Essay 1 about Philosophy

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.

The articles given below are from The New York Times. Non-subscribers 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.

Choose one of the topics below.

Topic #1: God and the Origin of the Universe

Chapter 2 of our text presents various arguments related to God and the origin

of the universe. Read this article from The New York Times and write an essay

that discusses the article in relation to the arguments related to God and the

universe in Chapter 2. Your essay must include reference to chapter 2 of our

text as well as at least one reference to an article/entry in either The Internet

Encyclopedia of Philosophy or The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, through

quotation and/or paraphrase. Rather than your opinion on God and the

origin of the universe, your essay should be a discussion of the

philosophical approach to this topic. In other words, think of your essay as

a research paper that discusses your findings, not as a paper expressing

your own views.

Topic #2: The Problem of Personal Identity

Chapter 6 of our text deals with the problem of personal identity. Read this

article from The New York Times and write an essay that discusses the article in

relation to the arguments/problems related to personal identity in Chapter 6.

Your essay must include reference to chapter 6 of our text as well as at least

one reference to an article/entry in either The Internet Encyclopedia of

Philosophy or The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, through quotation

and/or paraphrase. Rather than your opinion on the problem of personal

identity, your essay should be a discussion of the philosophical problem of

personal identity. In other words, think of your essay as a research paper

that discusses your findings, not as a paper expressing your own views.

In addition to what is described above, your essay must include the following:

• A heading done according to MLA

• An original title

• An introductory paragraph that contains your thesis (see this VERY

helpful advice on how to write your intro/begin your essay, and if you are

unsure of how to write a thesis, read this advice on developing a thesis)

• A summary of the New York Times article (If you are unsure of how to

write a summary, read this helpful advice on how to correctly summarize

a text)

• Body paragraphs that discuss philosophical approaches to God and the

origin of the universe or the problem of personal identity, depending on

the topic you chose, through reference to the article, chapter 2 or 6 of

our text, depending on your topic, and at least one of the sources

mentioned above (here is some excellent advice on how to structure body

paragraphs)

• A minimum of 3 full pages (your works cited page doesn’t count as a

page)

• A conclusion (see this VERY helpful advice on how to conclude your

essay)

Your essay should be 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 I provided.

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.