Writing Philosophy: A Student's Guide to Writing Philosophy Essays

by Lewis Vaughn

Writing Philosophy: A Student's Guide to Writing Philosophy Essays is a concise, self-guided manual that covers the basics of argumentative essay writing and encourages students to master fundamental skills quickly, with minimal instructor input. Opening with an introductory chapter on how to
read philosophy, the book then moves into the basics of writing summaries and analyzing arguments. It provides step-by-step instructions for each phase of the writing process, from formulating a thesis, to creating an outline, to writing a final draft, supplementing this tutorial approach with model
essays, outlines, introductions, and conclusions. Skills essential to evaluating arguments, citing sources, avoiding plagiarism, detecting fallacies, and formatting final drafts are dealt with in detail. The final two chapters serve as a reference guide to common mistakes and basic skills in
sentence construction, writing style, and word choice.
Employing a rulebook format similar to that of the classic Elements of Style (by Strunk, White, and Angell), Lewis Vaughn distills helpful writing advice into simple rules that students can easily remember and apply--and that instructors can refer to when reviewing student papers. These rules
cover essay organization, sentence structure, documentation styles, plagiarism, grammar, usage, and more. Written in a clear and engaging style and incorporating samples of student writing, Writing Philosophy is an indispensable resource for virtually any philosophy course.

Genres: Philosophy, Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, School, Academia

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2005

Reviews

[Kaleb Guy Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish I had this while working on my undergrad program in philosophy. Now I’m in grad school and it’s not as helpful as it would’ve been 3 years ago. Very helpful for beginners. For people who are familiar, it depreciates.

[Rambling Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

this should be essential reading for all students.

[Edward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely helpful for someone starting undergrad or postgraduate philosophy. Helps you see the foundations needed to do well in philosophy.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book to read if you are unaccustomed to writing argumentative papers in general. Additionally, if you are unfamiliar with reading philosophy it provides some tips, as reading philosophy (and theory in general) can be very difficult.

I have a professor who assigns this book for every class he teaches. He claims that since he began this practice it has greatly improved the quality of papers he has received.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an informative and useful book for writing philosophical essays!

[Michael Prendergast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will return to this book again and again. A good, clear, concise guide on how to read and wrote philosophical papers, books etc.

[Pilar Hanes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly informative. I didn’t like the lack of flowy and pretty language but what did I expect

[Envy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read a section for class

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author gives a clear explanation of the specifics of writing philosophy papers. He details rules of style that could apply to any academic paper, as well as how to defend a thesis, avoid fallacies, and select worthy objections to answer in an argumentative paper. His sections on analyzing arguments are similar to what one would find in an introductory logic course.

[Jeff Lacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and concise exposition about argumentative writing and reading.

[Dan Gorman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not exactly the most compelling read, but it gets the job done, and it really is a useful resource when writing philosophy papers.

[Photina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not interesting, per say but it explains the topic well.

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth reading. it's reasonably short (150 pages). The author practices what he preaches and writes clearly and concisely. Useful stuff if you're about to write a dissertation or longer essay.

[Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic book! It was great at explaining techniques for reading and writing Philosophy. I really enjoyed this book!

[Karl Hallbjörnsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm new to writing academic papers on philosophy and I hope this book will come in handy when I make my first attempt. In any case the volume was well written and concise.