Short Essay Questions
Handout for all of Short Essay Questions as pdf. (This has the same content as the web version you are reading here.)
Instructions
Choose any one question. Do not attempt to answer more than one question in your essay.
Bespoke Questions
We encourage you to devise your own question through discussion with [email protected], or to adapt one of the questions below to your interests. Your question must then be submitted using a form on the philosophy web pages and formally approved.
Do not answer a question not on this list without written approval.
Lecture Materials
Each question draws on specific sections of the lecture material, which also provide sources. You do not have to use the lecture material but your essay will probably be marked down if it could have been improved by making better use of the lecture material. It may be prudent to ensure that you understand the sections relevant to your chosen question before answering it.
Glossary
The lecture materials include a glossary to facilitate communication between us. You may deviate from the glossary providing you explicate your terms and providing you have good reason for doing so.
Advice
The questions below are written with a view to allowing a wide range of good answers, including some your examiners may not have foreseen. Your essay should answer the question chosen but it need not provide a complete answer. The best essays are often tightly focussed on one aspect of the question. This is fine: just be sure to explain the part of the question you are addressing and demonstrate that you are aware of what else would be needed to fully answer the question.
Structure
Open your essay by stating the thesis you will defend.
If necessary (ideally not), explain how the thesis is relevant to your chosen question.
The rest of your essay should provide a single coherent line of argument for your thesis and nothing else.
Difficulty Level
Some questions permit answers that are relatively straightforward to establish. In general, you should not limit yourself to establishing a straightforward answer if aiming for a high mark.
Support for Planning
One of the seminars for this course will provide you with an opportunity to discuss your plans.
Marking Criteria
This course uses the standard philosophy marking criteria. Ideally your essay will demonstrate an awareness of a philosophical issue in moral psychology. We are aware that students taking this course may come from a variety of disciplines. Your essay can be written in the style of an essay from any of the disciplines covered on this course.
Citations
Use exactly one of the following citation styles: APA, Harvard or Chicago.
Be specific in your citations by, for example, giving a page number or specifying a particular study.
Word Count
Everything counts towards the word limit.
Acronyms, abbreviations and contractions count as the corresponding number of full words. For example, TLA counts as three words. (Hint: do not invent acronyms. Your readers are miserable enough already.)
There are many ways to count words. Your essay must be under the word limit according to any way of counting words. Your examiners’ ways of counting words may not match your own, so leave a good margin.
Examiners will stop reading if they hit the word limit.