Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1. What
is
the
main
topic
that
the
author
is
addressing?
By
topic,
I
mean
the
general,
broad
theme
of
the
essay.
Singer:
what
should
we
do
about
people
in
desperate
need
in
our
world?
2. What
is
the
authors
main
thesis?
A
thesis
is
more
specific
than
a
topic.
While
a
topic
identifies
a
theme,
a
thesis
is
where
the
author
asserts
his/her
opinion
on
the
matter.
A
thesis
is
argumentative
in
nature.
It
is
staking
a
position
in
a
debate.
Singer:
people
have
a
moral
obligation
to
donate
money
to
aid
people
in
need,
wherever
they
are,
at
least
when
giving
costs
them
nothing
of
moral
significance
(and
potentially
up
until
the
point
at
which
the
person
would
be
significantly
burdened
by
giving
more).
3. Identify
the
dialectic:
A
dialectic
is
a
conversation
between
two
people
on
opposing
sides
of
an
issue.
You
should
think
of
philosophy
papers
as
the
author
having
a
conversation
with
an
imaginary
person
who
disagrees
with
her.
She
is
trying
to
convince
him
of
her
argument,
while
considering
and
responding
to
his
objections.
Dialectic
is
not
always
explicit,
but
it
is
there.
If
you
ever
get
lost
and
wonder
what
the
author
is
talking
about,
or
why
s/he
is
going
on
about
something,
ask
yourself
where
you
are
in
the
dialectic.
Is
she
making
an
argumentative
point?
Is
she
explaining
her
opponents
objection?
Is
she
responding
to
his
objection?
Do
the
following
to
identify
the
dialectic:
A. What
is
the
authors
argument
to
support
the
thesis?
The
argument
may
consist
of
many
parts
(premises).
The
author
will
argue
for
the
premise
or
stipulate
it.
Identify
each
of
these
and
how
they
work
together
as
a
whole.
Singer:
i. Premise
1:
suffering
and
death
from
lack
of
food,
shelter,
and
medical
care
are
bad.