Course: Introduction to Philosophy (PHIL 201/F09) — Instructor: Steve Naragon
Writing
[journal entries] [extra credit journals] [discussion forum postings] [writing tips]
Journal entries
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There are a total of ten journals on the readings and topics. You are required to complete any five (5) of these — choose whichever best fit your interests and/or work-schedule.
The specific journal assignments (“J1,” “J2,” etc.) are listed in the assignments schedule.
Please submit each journal entry into the appropriate “drop box” (numbered J1 through J10) found on the Angel site (“Course Materials/Journals”) by midnight of the assignment date.
You may type your journal entry directly into the window of the drop box, but I would advise you to type the journals in MS Word (or a comparable word processor), and then to copy and paste the entry into the drop box window; doing this will ensure that you always have a saved copy, should you temporarily lose your internet connection or some other technological mishap occurs.
Once you have entered the journal into the window, please make sure that the formatting (within the window) is clear. If any symbols used in your word processor were translated into garbage in the drop box window, please clean this up before submitting. Please include your name and the journal number in the title of the submission, so that I can quickly see that it is in the correct box.
Here is a sample of what I take to be a good (or “B” grade) journal entry. See the grading rubric.
Each journal entry should be from 500-700 words, and should include three parts:
(1) Summary: A very brief one-paragraph summary of the reading(s), focusing on those aspects that are relevant to your more detailed discussion in part two. The summary should flow directly into the body of the discussion, serving as an introductory paragraph.
(2) Discussion: The bulk of your entry should be devoted to your discussion of the readings, centered on the question(s) given in that assignment.
(3) Glossary: A list of words that you didn’t know until you looked them up in a dictionary, and then a brief definition of the meaning of the word, as it is used in the reading (for instance, if you came across the word ‘brazen’ and weren’t sure what it meant so you looked it up, and discovered that it was an adjective meaning either “bold, without shame” or “made of brass,” and the context of the word in the reading suggests the latter meaning, then you should indicate this in your definition.
Extra Credit Journals [top]
Many of the items listed under “Other Resources” (click on [show] in the list of modules will be marked with an [EC] — and these you may write a journal on, for extra credit. Many of these items are films, some are essays or audio files.
You may write one EC-journal per module, and they are due within one week of the module in which they are posted (for instance, an EC-journal for Module 10 would be due no later than midnight of Thursday, Oct 15).
The journal should contain the following: (1) a summary of the film/essay/etc. (mention only those aspects or features that are relevant to what you will later discuss), and (2) a discussion of what you thought was philosophically relevant or most interesting in the film/essay/etc.
These journals are worth up to 9 pts (following the journal rubric, minus the glossary item), and you can accumulate up to 50 points total. A full 50 points will add 4% to your course grade. Please enter your EC-journals into the “EC” journal drop box. Be sure to include the title of the film/essay/etc. in the subject line.
Discussion Forum postings [top]
Full credit in the course will require writing four postings and commenting on eight postings written by others (so, for each forum, you will write one posting and comment on two postings by other students). The questions/topics for the four forums, as well as due dates, are indicated on the assignments schedule. The entries and comments will be evaluated using this rubric.
Each discussion forum posting should be from 400-600 words and is worth up to 6 points; the comments should be from 100-150 words, and each is worth up to 2 points.
If you complete all of these assignments adequately (four postings and eight comments), then you will receive 40 points total [(4x6) + (8x2) = 40]), which is the most you can accumulate for this grade item. Any shortcomings (by writing a less than adequate entry or no entry at all) can, in principle, be made up by writing additional comments. NB: You may write up to four comments (for a grade) in any given forum.
Regarding your comments: You should feel welcome to comment as often as you wish on the discussion forum posts; I'll grade only the first four substantial comments (that appear to be 100 words or more), but shorter comments are also welcome, and can add immeasurably to the conversation.
Writing Tips [top]
Please carefully proofread these journal and discussion forum submissions. You need to use complete sentences, proper punctuation, and correct spelling. Both in college and after you graduate you will be judged, in part, by how well you write. Typos, mispellings, poor grammar — in short, sloppy writing — is like so much stink coming from the bottom of your shoes. It won’t matter how nicely your hair is combed or your shirt is pressed if you can’t write a decent paragraph.
I hope it never comes to this, but my comments on your writing might make use of some of the following abbreviations:
awk: awkward. This is a sentence problem; the sentence should be re-written for greater clarity.
frag: sentence fragment. Another sentence problem; your sentence is lacking something vital. Like a subject. Or a verb. Don’t fall into the trap of writting essays that sound like advertising copy. We all can do better than that!
wc: word choice. You might find a better word to suit your sentence. Consult your dictionary for the exact meaning.
sp: spelling. Consult your dictionary!
?: Huh? You’ve lost your reader.
TS?: Topic sentence? This is a paragraph problem. There needs to be a topic sentence (normally, the lead sentence of the paragraph) that indicates what the paragraph is all about (what you are hoping to do in the paragaph; or it’s the claim for which the paragraph will now offer support, or an observation for which the paragraph will now offer some elaboration, etc.).
CO?: Cohere? Another paragraph problem; the sentences in this paragraph don’t fit together very well. Try re-arranging the,. Ask yourself: (a) What goal am I trying to acheive with this paragraph? and (b) Is each sentence working towards this goal?
Q?: Quotation? Quotations should be used only when a paraphrase will not do the job as effectively. Common problems include failing to properly introduce a quotation, failing to properly cite a quotation, quoting more than is helpful, and using a quotation when a paraphrase would be better.
Manchester College // Registrar // Department of Religion and Philosophy // Last updated: 28 Aug 2009