WRITING YOUR PHILOSOPHY PAPER

JOSE LUIS R. ARICHETA, MA

This handout is a guide in writing your philosophy paper for our subject, Ethics.

OVERVIEW
Your philosophy paper in Ethics is somehow a position paper. You have to state or claim a
certain statement, that is, related to Ethics, that you firmly believe as true knowledge. You
may call it, your thesis statement. Your thesis statement should be supported by Philosopher(s)
and Philosophy (-ies) and by your personal experience. But, you may opt not to disclose
personal experience. In some cases, when you are trying to prove a point, you are being
doubted. Others may present objections. In your paper, you have to state an objection and how
you answer that objection. You may have one or more objections. Make sure to answer these
objections. Finally, you have to write a good conclusion. A good conclusion should make the
readers believe that you exactly have a good point. Overall, your paper should be interesting
and enlightening.

OUTLINE
1. Introduction
State your thesis statement and its relevance
2. Definition of Terms
Enumerate a list of terms that is present in your paper and define them according
to its use or operation.
3. Exploring your position:
Reason why your thesis statement is a true knowledge.
Support from Philosopher(s) with Philosophy (-ies)
Personal experience (optional)
Anticipated Objections
Refutation of Objections
4. Conclusion
PAGE LAYOUT Name:_______________________________________ Course: Ethics
Program / Section: _____________________________ Date: __________

Margin: Normal Title

Orientation: Portrait Introduction

Size: A4
Number of Pages: 3 to 5 Definition of Terms

Exploring your position

Conclusion

RUBRIC FOR ASSESSMENT

Needs
Category Excellent* Good Marginal Unacceptable
Improvement
Philosophical The paper has The paper has The paper has an The paper has The paper has an
Value an excellent an argument but argument that an argument unacceptable
argument. there is needs to verify. that is argument based
something that questionable. on ethical
needs to explain principles learned
further.

70 points 60 points 50 points 0 point

40 points
Coherence The paper is The paper is The paper is The paper is The paper is not
consistent all consistent but somehow almost consistent
throughout. there are some consistent consistent.
thoughts that are
not aligned.

20 points 15 points 10 points 5 points 0 point

Grammar The paper is The paper is The paper has a The paper has The paper is
grammatically almost lot of grammatical an extremely understandable
correct. grammatically errors grammatical due to
correct errors grammatical
errors

10 points 8 points 5 points 2 points 0 point