Long Essay Questions

Instructions

Choose any one question. Do not attempt to answer more than one question in your essay.

Using sources

Do not cite sources that are not referenced in the lecture notes already. Unless you have an excellent reason for doing so, which you must state in the essay.

Always give page numbers.

Examiners on this course frequently comment ‘your essay could have been improved by focussing on fewer high-quality sources and covering them in more depth.’

Lecture Materials

Each question draws on specific sections of the lecture material, which also provide sources. Your essay should demonstrate knowledge of evidence, arguments and theories from the lecture material relevant to the thesis you aim to establish.

Examiners on this course frequently comment ‘your essay could have been improved by making better use of the lecture material.’

Glossary

Use the 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.

Citation Style

Use exactly one of the following citation styles: APA, Harvard or Chicago.

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 margin.

Examiners will stop reading if they hit the word limit.

Bespoke Questions

You may devise your own question through discussion with [email protected]. 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.