23 Feb A good introductory paragraph for a philosophy paper introduces the topic in a general, yet focused way. It should give a feel for why the topic is important or why it might be interesting
writing project and need support to help me learn.
Hi, this is a topic on Multiculturalism, the worksheet will explain a lot about what needs to be written, I will also include other work if needed. The essay needs to be 1100 words in APA format. So the first thing that should be done is the worksheet, then the essay, worksheet is quick, essay will take a few hours.
Requirements:
Reading Worksheet
These questions should help you identify the main points and arguments of this essay. You may find it helpful to complete this worksheet as you complete the reading, section by section. The assignment is intended to be a study aid for you, rather than a test of your knowledge, so your answers can be brief or bullet points. It will be graded based on completion on a pass/fail basis. Please either highlight or type your answers in a contrasting color. If you have any questions youd like me to answer, please put them in the comments when you upload your submission.
Sample Student Paper: Native American and Western Art: Neither More or Less Meaningful Than the Other?
Worksheet overview
This worksheet corresponds to a sample student paper titled Native American and Western Art: Neither More or Less Meaningful Than the Other.?. In this worksheet, Ill go through each section of a typical philosophy paper, explaining what features help make a paper excellent in these areas. The questions at the end of each section asks you to read the corresponding section of the student paper and evaluate the extent to which the paper meets the criteria I outlined.
In this essay assignment, students were asked to describe and critically assess an essay of their choice from the course Multicultural Philosophy.? This student chose to write on a paper by Apache philosopher V.F. Cordova called Ethics: From an Artists Point of View.? In this paper, Cordova contrasts the attitudes of Native American artists with those of Western American artists. Although you havent read this essay, a good student essay should be written in such a way that it is easy enough to follow by someone unfamiliar with the topic. Since you havent read on that topic, youll be able to evaluate for yourself whether the paper succeeds in doing that.
This paper received an A, but I want to let you know that it goes into a bit more depth than I would normally require for an A paper. The assignment suggested around 1200-1500 words, whereas this particular paper is almost 2000 words. The paper is structured so nicely that it serves as a nice model paper for students to look at, and I hope that its extra length doesnt intimidate you.
Part I: Introductory Paragraph (p. 1)
A good introductory paragraph for a philosophy paper introduces the topic in a general, yet focused way. It should give a feel for why the topic is important or why it might be interesting to general reader. The intended audience for a philosophy paper is a general audience, which means it should be able to be understood and appreciated by a regular intelligent person, such as yourself, your parents, your friends, your professors, etc. One key to writing a paper for a general audience is giving enough context and background information so the reader can understand the topic at hand. Be judicious in what kind of background information you give?you dont need to spoon feed every detail about the topic, so be careful to pick out just those ideas that are necessary for understanding the major points of your essay. The introductory paragraph should also have a clear thesis statement that defines the purpose of the paper and/or the stance the writer will be taking on the issue. Finally, it is often helpful to give some kind of preview of the structure of the paper to come, explaining very broadly what topics youll be covering. Often just a sentence is enough for a 1200-1500 word paper.
Question: After reading the introductory paragraph of the sample student paper, to what extent does this introduction meet the guidelines I outlined above? Are there any weaknesses or deficiencies that you notice?
Part II: Explanation of Cordovas argument (last paragraph of p. 1 through the top of p. 3)
In the main body of a philosophy paper, you should explain the philosophical viewpoints or arguments that are the topic of the paper.
As noted before, the audience for a philosophy paper should be a general audience, which means that appropriate background information needs to be given. Before your write your own paper, you can ask yourself, if I were to explain this topic to a friend of mine, what information would I need to give? Another important consideration is to convey how the different parts of the theory or argument youre describing fit together. In this paper, the student does an excellent job of tying together the pieces with good logical transitions between paragraphs, and distinguishing main ideas from supporting details. Their writing keeps an eye on the bigger picture of the argument and shows how all of the aspects of the argument work together to form that bigger picture. A common weakness I see in papers is to give a play-by-play? account of what the author says, by just listing point after point. This isnt terrible and usually earns a respectable B, but what takes is to the next level is the way the points are linked together showing the relationships among them and the overall conclusion.
A nice touch, but not required, is to use quotations from the source material as needed to support your interpretation. Skilled use of quotations adds another dimension to your explanation and often conveys a deeper understanding of the topic. Be careful not to overuse quotations, however. The bulk of any given paragraph (at least 80-90%) should be your own words, with only a few quotations sprinkled in for emphasis. Think of them like salt and pepper?its easy to ruin it by going overboard. There were a few key places in this paper where an additional quotation would have made it even stronger; I point these areas out in the comments.
Question: After reading this section of the paper (end of p. 1 through the top of p. 3), to what extent does this paper exemplify the ideals outlined above? Are there any deficiencies that could be improved? In particular, after reading this paper, do you feel like you have a decent idea about the main ideas behind Cordovas argument, or are there parts that you found confusing?
Part III: Critical Analysis of the Cordovas argument (near the top of p. 3 to the end of p. 5)
The main body of a philosophy paper usually has two parts: 1) a description of the theory/argument that is the topic of the paper and 2) a critical analysis of that. In this section of the sample paper, we move on to that second task, the critical analysis.
