Ancient and Medieval Western Philosophy (PHIL 316)
Writing
ALMOST DAILY ESSAYS
An essay will be assigned for nearly every class period, and are due before class on the day for which they are assigned. You are expected to complete fifteen of these (so, on average, about one essay per week). Because of this flexibility to choose which essays to write, I will not accept any late essays.
Each essay should be a succinct and beautifully written response to the given prompts, which are found on the Reading Schedule. Please turn in these essays through ANGEL, in the appropriate drop-box (your first essay goes into box E-1, your second into E-2, and so on). Also, it’s much more convenient for me if you paste them into the text window of the drop-box (and not attach them). Because I’ll be grading these on mechanics as well as length and content (see the rubric), however, I strongly urge you to type them up in a word processor first, and give them a good proof-reading before you cut-and-paste them into the ANGEL drop-box.
Length: 500-600 words (this is not much, so you need to be succinct).
DAILY PARAGRAPHS
Part of your class participation grade will be based on brief, one-paragraph reflections on some passage in the reading. This passage is of your own choosing, so long as it doesn’t overlap with the topic of the daily essay. This passage could be a single sentence that puzzles you or that you find interesting. These pre-class paragraphs are due by 9:00 AM (sent through ANGEL), and late is the same as never. Each class period will be graded following a 6 pt. rubric.
Format: If the passage is short, type it out; otherwise, indicate its location. Follow this with your one-paragraph reflection. Use this sample submission as a guide:
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Heraclitus, Fr. 118: “A dry soul is wisest and best.” Heraclitus mentions the four standard kinds of stuffs (fire, air, water, earth), and he seems to associate the soul with fire, which is also associated with logos, so that sort of makes sense. The soul (or mind) could seem to be like fire (or maybe is literally a kind of fire?), always changing, but also retaining a kind of unity (namely, the continuity of the flame). Would Heraclitus have thought that each of our minds was part of the basic cosmic fire that ordered (or was the order of) the universe? |
WRITING TIPS
Please carefully proofread your essays. 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: 3 Aug 2011