THE BASIC WRITING RULES (BWRs)
In this document, I shall list the five kinds of basic writing rules (The Topic Rule > The Indentation Rules
> The Paragraph Length Rules > The PHIL 104 Language Rule > The Eleven Steps of Academic Writing), “The Overall Framework of the Philosophy Paper,” and “The Reasons for Observing the Basic Writing Rules.”1 (Please read all the footnotes.)
You are required to observe all the Basic Writing Rules (I-V) for every course writing that you are to write in PHIL 104 (like a writing exercise or a short essay or the Philosophy Paper).
I_ THE TOPIC RULE
Rule 1: Always copy the “topic” of any course writing completely and exactly as it is originally given.
II_ THE INDENTATION RULES
Rule 1: Do not indent the first (opening) sentence of any of your course writing whether there is or there is not a headline preceding it.
Example: Liu (2003) on Modules.
Rule 2: Do not indent the opening sentence of the first paragraph under a new headline.
Example: Liu (2003) on Modules.
Rule 3: Indent the opening sentence of each subsequent paragraph under a new headline.2
Example: Liu (2003) on Modules.
Rule 4: Do not leave spaces between paragraphs that belong to one sub-headline.
Notes: If you are still confused about or skeptical of these indentation rules, you can examine currently published scholarly books and download peer-reviewed articles (like Liu 2003) to see for yourself if these indentation rules and other BWR are observed therein or not. If you do not know all the BWR systemized herein, you are not up to date on the currently practiced US methodology of academic writing<>non- academic writing.
III_ THE PARAGRAPH LENGTH RULES FOR ALL KINDS OF WRITING (ESSAY/PP/WE) Rule 1: Each paragraph must be short (from 1 sentence to 5 short sentences).
Rule 2: Each paragraph must deal with
one
key point (not two) and it should be clearly stated, well argued, and well supported.
Please read: “WR1.Sample WE1” and “WR.WE2” (folder THE PHILOSOPHY PAPER) and my peer-reviewed article (“The Laozi Code” (Google it or download it from King Databases).
IV_ THE PHILOSOPHY 104 LANGUAGE RULE
Any course writing that you write, like a Writing Exercise [WE] or the Philosophy Paper (PP), must be written according to the philosophy language
that is appropriate to PHIL 104. The PHIL 104 language contains key concepts and how they should be explained (like atman, brahman, dao, dharma, moksha, emptiness, enlightenment, philosophic wisdom, practical wisdom, monism, pluralism, dualism, enlightenment, etc.)
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V_ THE ELEVEN STEPS OF ACADEMIC WRITING
In addition to the “Rubric for the Philosophy Paper” and the “Rosenberg Model” (Modules), you are required to also observe the following Eleven Steps of Academic Writing (ESW) for every course writing you shall undertake (like a Writing Exercise or the Philosophy Paper).
THE INTRO
1) Step 1: Write one “introductory sentence” (IS).
State what you are going to do in your written work.
Note: Step 1 and Step 2 can alternate.
2) Step 2: Write one “topic sentence” (TS [also called “thesis statement”]).
Make a key point or a claim about the topic.
Note: Step 1 and Step 2 can alternate.
3) Step 3: Write one “purpose sentence” (PS) or sufficient purpose sentences
State the purposes that you wish to accomplish in your written work.
4) Step 4: Write one “methodological sentence” (MS) or sufficient methodological sentences Indicate the research sources you plan to use by listing the titles with the authors and the publication years. For example: “The Practice of Jen” (Chong 1999).
THE BODY
5) Step 5: Write sufficient “expositional sentences” (ESs)3 for the Exposition.
Explain and argue for your position (“topic sentence”) with supporting evidence. The number of ESs depends on the kind of a written work.
6) Step 6: Write one “transitional sentence” before a new part/section/paragraph of your work.
Tell your reader what you are going to do when you start a new part/section.
7) Step 7: Write sufficient “evaluative sentences” (ESs) for the Evaluation.
State what you like or dislike about the main issue of the topic and the reason(s) why make your evaluation.
8) Step 8: Write sufficient “critique sentences” (CSs) for the Critique.
Make at least one major objection to the main issue of the topic for your critique. The number of CSs depends on the issue.
9) Step 9: Write sufficient “resolution sentences” (RSs) for the Resolution.
Offer a resolution of the problem you have critiqued.
The actual number of resolution sentences depends on the topic.
Notes: Steps 5-9 should be structured to form the four main components of the Body of your RP: The Exposition <> The Evaluation <> The Critique <> The Resolution.
THE CONCLUSION
10) Step 10: Write sufficient “concluding sentences.”
Summarize or evaluate or reflect on or apply the key point of your written work.
THE DOCUMENTATION
11) Step 11: Make a proper documentation of the research source(s) you use.
Use the bibliographical type
Works Cited
and list the research source(s) you actually use according to the academic style that you are familiar with (APA or CMS or MLA). Use Purdue OWL resource @ https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
VI_ THE OVERALL FRAMEWORK OF THE PHILOSOPHY PAPER
All the four components of the PP (Intro<>Body<>Conclusion<>Documentation) and the ten steps of the
PP can be re-organized into the overall framework of the PP as follows: A_ THE INTRO
1) The introductory sentence
2) The topic sentence
3) The purpose sentence
4) The methodological sentence
B_ THE BODY
1) The Exposition (background <> argument <> support <> evidence)
2) The Evaluation (explanation of what you find acceptable or valuable)
3) The Critique (explanation of your main objection)
4) The Resolution (how you resolve what you have critiqued) B_ CONCLUSION
1) Write a short summary or
2) Write a short reflection or
3) Raise a new question for further thinking or
4) Propose a practical application of the most important idea
C_ DOCUMENTATION
1) In-text notes [following a sentence or paragraph (Liu 2003: 234 or Phan 2007)]
2) Endnotes [called Notes in Liu (2003: 247)]
3) Works Cited (cite only the sources you use in your work according to APA or MLA style)
VII_ THE REASONS FOR OBSERVING ALL THE BASIC WRITING RULES
Some of you might have wondered why you are required to observe the BWRs (Basic Writing Rules). One reason is that I am required to satisfy one of the GE assessment requirements. Another reason is that the BWRs have been practiced in the US academic world. All I have done is to have simply systemized them.
If you wish to know the truth of what I just stated, first, check the Liu article (2003) whether the basic writing rules (I-V) are observed therein, second, download some peer-reviewed articles or scholarly articles published in peer-reviewed/scholarly journals, examine currently published books, and check out whether or not they were written according to the listed BWR (I-V).
You can also request the basic rubrics of academic writing from American elementary and high schools in San Jose to know the current US academic writing methodology that elementary and high school students are supposed to learn and practice.
Every piece of academic writing (a writing exercise or an essay or a philosophy paper) has two main aspects, its organizational forms, and its ideational contents. That which gives any written work its external organizational forms is the basic writing rules (BWRs) by which its internal ideational contents are expressed and made manifest.
1An Assessment Question for each student to answer:
What type of sentence is this opening sentence according to the BWR?
The answer: An introductory sentence.
2This indentation rule still applies if there is no main headline or no sub-headline.
3Expositional sentences consist of explanatory sentences (background information<>definitions),
argumentative sentences (arguments), and supportive sentences (proofs).