preparation for them makes life even more strenuous. Luckily, you have come to the right place.
Below is listed the philosopher approved rubric used to effectively address coldwrite prompts.
In this article, I will be addressing on how to write the following:
· Introduction
· Body Paragraphs
· Counter Examples Paragraphs
· Conclusions
Along with:
· What not to do
· What not to say
The Introduction
Sentence
| What to Write
| # of Sentences
|
|---|---|---|
Intro. Sentence
| Briefly address the prompt, making sure to demonstrate that the question stiumulated the certain response you are about to give.
| 2-3
|
Thesis
| Cut to the point. State your 2 premises and move on to your 1st body paragraph.
| 1-2 sentences
|
Duck or Rabbit?
CAUTION
This rubric serves mostly for youn high school students, so if you do not find this helpful, here are a few other hubs about writing philosophy papers...
http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Write-a-Philosophy-Paper
http://hubpages.com/hub/Late-to-Class-Writing-a-Research-Paper
Premis Paragraphs (body's 1 and 2)
Sentences
| What to Write
| # of Sentences
|
|---|---|---|
Premis
| State your belief, including what school of philosophy you will be using.
| 1-2 sentences
|
Beliefs of Philosophic Schools
| Demonstrate your knowledge on this specific area.
| 3-4 sentences
|
Example
| Give an instance to show how this school of thought relates to your prompt. (i.e. What does it mean to be Human?)
| 1-2 sentences
|
Support/Elaboration on Example
| Expand on your demonstration.
| 3-8 sentences
|
Summarization
| Come to a solid conclusion, proving that your premis is justifiable.
| 2-3 sentences
|
Conclusion/Transition
| "Also exists the belief that...", "Not only does this... but..."
| 1-2 sentences
|
Explanations on Modern Philosophies
- Buddhism
Wikipedia.com defines Buddhism as: "a family of beliefs and practices considered by most to be a religion and based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as The Buddha (the... - Hinduism and Beliefs
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world and it orginated in India. It has many beliefs and is a complex religion. This page is a simple guide to Hinduism and basic key terms. Of course, there are... - Predestination Vs Free Will and Thomas Aquinas
Predestination Vs Free Will is one of the oldest and most intriguing philosophical arguments in human history. Many philosophers also consider it among the most important questions. Does predestination,... - Modern Philosophy
In medieval times philosophy took up a new role. The Greeks had lived before Christ and well before Christianity became an established religion. The most famous philosophers of the medieval period were... - Greek Philosopher: Plato
Born at Athens of a noble family, he intended to enter politics but was disgusted with Athenian political intrigue and disillusioned with the democratic regime. He became a disciple of Socrates and was...
The Counter Example
Sentence
| What to Write
| # of sentences
|
|---|---|---|
Counter
| Poke holes in your own argument.
| 2-3 sentences
|
Examples
| Demonstrate weaknesses in explanations. (i.e. questions, examples...)
| 5-10 sentences
|
Counter-to-the-Counter
| Use both/all of the philosophical schools used to counter your counter.
| 4-7 sentences
|
The Conclusion
Sentences
| What to Write
| # of sentences
|
|---|---|---|
Summarize
| Summarize your body paragraphs, including the beliefs of both schools of thought.
| 3-5 sentences
|
Restate Syllogism
| Redemonstrate how Premis #1 + Premis #2 = your Thesis.
| 2-4 sentences
|
A Wider Perspective
| Demonstrate how, if applied to the real world, how what point you have proved would efect modern day society.
| 2-3 sentences
|
What NOT to do
Apparently, a common practice among students is to quickly shotgun schools of philosophy into their papers. Unfortunatley, this will not work. In order to write a high quality paper, you must specifically focus on two schools of thought which you know for sure.
By including several schools of thought, you are merely increasing the amount of writing you must do in areas that you don't know about.
What NOT to say
Because of modern day religions, some people tend to strongly abide by their faiths. While there is nothing wrong with this, believing in your faith while writing a philosophic paper may cause a few problems.
How to avoid:
- Act as though you are a dispassionate 3rd party analyzing the passage/argument.
Examples:
- Heaven
- Hell
- Grace
In the mind of a dispassionate, these words would translate to:
Heaven and Hell - Western Christian views on the AfterlifeGrace - a person's inclination towards good or evil
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