Paper Guideline

Due Date: the beginning of class on Tuesday, December 11th, 2012

Worth: 10% of final grade

Length/Format: Papers must be typed, and must be between 400-800 words long. Provide a word count on the first page of the paper. (Most programs like Microsoft Word & WordPerfect have automatic word counts.)

Assignment:
1) Pick an article from a newspaper, magazine, or journal in which an author presents an argument for a particular position.There are some links to potential articles below.  I recommend choosing from those articles, though you are also free to choose an article on any topic you want.

PRO TIP: It’s easier to write this paper on an article with a BAD argument. Try finding a poorly-reasoned article!

If you don’t chose from the articles on the blog, you must show Sean your article by Tuesday, December 4th for approval. The main requirement is that the article present an argument. One place to look for such articles is the Opinion page of a newspaper. Here is a list of possible articles. I strongly recommend using one of these articles, since many (the first 8 in particular) contain bad arguments:

1. Down With Facebook!: it's soooo lame
2. Is Facebook Making Us Lonely? generational I'M-SPECIAL-ism
3. Do Fish Feel Pain?: "it's a tricky issue, so I'll go with my gut"
4. In the Basement of the Ivory Tower: are some people just not meant for college?
5. Study Says Social Conservatives Are Dumb: but that doesn't mean they're wrong
6. A New Argument Against Gay Marriage: hetero marriage is unique & indispensable
7. Ben Stein's Confession for the Holidays: taking sides on the war on christmas
8. Get Over Ferris Bueller: it's an overrated movie
   
   
9. You Don't Deserve Your Salary: no one does
10. The Financial Crisis Killed Libertarianism: if it wasn't dead to begin with
11. How'd Economists Get It So Wrong?: Krugman says the least wrong was Keynes
12. An Open Letter to Krugman: get to know your field
13. Consider the Lobster: David Foster Wallace ponders animal ethics
14. Are Dolphins People?: an ocean full of sea-people
15. The Dark Art of Interrogation: Bowden says torture is necessary
16. The Idle Life is Worth Living: in praise of laziness
17. Should I Become a Professional Philosopher?: maybe not (update)
18. Blackburn Defends Philosophy: it beats being employed

Here’s a list of some other good sources:

• The New Yorker
• Slate
• New York Review of Books
• London Review of Books
• Times Literary Supplement
• Boston Review
• Atlantic Monthly
• The New Republic
• The Weekly Standard
• The Nation
• Reason
• Dissent
• First Things
• Mother Jones
• National Journal
• The New Criterion
• Wilson Quarterly
• The Philosophers' Magazine

(for even more sources, check out the left-hand column of Arts & Letters Daily)

2) In the essay, first briefly explain the article’s argument in your own words. What’s the position that the author is arguing for? What are the reasons the author offers as evidence for her or his conclusion? What type of argument does the author provide? In other words, provide a brief summary of the argument.
NOTE: This part of your paper shouldn’t be very long. I recommend making this only one paragraph of your paper.

3) In the essay, then evaluate the article’s argument. Overall, is this a good or bad argument? Why or why not? Systematically evaluate the argument:

• Check each premise: is each premise true? Are any false? Questionable? (Do research if you have to in order to determine whether the premises are true.)
• Then check the structure of the argument. Do the premises provide enough support for the conclusion?
• Does the argument contain any fallacies? If so, which one(s)? Exactly how does the argument commit it/them?

If you are criticizing the article’s argument, be sure to consider potential responses that the author might offer, and explain why these responses don’t work. If you are defending the article’s argument, be sure to consider and respond to objections.
NOTE: This should be the main part of your paper. Focus most of your paper on evaluating the argument.

4) If your paper is not on one of the articles linked to on the course blog, attach a copy of the article to your paper when you hand it in. (Save trees! Print it on few pages!)