Approximately 800-1000 words

This paper is a development of one of your first two papers. Using the comments your TA gave you, the things you have learned in class since you wrote the paper, and your own weeks-older self’s critical eye, you are to improve your argument for your thesis. That means you will begin by editing one of the two papers you previously handed in. You will also add a new section to the paper in which you raise a possible criticism to your argument, and then you address that criticism. It can be difficult to think about how your argument might be criticized, so it will take some time to think about that. Having conversations with others can help.

Due via Moodle before midnight on Sunday October 21
Please double-space your paper.
Please do not include a cover sheet.

This is an argumentative essay in which you argue for a claim. We are not going to grade you on your answer to the question, but instead on the improved quality of the reasons you give for your answer over the first draft, the plausibility of the criticism, and the quality of your response to the critic.

Outline:
1. Introduction. Here you state your thesis.
2. Defend your thesis by offering an argument supporting it. You may use more than one paragraph to defend your thesis.
3. Raise an objection to your argument introduced in section 2. NOTE: The objection has to be directed at the points raised to defend your thesis, so that the objection is continuing the conversation. The objection CANNOT take the form of “but what about this other problem with the thesis?”. That is changing the topic from the argument under consideration.
4. Respond to the objection to your argument. Show how the critic’s worry can be avoided, or why it is not a worry that impacts your argument.
5. Conclusion (1-2 sentences). E.g. “In this paper I defended …. and …”

Note: The first part of your paper will be a revision of one of your first two papers. You will be using much of the same text you already wrote. We will be able to see how much you have changed your words from the first draft. Anyone who does not work to improve their paper and who just turns in exactly the same text for the first sections of the paper, or anyone who just changes a few words, will not have completed the assignment and will receive a grade lower than C. An essential part of this assignment is to revise your work, to practice the same exercise again in order to make your writing better. Your goal is to improve the work you previously did, and to go deeper defending your thesis.

Guidelines:
• This paper should have zero grammatical or spelling errors.
• Because you should only refer to readings we have done in class, I do not require a list of citations.
• Do not quote anyone in this paper. All words should be your own.
• You can (and really should) write in the first person. It is an argumentative essay: “I will argue that such and such…”
• Make sure that you are using the right words in your paper. Do not rely on the thesaurus to find the right word. Be careful not to confuse words like “assert” and “claim” (to “assert” is to force a point on someone without arguing for it), or words like “prove” and “defend” (to “prove” a claim is to show it is in fact true (you can prove 2+2=4), to “defend” is to provide evidence in favor of a claim (you can defend the claim that life has no meaning)). If you use a word that you do not often use naturally, look it up and make sure it means what you think it means. In philosophy we aim for precision, in argument and in language.
• Use complete sentences. Here are some examples of sentence fragments: “Which means that mind is always superior to the body,” “Being the sort of person who lies,” “That moves the body to act,” “Items which normally do not have this effect.”
• Reread your essay. You should never hand in a paper you haven’t read yourself. Something might seem utterly clear as you are writing it, but that clarity might be lost as it is read. Ideally, you should exchange essays with other students, and give one another feedback. Again, your argument may be perfectly clear to you, but unclear to other readers. It is better to find this out before the paper is graded!
• Explain the meaning of technical terms and jargon. For example, if your essay is about absurdity, you might write “The absurd, that necessary tension between human desires and the way the world is, touches the life of every person.” Defining terms need not make for boring reading! Make sure your reader sees that you know what you are talking about. For example, if you are writing on the theory of evolution, be sure to give a brief description of the theory. As a general rule of thumb, it is not useful to refer to dictionary definitions in your paper. For example, you don’t want to define Kant’s good will by looking up ‘will’ in the dictionary or googling the term.