Essay 1: Assignment Topics and Instructions
 NB: Before starting your essay, you should read this entire document as well as the information in the Essay Assignments: Grading Criteria and Helpful Information folder. Among other information, it contains a sample of an A paper to use as a model for your essay. For this assignment, you will choose one of the three topics below and write an essay of at least 4 pages, double-spaced, in Times New Roman 12 point font; your paper should be written in Standard English and done in MLA format. You must include a MLA works cited page that includes all sources used in your essay, including the article related to the topic you choose. Details are below, but in short, the purpose of your essay is to analyze a philosophical question. To submit your paper, click on Essay 1. You should attach a file that can be opened with Microsoft Word (doc or docx); do not submit a pdf or type in the submission box. Any instance of plagiarism will be punished by a minimum of an F on the assignment and a report to the associate dean of the humanities division. Further punishment could include failure in the course, suspension, or expulsion. The articles given below as topics are all from The New York Times. Nonsubscribers are limited to the number of articles they can read, but the Richland Library has full access to The New York Times. You can access The New York Times via this DCCCD Library web page. 
Topic #1: Life Is Short. Thats the Point. The above relates to personal identity/being human as it relates to our mortality. Topic #2: Philosophy”Whats the Use? This article deals with whether studying philosophy does in fact help us lead meaningful lives, whether philosophy achieves a purpose in this regard, whether it makes our lives better. Topic #3: We Are Not Born Human The above relates to personal identity/what being human might mean or not mean. After choosing an article/topic to write about, you should choose one of the philosophical questions from the list of questions included with the assignment handouts. The question should be one that you think relates to the article/topic you choose. The focus of your essay will be an analysis of the philosophical question you choose from the list. Please note! Do not simply choose any question on the list; you should choose a question that you think relates to the article/topic you choose. In your essay, you will need to explain how the question relates to the article/topic. NB: Very often, I read essays for this assignment that do not even mention, let alone discuss, any philosophers or philosophical concepts/theories. Just as you cannot write an essay about, say, the American Civil War without ever mentioning the war, you cannot write a philosophy essay without discussing philosophers and philosophical concepts/theories. Your essay should be explicitly about philosophy, specifically the question you are analyzing, from beginning to end. Your essay should follow the below outline and should include the following: A heading done according to MLA An original title (hint: Essay 1 is not an original title; nor is the title of the article you choose to write on) First Paragraph: Introduction In the introduction, you should set up the topic of your essay in a way that engages your reader. Since the essay is an analysis of a philosophical question, your introduction should convey this; your introduction should contain your thesis (if you are unsure of how to write a thesis, read this advice on developing a thesis), should let the reader know the philosophical question you intend to analyze, and should mention the article you are writing about (the article related to the topic you choose). Because this is a philosophy essay, the reader should know, after reading the introduction, that she will be reading an essay about philosophy. See this VERY helpful advice on how to write your intro/begin your essay. Second Paragraph: Summary of the article given with the topic you chose When you refer to an article, you should give the title, author, and publication. A summary should be a brief, objective overview (meaning no opinionated or evaluative comments) of the main ideas of the original. In the summary paragraph, you should periodically use author tags to indicate that you are  summarizing, that you are conveying someone elses views. So you should say things such as, According to Jane Doe¦ or The author points out that¦ Also, in a summary, use transitions to convey to the reader the order of ideas presented in the original, to connect the summarys ideas and make it coherent, things like, First, the author discusses the problem of¦., Furthermore, he addresses the issue of¦. Doe concludes by pointing out that¦ The summary should be written as such, meaning you are continuously referring to the text and the author. A few more things about a summary: it should not contain quotations, it should be only one paragraph, and it should accurately and succinctly give the main ideas of the original. Read this helpful advice on how to correctly summarize a text. Third Paragraph: A thorough discussion/explanation of the philosophical question to be analyzed in the essay Here are some points you should address in this paragraph:  How does the topic of the article you chose relate to this question?  Why is this question of concern philosophically; in other words, what about this question makes it a philosophical question?  Why does it matter how this question is answered? In other words, what is at stake in this question? Why do we care about it? Why is it important for everyone, not only philosophers?  Which philosophers ideas/theories/ writings can help us approach this question? (only mention those you intend to discuss in your essay) What philosophical theories or positions might help us answer this question? (also, only mention those you intend to discuss in your essay) Body Paragraphs The number of body paragraphs is your decision as the author, but each paragraph should thoroughly discuss the philosophical question you are analyzing. Possible ways to go about this: one or more paragraphs about how another/other philosophers have answered/written about the topic your question relates to; one or more paragraphs about a philosophical concept, problem, or theory that relates to this question and perhaps helps us look at this question. Helpful tip: often, the articles given above as topics refer to philosophers and/or philosophical theories or concepts. These might be good places to start your research. Similarly, our text refers to philosophers and theories that deal with many of the topics related to the questions on the list.  You may also include a paragraph on your response to the philosophical question you are analyzing, but the majority of content in your body paragraphs should be from your research. Since you are required to include research from 3 sources, an ideal way to organize the body paragraphs would be to have a paragraph on each source; also, make sure each paragraph is providing an analysis of the question you are analyzing. You must include research (incorporated through quotation, paraphrase, or both) from at least 3 sources (the articles above do not count as a source). One of these must be a philosophical journal in the DCCCD databases) if you are not sure whether the journal you want to use IS a philosophical journal, google the title and you will be able to find a description of the journals focus. Typically, you can tell by the title of the journal, e.g., The Journal of Philosophy, Journal of the History of Philosophy, The Review of Metaphysics. Other allowed sources are below (any sources not listed here will not count):  Our textbook for the course, Problems from Philosophy  The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy  The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy If you need help using the databases, you can get help in person in the library or online using the Ask a Librarian tool. When incorporating sources into your work, they must be present so as to serve your position/argument/discussion. In other words, they should not be there just to be there; they should be incorporated AS part of the discussion/argument, in a meaningful, substantial way. Conclusion Since your essay is an analysis of a philosophical question, your conclusion should effectively bring that discussion to a close. Avoid simply repeating yourself in the conclusion. See this VERY helpful advice on how to conclude your essay.