A question for all you philosophers...

[JohnnyMarko 1]

...and just plain good writers. I have an essay to write for my Environmental Ethics class and my writing is less than good .
It's mostly opinion stuff so it's hard to screw up the content and the teacher tells me my ideas and opinions make sense and are backed up, but that my writing and sentence structure flat out sucks. Anyone have any tips on how to write good philosophy papers or any other writing tips?

[deltron80 0]

Just write like you are talking to someone...it sounds more natural. Don't use cliches. Don't use "I" too much. Say things as succinctly as possible, but if you find yourself writing a complicated or long sentance, make the next one short and to the point. It's good for contrast and reading flow. Like this. Don't forget to proof read and omit extra chaff.

[JohnnyMarko 1]

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Don't use "I" too much.

I tend not to. Instead of saying "I think this because...", I just state my opinion like it's a fact.

[topdocker 0]

The key to good writing is rewriting.

Write what you want to say, then go back and write it the way you want to say it. Very few people can write well in one or two drafts. Get used to the idea that you will rewrite something several times as you polish your material to its best presentation.

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Jump more, post less!

[Andy9o8 0]

Only a long-term suggestion: take a couple English composition courses, if the instructors are good at teaching it (which I realize isn't always a given). Seriously. Don't just accept your deficiency at a particular skill set; be proactive about improving it. Just like good driving instruction, canopy coaching or math tutoring, you'd be surprised at how much good composition instruction, combined with serious effort on your part, can improve your writing skills.

[NWFlyer 2]

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Only a long-term suggestion: take a couple English composition courses, if the instructors are good at teaching it (which I realize isn't always a given). Seriously. Don't just accept your deficiency at a particular skill set; be proactive about improving it. Just like good driving instruction, canopy coaching or math tutoring, you'd be surprised at how much good composition instruction, combined with serious effort on your part, can improve your writing skills.

This.

I'm lucky - I'm definitely a "natural" at writing. It's easy for me. But if I think back to what really tightened up my writing - it was good teaching and lots and lots of practice. Learning not only to write but to edit (my work and the work of others) has helped me to strengthen my own work.

That started junior year of high school when each quarter we'd have four papers to do on various topics. For each paper, the first draft went to a peer for review. The second draft was the edited version based on your peer's feedback. That was the draft that went to the teacher. She could accept it as is, or give it back for revisions. This process repeated until she accepted the paper, or until you hit five drafts. At that point, you moved onto the next paper in the sequence.

That process of writing, editing, and rewriting was frustrating* but also hugely valuable (and much more like the "real world" applications of writing that I use today, where things I write are reviewed and edited multiple times).

Then I went to college and joined the newspaper so I was constantly writing with space limitations, under deadline. Being able to tell a story in that format was also good discipline - you don't have a lot of space most of the time but you've got to get a lot of information in.





*I should add this was in the olden days of the 80s when not a lot of us had word processors or PCs at home to do our work, so every rewrite involved completely retyping or rewriting.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[JohnMitchell 14]

Read your work out loud to yourself. Check it for flow and tempo. Find the clumsy constructions and revise them. Is there a logical path of your ideas, or do you hop from point to point? These are some of the things I do to try and polish my own writings and presentations.

There's a lot of good advice in the previous posts too. I look back on all those essays that I had to write in school. I see now that they were valuable chances to learn how to organize my thoughts. If only I could still do that.

[JohnnyMarko 1]

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Is there a logical path of your ideas, or do you hop from point to point?

Absolutely not. I tend to just start typing whatever comes to mind and when I go to revise it, it sounds good to me . I tend to have scattered thoughts so I don't notice my main points being spread out through the paper instead of being organized in a logical flow.

[NWFlyer 2]

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Is there a logical path of your ideas, or do you hop from point to point?

Absolutely not. I tend to just start typing whatever comes to mind and when I go to revise it, it sounds good to me . I tend to have scattered thoughts so I don't notice my main points being spread out through the paper instead of being organized in a logical flow.

Does making an outline of your ideas work for you? Sometimes if I've got too many thoughts bouncing around, before I sit down to write I'll outline the main points I want to cover (just a few words on each) and see if I can find a logical flow to them before I start writing.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[JohnnyMarko 1]

I make outlines from time to time but I normally just go for it and start writing then try to organize it all after the fact. I'll give it go this time, HIWFM

[JohnMitchell 14]

Imagine, perhaps, that you're trying to teach someone about your point of view. What logical steps would you follow to lead them to your conclusions?

