General Rules for Writing

Assignment Requirements

Rules for Abolition of Man

You will be required to write a two-page summary of each chapter in Lewis' book. Find the author's intent, and explain in detail what his argument is, what his conclusion is, what reasoning there is to support his conclusion. You will find some help in the "Hints for Reading" link.

The difficulty with this book is that it is complicated and one reading will probably not be sufficient to entirely capture his main points. You will probably have to read it twice, underline (unless it is a library book) and outline the arguments for yourself before writing the summary.

Rules for the Final Paper

The length of the paper will be approximately 1500 words. If your argument and evidence are clear and concise then 1300 words will do. If there is more substance that can not be covered in 1500 words, then write no more than 2000 words.

  1. Choose from one of the following issues:
    1. Is the Drug War in the United States being conducted in a morally responsible fashion?
    2. Should gay marriage be permitted in the United States?
    3. Should capital punishment be abolished?
    4. Under what circumstances should abortion be permitted?
  2. The Introduction: you will lay out and define one of these problems as a practice. This is where you will ask the central question of the paper. What are you trying to answer by writing this paper?
  3. The History of the Problem, or why there is a problem today: where you will tell the history of the problem using at least 3 book references. Internet research from the Drury Library portal is encouraged. You should use the internet to find books, and the library to obtain them. Notation style is not important. What is important is that all references are noted clearly. That means for direct quotes and paraphrases and simple phrases taken out of the books, there must be clear citations including book and page references.
  4. The third and final part will be your speculative conclusion: How can our society deal with this problem? What are the risks and benefits of your solution, and what possible objections might there be?
  5. Absolute answers, such as the "abortions should be permitted in all circumstances," or "abortions should be outlawed in every circumstance," are suspect. They display first of all, a lack of understanding of the issues involved, and second, a moral vision that doesn't really take people into account. This is not true for all topics, but you should consider the consequences of your position carefully.

Your accomplishments in this paper will determine about one eighth of your grade.

Alternate Rules for the Final Paper

The length of the paper will be approximately 2000 words.

  1. The paper will consist of a narrative of change in your life.
  2. The reason for this is that you begin to recognize your reflective self, the self that philosophizes about your being in the world.
  3. In as much detail as necessary tell of an event in your life that changed the way you think about the world and what you do.
    1. Tell the story.
    2. Refer to any books, magazine articles, television shows, movies, plays, etc. that influenced your transformation.
    3. Refer to conversations with other people, accidents, gifts, miracles, illnesses, violence, arguments, moments of peace, etc. that changed your worldview.
    4. Refer to at least two of the essays we have read so far in class this semester to explain the change.
    5. Answer these questions:
      • What did I believe before that I no longer believe now?
      • What do I believe now that shows the value of the change?
      • What could I do before that I can no longer do now?
      • What can I do now that shows the value of the change?

Your accomplishments in this paper will determine about one eighth of your grade.

General Paper Requirements

  1. Paper Style
    1. Font size will be 12 points Times or Times New Roman.
    2. Provide a Title page in the same document as the paper.
    3. Every paper turned in will have these elements:
      1.) Student name
      2.) Course title
      3.) Date paper is due
      4.) Assignment name.
    4. Margins will be 1.25 inches all around and type will be double spaced. This is to allow adequate room for corrections and comments.
  2. Paper Length
    1. If papers are assigned with word lengths or pages required, those requirements are average.
    2. If the papers exceed the required length by a great deal, there is probably excess material not required by the assignment.
    3. If the papers are much shorter than the assignment it is likely that some essential material has been left out.
  3. Citations
    1. No particular format (MLA, Chicago or Turabian) is required. Any format will be acceptable.
    2. In any case every quotation of 3 words or more in your paper will require a citation.
    3. This is true whether the quote is direct or paraphrased.
    4. Every book used (with the exception of a centrally featured text from class) will have a reference either at the bottom of the page of the first citation or the end of the paper in a standard bibliography.
    5. Every subsequent citation will follow the text quoted or be footnoted with the author's name and page number.
    6. Failure to cite quotations properly can result in a paper being given a mark of "0" when it is clear that you have taken material from a book or web site.
  4. Electronic Submission
    1. The paper will be placed in the appropriate drop box.
    2. Each paper will contain the student name as part of the title.
    3. The paper must be in either Microsoft Word format or RTF format from other word processing programs.
    4. Text submissions are not acceptable.

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