Chandler Unified School District



PHILOSOPHY ESSAY SUGGESTIONS - 2012

THIS ESSAY IS WORTH ABOUT 10% OF YOUR SEMESTER 2 GRADE

I believe that each and every one of you can, in at least one small way, identify with some of the existentialist beliefs we have been discussing. That is the crux of this essay: I want to know what your beliefs are, why, and how they tie in to existentialism or, if they do not tie in, how learning about them has, may, or may not influence your worldview. Also, remember to be totally honest - this is how I get to know at least a little bit about each of you (and you might just get to know a little bit more about yourself). NO ONE will read this essay but me.

Your paper must include:

- Your answers, with specific details, to the five required questions listed on the essay instruction page (free will, fate/predestination/higher power, success/happiness, motivation, can people change?)

- Three philosopher chosen from the Idiot’s Guide to Philosophy handout, and from your own research. One must be existentialist, another an Indian philosopher, and the third is your choice.. (Camus does not count as a philosopher)

For each philosopher, you must:

- list at least ONE central aspect from that philosopher's belief system

- explain that idea thoroughly and clearly (so I can tell that YOU understand it)

- include a citation BY each philosopher; citation must support the aspect of his/her belief system

that you are discussing

- compare and/or contrast your beliefs/ideas to each aspect you choose for each philosopher

- at least THREE citations, from a minimum of TWO different sources (if using only Internet sources, they must be .edu or .gov websites ONLY)

- a CORRECTLY FORMATTED works cited page as the last page of your essay (see Purdue’s

Online Writing Lab for help, or use )

VERY IMPORTANT: If you cannot be in class, then your paper must be in my mailbox or in my school email NO LATER THAN FIVE MINUTES AFTER YOUR CLASS PERIOD BEGINS. PAPERS TURNED IN MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES AFTER CLASS BEGINS WILL RECEIVE 25% POINTS DEDUCTION FOR EACH CALENDAR DAY LATE.

Format Suggestions for your essay:

1. Ask yourself the five questions, and WRITE down your answers, so your thoughts are clear

2. Then, start your paper by discussing your current philosophy, including the answers to those questions

3. Discuss how you got to this point in your beliefs; i.e., what influenced you, who influenced you, why you were influenced (especially in the last four years)

4. Discuss how your philosophy currently is or is not changing, and what is/is not influencing

that/those change(s)

5. Discuss your religious beliefs/convictions (or lack thereof) as part of your philosophy

(religion and philosophy are almost inseparable)

6. Introduce your philosopher

7. List/discuss one of his/her central ideas/beliefs

8. Explain that belief very clearly (use short sentences, perhaps)

9. Compare and/or contrast that belief to your own (you do not have to agree)

10. Repeat steps 6-9 for each of the other two philosophers/thinkers

11. Conclude with some type of summarization or final determination about your belief system,

restating briefly the aspect of the philosopher’s belief system whom you discussed, and how

your beliefs compare/contrast with his/hers

Please remember that this is merely a suggestion for one format. You can and should be as creative as possible in this essay, while maintaining professionalism. You may want to start by discussing the philosopher, or you can bring him up as you discuss your beliefs. However you want to organize it is fine, but make this YOUR essay (this is a first person essay, so I expect you to use "I", "my", "myself", and "mine” but NOT any form of you or we).

Also, remember that you MUST have a CREATIVE TITLE, that you MAY NOT USE CONTRACTIONS, COLLOQUIALISMS (SLANG), or EXCLAMATION POINTS, and avoid including too many RHETORICAL QUESTIONS. All standard writing rules as outlined in the Student Style Guide are to be followed, including headers and heading, spacing, page numbering, margins, etc. Additionally, no forms of the following verbs are acceptable: Give, say, show or tell.

One next-to-last very important thing: as you are writing about historical texts rather than literature, discuss the philosopher’s writings in PAST tense; i.e. "Sartre believed" or "Nietzsche wrote that" or "when Kierkegaard introduced his ideas," etc.

Guaranteed point deductions for: (and there are many more)

- MLA format errors

- contractions

- colloquialisms

- tense disagreement - stay with past for philosophers, as they are dead, but with

present for their beliefs, which continue, e.g. "Nietzsche believed we should

avoid the "herd mentality." The "herd" is still a phenomenon that exists today, and it is

due to Nietzsche that it is referred to as such" (Guide 195)

- spelling (especially philosophers' names)

- missing citations and/or missing parenthetical citation source information

- including “a lot” – even once!

- including: "this quote says," "in one quote, Sartre said," "in conclusion," "I will be discussing” - or - in this essay I will...," "in my opinion,” etc. I know these are your thoughts – this is YOUR essay!

Also, let quotes, introductions, conclusions, etc., introduce themselves. Do not tell me you are going to begin your conclusion – just begin it

- starting sentences with "and," "but" and “or.”

- starting sentences that are NOT questions with “which”

- pronoun disagreement: "everybody," everyone," and "each" are all SINGULAR - if you

say "everyone has his opinion," or "everybody has her beliefs," that is correct - "they," and "their" are plural and are incorrect

- The words "society" and "family" are SINGULAR: "American society has its faults"

- "People" is plural: "All people have their own belief systems"

- Ending your essay with "In conclusion," "I have just said," "The reader has been shown," and other weak phrases.

SIMPLY TELL THE READER WHAT YOU WANT TO – DO NOT TELL THE READER WHAT HE JUST READ - SUMMARIZE WITHOUT STATING THAT YOU HAVE ALREADY SAID ALL THESE THINGS.

Oh, and just one last thing: (If you decide to include the analogy “Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’ll get,” I will AUTOMATICALLY deduct 10%. I’m not kidding! That is way too cliché, and you can all write more strongly than that!

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