When you write your own paper, be sure to have a nice clear transition between the two sections of the paper, so that its clear you are now moving on to your own analysis. If you have several arguments you want to make, be sure to break them up in an organized fashion, rather than just jumping from idea to idea. Separate paragraphs for each main idea are helpful. One pointer I can give is that its often more effective to focus your analysis on a small number (1-3) key points that you develop in detail, rather than giving many ideas that are only vaguely developed.
Some papers talk about both strengths and weaknesses of the argument, and others only focus on weaknesses. Either option can work. If you happen to be writing about a paper you wholly agree with, it can be harder to come up with good critical comments to make. If youre in that situation, one thing you can do is think about how someone might try to criticize the paper and explain that criticism and offer your own counter-argument.
One way to increase the depth of your analysis is to consider objections/counter-arguments to your own argument. To do this, think about what someone who disagrees with your point of view would think about your argument. Would they be convinced? What problems might they point out? What could you say in response to them? A paragraph dealing with these issues helps make your argument more convincing by dealing with the potential sticky points in your argument in advance. This paper anticipates and responds to a key objection on p. 4 (I comment on this in the paper), so you can see how this can sometimes look. It doesnt have to be done like this; there are other ways to dig deep into the argument that work well, too.
If youre having a hard time coming up with criticisms, you can try browsing through some other students discussion posts. Sometimes you can find a point you really agree or disagree with, and that can get you going in your own direction.
This section of the paper isnt as important grade-wise as the other section. If youre having a hard time coming up with original ideas, dont panic. In an introductory level class like this, Im looking for effort, not greatness. If youre having trouble here, your best bet is to focus your attention on making the section where you describe the argument as good as it can be, and just make a stab at an analysis.
Question: After reading this section of the paper (near the top of p. 3 to the end of p. 5), to what extent does this section of the paper exemplify some of the ideals I outlined above? Are you able to follow the papers criticisms, or are you confused about what point theyre trying to make? Do you agree with their conclusions?
Part IV: Conclusion (p. 6)
Ideally, youll want to include a separate concluding paragraph in your essay that wraps up the paper nicely. Otherwise the paper ends abruptly and leaves the reader hanging. Youll want to reiterate the main conclusion you made in the paper, and if you can find a new closing thought to offer that ties everything together that is ideal. Writing good conclusions is a skill that takes time to develop, and I admit this is a weakness that I struggle with in my own writing. If you struggle with this area as I do, remember that a boring conclusion is better than none at all. If you want to develop your skills here, you can find some nice guides by doing a Google search on How to write a good conclusion.?
Finally, remember the importance of good grammar and spelling, and having any quotations appropriately cited. Microsoft Word is good at catching many errors, but its always worth taking the time to give your document a once-over before handing in. In an academic context, as well as in the workplace, this is important since many readers wont take your writing seriously if there are too many errors. Impeccable spelling and grammar, on the other hand, makes an excellent impression. Its like the difference between showing up to a job interview well-dressed instead of in your jammies. Often I see an otherwise excellent paper marred with many spelling/grammar mistakes, and it makes me sad to assign an A- to papers like these.
Question: Do you notice any errors in spelling/grammar that need to be corrected? Does the concluding paragraph do a good job of wrapping up the paper? Do you have any ideas for improvement?
Task: Write a summary of the debate between Searle and Asante on the role of multiculturalism in education
Length: Minimum 1000 words. Longer is fine if you feel you need more space
Format: Word doc or PDF
Citation style: Use MLA or APA guidelines to cite any quotations
It is time to get started on the long-term project for this class! Dont worry, well break it up into parts so that youre not doing it all at once and so you can get feedback along the way. This assignment is the first step, and you’ll be allowed to incorporate this writing into your final project for this class.
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Heres what you have to do for todays assignment
For this first formal writing assignment,?your task is going to be to write an approximately 1000-word?summary?of the debate between John Searle and Molefi Kete Asante on the role of multiculturalism in education.?These were the readings we looked at in Modules 3 and 5 of this class. Let me emphasize, at this point its just a summary of the arguments they present?you dont need to provide any of your own analysis or argue your own take on it. Well get to all of that in the final paper.
Youll want to be sure to address the following points:
An overview of what the controversy is about
A basic overview of each of their positions and how they argue in favor of them. Specifically,
Searles description of the traditionalists and challengers, along with the main arguments behind each of these. (Its best to just focus on a couple of the main reasons, rather than just regurgitating each and every assumption that Searle lists)
Searles main criticisms of the challengers and why he tends more towards a traditional approach
Asante: what centricity, Afrocentricity and multiculturalism are
How Asante argues that the American education system is Eurocentric, why this is a problem, and how an Afrocentric approach would be better
How Asante defends the Afrocentric idea from the criticism that it is merely a Black? version of Eurocentricity (i.e., that it has the same pitfalls just in reverse)
How Asante argues for the claim that Afrocentricity is needed as a steppingstone? to multiculturalism, and that its not possible to just skip it and go right to multiculturalism
How Asante argues for the claim that Afrocentricity is not anti-White
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In your writing, youll want to weave these ideas into a nicely organized essay (with good use of paragraphs and transitions), instead of just going through these questions point-by-point.
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How this assignment will be graded
This is a piece of formal academic writing, and will be graded on the following characteristics:
The depth and accuracy of your descriptions of Searles and Asantes arguments
The quality of the writing, including organization, spelling and grammar
Appropriate use of formatting,
paraphrasing, quotations and citations as taught in ENGL 101/102 using either MLA or APA citation style.
Rubric
Rubric for Descriptions of Searle/Asante Assignment