I found, years ago, that teaching the FJC was a great way to learn to organize your thoughts. There's nothing like looking at a room full of confused students to realize you needed to reorganize your syllabus. Plus, you always got immediate feedback when they left the strut.

[JohnnyMarko 1]

This might get this thread shipped off to the SC, but here is one of the questions I have to answer....

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One of the federal government’s efforts to preserve wetlands (under the 2nd Bush administration) was to allow for the destruction of any natural wetland so long as a human created wetland was constructed to offset the numerical lose of the first. Outline how the eco-feminist might describe this policy as morally objectionable. Do you think the eco-feminist argument is convincing or might we see this policy as morally permissible, perhaps even upright? As always, make sure to provide some reasons for your position.

[JohnMitchell 14]

Wow, I'd have to know what an eco-feminist was.

And a lot more about man made wetlands. Ask yourself what their position would be, and what evidence supports or undermines their position, then reinforce or debunk those positions, one at a time.

Then have a cold beer.

[JohnnyMarko 1]

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Wow, I'd have to know what an eco-feminist was.

have a cold beer.

Then ask yourself what their position would be, and what evidence supports or undermines their position, then reinforce or debunk those positions, one at a time.

FIFY

[kallend 1,623]

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Only a long-term suggestion: take a couple English composition courses, if the instructors are good at teaching it (which I realize isn't always a given). Seriously. Don't just accept your deficiency at a particular skill set; be proactive about improving it. Just like good driving instruction, canopy coaching or math tutoring, you'd be surprised at how much good composition instruction, combined with serious effort on your part, can improve your writing skills.

I recall a freshman some years ago who wanted to be exempted from English Composition, with the excuse that his writing skills were poor so he wouldn't do well in the class.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Southern_Man 0]

Is there a writing center at your University?

Good suggestions have been given already, the best solution is simply more practice. That practice is best if guided by somebody with good editing and teaching skills.

"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

[JohnnyMarko 1]

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Is there a writing center at your University?

Yes. It's free. I've used it. It sucks. The "helpers" that work there are anything but that. They are volunteers so you would think they are there to help but they basically just read it and make minor suggestions.

[peregrinerose 0]

Don't use a single linking verb in the entire paper... that all by itself will make your writing more powerful.

Linking verbs.... is am are was were be being been seem appear remain stay see touch feel hear, etc (those are the only ones I remember off the top of my head)

I had an English teacher that would fail us if we used any of about 30 linking verbs in any paper we ever turned in to her.

If you want a proof reader, I'm a very good writer when I choose to be, have won national writing contests, been published in journals, and have helped edit everything from short stories to PhD theses.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[Andy9o8 0]

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Wow, I'd have to know what an eco-feminist was

Yeah; it sounds like a forced hybridization of two separate terms, like "alco-biker" or something.

[JohnnyMarko 1]

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Wow, I'd have to know what an eco-feminist was

Yeah; it sounds like a forced hybridization of two separate terms, like "alco-biker" or something.

I wish I knew too. My teacher pretty much created the term and all the theories that go with it.

[jumpsalot-2 2]

I don't think I could get thru the day without using any of those verbs.

Life is short ... jump often.

[ChrisL 2]

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...and just plain good writers. I have an essay to write for my Environmental Ethics class and my writing is less than good .
It's mostly opinion stuff so it's hard to screw up the content and the teacher tells me my ideas and opinions make sense and are backed up, but that my writing and sentence structure flat out sucks. Anyone have any tips on how to write good philosophy papers or any other writing tips?

Have someone whose opinion you respect proof-read it before you turn in your work.

__

My mighty steed

[peregrinerose 0]

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I don't think I could get thru the day without using any of those verbs.

I use 'em all day long, but if I am writing something that matters, I never use them.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[Andy9o8 0]

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If you want a proof reader, I'm a very good writer when I choose to be, have won national writing contests, been published in journals, and have helped edit everything from short stories to PhD theses.

Cool! So who would you recommend?

[CarrieByTheSea 0]

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I'm a very good writer when I choose to be, have won national writing contests, been published in journals, and have helped edit everything from short stories to PhD theses.

While I have a similar pedigree,

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I had an English teacher that would fail us if we used any of about 30 linking verbs in any paper we ever turned in to her.

I have not previously tried this one, and I am curious to look over my previous works to determine how well I would have fared.

For future reference, never give an obsessive perfectionist a task involving counting and eliminating excessive amounts of anything unless you have made preparations to live without close to all of said thing.

"Nature is cruel, but we don't have to be." ~ Temple Grandin