Paper 2: End of Course Reflection

Viewing Feedback, Paper Dos and Don’ts, and a link for Philosophy Writing Advice

How to View Paper Feedback in D2L: https://help.d2l.arizona.edu/content/students-assignmentsview-grademark-feedback

Concerning Outline and Paper Uploading

1) DO NOT use iPads, smartphones, tablets, googledocs, etc to upload your papers. IT WILL NOT WORK AND, AND AS FAR AS I WILL BE ABLE TO SEE, YOU HAVE NO PAPER TURNED IN. You will receive a zero, since it will look as though you did not turn in a paper. Please us a laptop or PC.

2) ONLY upload doc/docx/PDF format. All other formats cannot be opened in D2L. You will receive a zero, since it will seem as though you did not turn in a paper.

3) DO NOT email me your paper. You must use the upload link on D2L. I WILL NOT GRADE EMAILED PAPERS, so you will not get a grade for your work.

As stated in the syllabus, plagiarism will severely reduce your grade, sometimes even to a zero with a report to the office. This is a course about the PHILOSOPHY and ideas valuable to YOUR LIFE. For goodness sake, don’t copy what you think meaningful things are TO YOU from the internet or from someone else. Seriously. This is YOUR LIFE, not someone else’s.

Common Positive Feedback (Paper Dos):

1) Good examples used, with succinct explanation, does not spent too much time elaborating on example as well.

2) Essay and thoughts organized and expressed well, to the point, in clear language.

3) Good critical analysis (no “I agree because I agree” question begging present)

4) Creative opening paragraph with clear thesis (not just a thesis statement alone)

5) Lacking in grammatical errors

6) Avoided thought-clichés: https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Thought-terminating_clich%C3%A9

7) Turned in on time through D2L link

8) Good conclusion that summarized the points of the paper creatively.

9) Clear understanding of the philosopher’s view, no strawman

10) Correct citation and quote formats, if quotes used

11) Quotes either not used (but no plagiarism too) or used sparingly, leading to personal, original writing

Common Problems in Essays:

1) “I feel”: In a philosophy class, do not start sentences with the phrase "In my personal opinion..." or “I feel like…” or “I believe…” or “I think…” “…to me...” or “personally” and all the many other variations of this. Opinions and feelings are in the end irrelevant to a good critical argument- there is something beyond “mere opinion”, such a good reason that can be shared by many, if not all for, well, good reason! They cannot be right or wrong, they just are. And if a “mere opinion” happens to be correct, it is by chance, not by good reason or fact. Philosophers do not “feel x is the case”. They “argue x is the case” and give reasons.

My feelings are irrelevant to this philosophy course, much like a chemistry professor’s feelings are irrelevant to chemistry. (For more: https://www.philosophersmag.com/essays/26-the-fact-opinion-distinction)

2) Wrong Paper Tone/Please Avoid Casual Language: “Writing at the university level requires a professionalized communication style. Be formal, but not fancy. Picture an audience of academic peers, not friends. Remove the "sound" of your casual conversational style and avoid contractions like "can't" or "don't." Think about the language you read in a textbook or academic journal - most academic publications do not use contractions, words like "okay," or storytelling indicators like, "then," "next," and "after that." They also do not address the reader casually with the word "you." And of course, always avoid using foul language or off-color humor. This also includes “Well…”

TIP: One way to teach yourself formal language is to read newspapers, textbooks, academic journals, and nonfiction publications.” https://awc.ashford.edu/tocw-academic-voice.html

3) Do not copy and paste writing prompt/questions into paper

4) Lacking proper formatting (http://writing.umn.edu/sws/assets/pdf/quicktips/academicessaystructures.pdf)

a. Paragraphs not indented

b. Not double-spaced

c. Unnecessary spacing between paragraphs

5) Writing is hard to follow, needs polishing (Writing Consultant appointment, online) https://www.lonestar.edu/23202.htm

6) Citation not used/used improperly (http://upresearch.lonestar.edu/research) Do not italicize quotes either. See link for proper quotation style.

7) Improper use of italics https://www.wikihow.com/Use-Italics

8) Citation after every line (librarians will address this, more here: https://style.mla.org/paraphrase-of-many-sentences/)

9) Too many quotes: in this class, your paper should not exceed 10% direct quotes

10) Quotes in opening and closing paragraphs; please avoid this

11) Outside sources used when not allowed

12) Plagiarism (https://upresearch.lonestar.edu/educ1300/citations) As stated in the syllabus, plagiarism will severely reduce your grade, sometimes even to a zero with a report to the office. This is a course about the PHILOSOPHY and ideas valuable to YOUR LIFE. For goodness sake, don’t copy what you think meaningful things are TO YOU from the internet or from someone else. Seriously. This is YOUR LIFE, not someone else’s.

13) Word count not met. The required word count is the MINIMUM required, and is not a suggestion.

14) Off-topic/does not follow the writing prompt topic and questions. Please stay focused on what the paper prompt is asking for.

15) Grammar errors which made the paper’s argument and flow difficult to follow (https://upresearch.lonestar.edu/grammarly/apps) Reading your paper aloud to yourself can help you check for errors too! That is what I do to edit my proofread my professional writing.

16) “I agree because I agree” evaluation pf philosopher’s idea; never said WHY you agree, what reasons or evidence you find compelling and WHY. Also, avoid “poser questions” known as rhetorical questions (see #4 on this website: https://unilearning.uow.edu.au/academic/2e.html)

17) Critical evaluation missing from paper

18) No opening or no conclusion, no thesis statement (https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/how-to-write-a-thesis-statement.html)

19) Used quotes when no citation occurring, see rules about “scare quotes”: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/informatics/punctuation/quotes/scare)

20) Incomplete sentences/fragments (What is a Fragment? https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/revising/sentence-fragments/)

21) Spaces put between paragraphs (do not add an extra line of space between paragraphs)

22) Paragraphs not indented. Paragraphs should be indented using the tab key.

23) Paragraphs are needed/essay is missing paragraphs. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/paragraphs_and_paragraphing/index.html

24) Improper semicolon use. https://www.grammarly.com/blog/semicolon/

25) We do not read novels in philosophy. We read books, essays, or chapters of books.

26) First name of philosophers used. Please only use last names in scholarly work.

27) Titles not in proper form (MLA rules here: https://symposium.curo.uga.edu/sites/default/files/docs/formatting_titles_of_texts_in_mla_style.pdf)

28) Paper title is the same title of the work being discussed. You must create your own title (if you are writing about Plato’s Republic, you do not title your paper Plato’s Republic. You are not writing Plato’s Republic, but commenting on it)

29) Improper use of capitalization (https://www.grammarly.com/blog/capitalization-rules/)

30) Also, Capitalize proper names https://www.grammarly.com/blog/capitalization-rules/