Checklists for Philosophy Papers
Here is a trio of quick reference lists that will tell you briefly what kinds of things will help your grade, hurt your grade, or have no direct effect on your grade.
Most of these points are addressed in detail elsewhere on this web site. The links below connect to the portions of the Guide that discuss that checklist point.
Things that will certainly help your grade:
- Coming up with an interesting and manageable topic (if writing your own topic is part of the assignment).
- Answering all of the components of a paper topic, whether you have written on your own topic or mine.
- Pointing out some obvious and important objection(s) that someone might raise against your critical analysis or position.
- Defending your critical analysis or position against such an objection.
- Providing a clear explanation or definition of a vague or abstract term that plays a crucial role in your paper.
- Appropriate use of a good, creative, brief example(s) or diagram(s) to illustrate and clarify some point.
- Ordering the paragraphs your paper so that the ideas flow in a logical, intelligible way.
- Making good use of "signpost" sentences to make the structure of your paper clear.
- Writing your paragraphs so that that the reader can clearly understand what contribution each one makes to the project of your paper.
- Writing clear, sharp, and economical English sentences—ones that are easy to follow and express your point plainly.
- Putting those sentences together in a way that makes it easy for the reader to understand the line of thought you are developing within a paragraph.
Things that will certainly hurt your paper grade
- Plagiarism—submitting someone else's words or ideas without properly crediting the source. (Committing this offense will almost certainly lead to your failing the entire course.)
- Lateness without an acceptable excuse.
- Lots of sloppy grammar or spelling errors.
- Paraphrasing rather than presenting and explaining a position or argument.
- Poor structure in the development of your ideas—sentences or paragraphs that jump around from topic to topic without making clear contribution to the point of your paper.
- Awkward or ambiguous sentences that don't help the reader clearly understand the ideas you're trying to express.
- Mistakes or incompleteness in explaining the relevant parts of an an argument that you discuss.
- Failing to answer all of the required parts of an assigned topic, if one is assigned.
- Errors or gaps in your own reasoning as you critically assess a thinker's work.
- Examples or diagrams that confuse rather than clarify your point.
- Failing to explain or define some vague or abstract term that plays a crucial role in the paper.
- Failing to support your critical judgment with careful reasoning.
- Failing to address (or at least acknowledge) an obvious, damaging objection to your own critical position.
Things that don't in themselves make a darn bit of difference to your grade:
- The mere fact that you worked really hard on a paper. (Of course, working really hard on a paper paper indirectly improves your chances of writing a better paper and thus getting a better grade.)
- The quantity or quality of outside research and readings that you do.
- The mere fact that you have included or omitted a number of direct quotes from course readings.
- Arguing for a position that happens either to agree or disagree with the instructor's views.
- Writing a paper that falls short of the suggested paper length. (Of course, a short paper is less likely to address the topic thoroughly, clearly, and completely, but I won't lower your grade based on the mere fact that your paper falls short of the range.) Exception: if you are submitting a version of your paper that will receive commentary from a fellow student, you must stick within the length limits.
- Writing a paper that exceeds the upper paper bound on paper length. I will just stop reading and grading your paper once it exceeds that upper bound, which might indirectly effect your grade, since any good stuff that you write beyond that limit won't help you. Again, an exception: if you are submitting a version of your paper that will receive commentary from a fellow student, you must stick withinthe length limits.
- Writing a very short paper that addresses the topic, then adding a bunch of unrelated material. You'll receive the same grade you would if you had submitted the two page paper. (This, of course, would likely indirectly hurt your grade; see above.)