The Assignment

The main assignment for this course will be a writing exercise composed of answers to eight essay questions. You will be asked to demonstrate both knowledge of the material covered in the course and the ability to critically approach and respond to philosophical arguments/theories. 

DEADLINE: This assignment is due in class on the following dates. Set #1 is due July 6 and Set #1 is due on July 20th. As usual, no late work will be accepted.

THE REQUIREMENTS

1. Successful responses will: 

a. Answer the question being asked,

b. be thoughtful while also being critical, and

c. incorporate in meaningful ways the philosophical terms, theories, and concepts covered in the lectures and readings.

2. General requirements: 

a. your entries are an appropriate length. Each of your eight responses must be minimum of 450 words a maximum of 550 words. You must fulfill this requirement in order to receive credit for your responses. 

bType and double-space your entries. Use appropriate formatting and font size (1" margins, 11-12 pt. font).

c. Indicate at the beginning at the beginning of each response which questions you are answering.

d. Finally, staple your answers together.

3. Finally, you must not have extensive grammar, punctuation, sentence structure or word choice problems. If you have difficulty with these components of writing, please use the weekly writing opportunity to improve on those skills, as they are important to this assignment and academic writing you will do in the future. 

THE GRADING

Each essay question is worth 10 points, so the assignment is worth 80 points in total or 80% of the final grade. The essay questions must be submitted by the stated deadline in order to receive credit. You will be graded on the basics such as organization and clarity. The most important factors, however, are the demonstration of thoughtfulness and depth of engagement with the material. In other words, what most determines your grade on this assignment is the demonstration of  

THE PURPOSE

This assignment is designed to give you the opportunity to do the sort of thoughtful analyzing that we'll be doing in class each week. As such, it is a place to practice and sharpen your critical thinking skills, listening skills, and communication skills. Learning to think and communicate well is like mastering two superpowers. Having them will improve your performance in school, of course, but will also support your success at work and in your personal and innver lives as well. They key here is engagement and engagement is active. We are working to protect ourselves from the threat of passivity which is an enemy of learning and growth.