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Writing in Our Class 
(and, for those who are interested, some more general thoughts on Writing Well).

Criteria for Evaluation
You will be evaluated with respect to both the philosophical content of your paper and the quality of your writing, i.e. both your ideas and arguments and the clarity with which you communicate these ideas and arguments. Most students find that writing papers at the university level is significantly more difficult than writing papers in high school.  Furthermore, philosophical writing is different from other kinds of writing with which you may be familiar.  This should not be surprising; different writing styles serve different goals and are appropriate in different situations.  If you have any concerns about your writing, please come speak to me and I will direct you to several resources that will help you improve your writing.  The following criteria are used to evaluate your written work in our class:

1. Style and clarity. Good style includes a mastery of English grammar (syntax, punctuation, and spelling) and a habit of choosing the words that express exactly what you mean. A writer with a good style is able to compose sentences that sit well together, saying what he wants to say in a manner that is clear and readable. Elegance and brilliance are also attributes of a superior style, but clarity comes first.

Unfortunately, the American educational system has failed a great many students by neglecting to teach them the basic grammar and usage of the English language.  Those who have been victimized must take it upon themselves to address this lacuna.  Although it is not perfect, Strunk and White, The Elements of Style remains an excellent short introduction to style and composition. If you need to be persuaded that style is critically important, read George Orwell's essay, "Politics and the English Language."  

2. Soundness of reasoning. Muddled writing and muddled thinking go hand in hand. If you are an unclear writer, you are probably an unclear thinker. It is very easy to commit logical fallacies without realizing it, especially if your patterns of reasoning are derived from television pundits, AM talk radio, or the editorial pages. The antidote is to be clear and self-critical. Make sure that your conclusions really do follow from your premises. Sometimes it is hard to be objective about the quality of your own reasoning. Show your work to a friend, asking him or her to see whether you've made any logical howlers. Thoroughness is important. If there are passages in the text that seem to go against your position, be sure to take them into account. Like any good advocate, you should acknowledge contrary evidence and explain how your position still stands. You don't want to be open to the charge that you've "stacked the deck" by considering only places from the text that work in your favor or that your characterization of the opposing position is really a caricature (i.e., a "straw man").

3. Originality and insight. It is very difficult--and not necessarily desirable--to be completely original. Your aim is not novelty for its own sake. It is true, however, that the texts we are reading are extraordinarily rich. If you approach them with enough passion and openness, you may discover within yourself an aptitude for saying things that go well beyond what is apparent on the surface. This is not to denigrate surface understanding; without a command of surface meaning, nothing else is possible. However, if you can penetrate beyond the surface of a text you will considerably enrich yourself.

You will find that there is often a strong correlation between sloppy writing and sloppy thinking. If your writing cannot clearly express what you think, it may well be the case that what you think is not that clear.  

Details

The following criteria should be taken into account any time you hand in a paper for our class. Adherence to these suggestions will help to assure (although will not insure) that your paper is received favorably by me.

1. Unless directed otherwise, all written work for our class should be typed, double-spaced and clearly printed. Use a "Times New Roman" font in 12-point size.  Standard margins are one inch on all sides. (I know we could save paper by single-spacing, 10-point fonts, etc., but the paper format needs to facilitate comments. If you can think of other options that will save paper [e.g., 1.5 spaced text] please talk to me about it!)
2. I strongly encourage you to use recycled paper for all assignments in my classes. Save the heavyweight cotton bond paper for business resumes.
3. While I do appreciate the gesture, folders and title pages remind me of dead trees.  I am concerned with your thoughts and how clearly you express them; folders and title pages do not serve this goal and are therefore unnecessary. I would prefer that you simply provide your name and class information in the "header."
4. All written work should conform to the rules of grammar and usage of the English language. While some points of grammar are more obscure than others, there are many common mistakes that you should learn to avoid. Always proofread your work.  The "spell checker" programs that come with word processing software are not adequate and very often make mistakes. Such programs are useful tools but do not eliminate the need for careful proofreading. As St. Bonaventure said, "Love your own mind mightily!" Do not replace your mind with a machine at this stage in your education.
5. Make sure that your paper expresses the thoughts that you want to express. It is foolish and risky to hope that your reader will be able to read between the lines and "know what you meant to say." Rather than hoping that I will know what you meant to say, say what you mean to say.
6. If you use the words, thoughts, ideas, or arguments of any other person either directly or indirectly you must cite the source. Failure to do so constitutes an act of plagiarism.

Resources

(1) I urge you to purchase and consult a reference for English grammar and usage.  Here are a few resources that are worth checking out:

• William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White, The Elements of Style (New York: MacMillian, 1979).  There is an older edition of this classic text available on-line; here is a link to that version.

• Bryan A. Garner , Garner's Modern American Usage.
• George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language."
• Some good suggestions from Jack Lynch's excellent web site:
  • Sir Ernest Gowers et al., The Complete Plain Words.
  • The American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed.
• H. W. Fowler, Modern English Usage.

(2)  Those of you engaged in studies where the Chicago Manual of Style is the norm for citation (such as philosophy) should also purchase: Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Terms Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6th ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), 1996.  If you like used bookstores, you can sometimes find old editions of the more comprehensive Chicago Manual of Style (in its 15th addition as of August 2003) for a decent price.