PHIL 003: Term paper assignment
Last revised: 10 November 2021
Formal instructions: Approximately 1,600 words, a standard twelve-point font, double spaced with one-
inch margins, and a Works Cited page at the end. You must follow MLA formatting guidelines. The paper
is due by Thursday 16 December at 11:59 PM. You must upload your paper to Canvas as a Microsoft Word
Document (*.doc or *.docx). If you plan to submit your paper late, please notify me at least 24 hours before
the deadline. Late papers must be sent to me directly at [email protected] and may be penalized one-
third of a letter grade per day.
Assignment: This assignment requires that you formulate your own topic. The main requirement is that
the topic is connected in a meaningful, substantive way to one (or more) of the authors or texts that were
assigned during the term. You must develop a question that suits the scope of the project and an argument
that addresses that question, using relevant evidence. You must also respond to potential objections.
Note: You may not write on a topic that is closely connected to any other major course assignment.
The assignment requires that you perform external research. A minimum of two outside sources must
be used, in addition to the text(s) that is the focus of the assignment. Examples of acceptable outside
sources include peer-reviewed journal articles and scholarly monographs. Internet sources (for example,
Wikipedia) are not acceptable. If you have questions about locating external sources or the acceptability of
an external source, please discuss it with me.
Finally, you must discuss your provisional term paper topic with me before the Thanksgiving break, by or
before 19 November. This can happen during office hours, by appointment, or over email.
I strongly encourage you to review chapter four of Vaughn’s Writing Philosophy. It provides you with a
step-by-step process for writing an argumentative or persuasive essay. In addition, please read chapter six
of Vaughn’s Writing Philosophy, on using and citing sources. And, as always, I am available to discuss an
outline or a draft of your term paper either during office hours or by appointment.