PHIL109 World Religions – Research Paper Guidelines
Essay writing is one of the best exercises to help improve critical thinking, argumentation and practical logic skills. This will help you learn how to effectively work with information, structure it, filter out questionable data, make conclusions – simply everything connected with the study of logic.
When writing an essay every paper needs structure and focus, consistent guidelines can help you consider all valuable points of a critical essay.
Steps In Essay Writing
Choose a central problem or argument: make sure that the topic is not too difficult, and you will be able to come up with basic arguments. Before you start reading, make a list of questions that you can consider while reading. Also, a good idea is to take notes as you read and briefly write your own thoughts.
Thesis statement: for a philosophy paper a thesis statement is important as it guides the central focus of your paper. Create a thesis statement that will appear at the end of your introduction paragraph.
The statement will generalize your critical opinion on the topic and give the reader a preview of what the body of the paper will be discussing. Make sure that the thesis statement provides enough information.
Paragraphing: each and every paragraph should be a minimum of three sentences and consist of a single evidence that is aiming at explaining or supporting the thesis statement.
The introduction paragraph should consist of a background information on the topic so as to familiarize the reader on the topic that you have chosen.
Paragraphs should have a topic statement that captures the attention of the reader and at the same time give them a small synopsis of what you are going to talk about in the rest of the paragraph.
Analyze the information: what evidence, arguments, and claims have you found? Identify weaknesses and strengths, pointing out important relationships.
Examine different viewpoints: examine and evaluate scholarly opinions about your chosen topic. Review contexts, does the author try to approach the topic from an ideological perspective? Consider the fact that your own interpretation may be influenced by your culture, ideology, and other biases.
Don’t make assumptions, it is a mistake to consider a particular viewpoint to be obvious and undeniable with demonstrable evidence.
Conclusions: the last paragraph should consist of the concluding phrases that reinstate the thesis statement and at the same time summarize the paper.
Briefly sum up the ideas you came up with in an overview. Define the importance of your findings and take liberty to point out the directions that need further research.
You can imagine that you are a participant of discussion and your task is to explain your opinion with evidence. Remember that you should avoid pronouns like “I” and “my.”
Writing Your Research Paper
Since most papers in are thesis papers in some form, you will need to focus on the purpose of a thesis paper, which is to analyze and present a well thought out argument for a particular position.
A philosophy paper consists of at least six (6) parts:
(1) the introduction
(2) the presentation of the arguments
(3) the presentation of counter arguments/objections
(4) a response to these objections
(5) Conclusion
(6) Bibliography
For a six-page paper, it is important to make links between sections, and I urge you to consider using subtitles for different sections of the paper. Subtitles make a paper more readable and they help you focus and re-focus on the direction of your thinking. Write out your first arguments, for example. Don’t worry about your grammar or
spelling in your first draft. What is important is that you articulate some ideas, get them down on paper. You’ll be able to revise these thoughts later.
Introduction
The opening paragraph serves an introduction to your paper. It should contain a thesis statement and an explanation of your thesis. Your goal in this term paper is to critically analyze all the sides of the issue and then decide which position is best.
Presenting Arguments to Support the Thesis
Present three arguments supporting your thesis. Remember, the purpose of your paper is to convince the reader, in this case your professor (me!), to accept your thesis. Make a list of possible arguments.
Do not repeat arguments. Each argument should be different, not a rehash of an earlier argument. Such tactics are guaranteed to irritate your prof. who will waste valuable time reading the same argument twice. Do not make assumptions.
Do not make claims you cannot support, back up your arguments. Do not put more than one argument in a paragraph. After you have completed a draft of your paper, go back and check your arguments for fallacies.
Presenting Objections to the Thesis
Step into your opponent’s shoes for a while and ask yourself: what are some of the arguments against your thesis statement? Make a list of the objections or counterarguments. Select the three strongest objections to your thesis and formulate a counter argument position to your thesis.
Response to Objections to the Thesis
Respond to objections one at a time. If you numbered your counterarguments, refer to each one by its number; for example, Response to Objection 1. If the objection is a good one but you do not change your thesis, you should explain why the moral concerns that support your thesis statement are morally more compelling.
Conclusion
The conclusion sums up your paper. It should include the following:
a restatement of the thesis
a brief summary of the arguments you used to support the thesis
Bibliography and Footnotes
Any references or works used from other sources should be cited in footnotes at the bottom of each page. Additionally, make a Bibliography (of sources, or Works Cited) used in composing the paper. Your Bibliography should include, at minimum, all the references mentioned in the footnotes.
Potential Essay Topics
Karl Marx argued that religions arise as an escape from poverty and social oppression. Consequently he thought that when social problems were eliminated, religions would die away. What arguments and examples would you give for and against this position?
Explore the insights of Freud regarding religion, and use those insights to examine the religious tradition with which you are most familiar. How would Freud understand that religion? Do you agree? What are your conclusions?
Explore the insights of Jung regarding religion, and use those insights to examine the religious tradition with which you are most familiar. How would Jung understand that religion? Do you agree? What are your conclusions?
Compare and contrast the insights of Freud and Jung regarding religion? Whose view is stronger? How helpful are their conclusions?
Examine the impact of a religious leader such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., or Desmond Tutu, and how their faith shaped their convictions to fight for social justice and bring change to their respective country. What were their convictions? What arguments did they fight against?
Does theism or atheism best answer the timeless question of Who Am I, Why Am I Here?
What do you regard as the essential core of Jesus’ ethical teachings (i.e. those that are specifically concerned with the moral conduct of human beings)?
Do you think that embodying these teachings is essential for salvation in the Christian tradition? Why or why not?
What are the basic characteristics that distinguish Protestant Christianity from Roman Catholicism?
Do their differences outweigh their similarities, or do the essential principles that they share unite these traditions as legitimate expressions of Christianity?
Discuss the concept of “exile” in Judaism beginning with the exile from the Garden of Eden and ending with contemporary issues surrounding the modern state of Israel (including at least one other example of exile in between).
How is the concept of jihad related to the “Five Pillars of Islam.” Do you think that Muhammad would support the use of terrorism to “protect the Way of God against the forces of evil” (Living Religions, 423)? Why or why not?
Examine the role and status of women in Islam. Do you think that the essential principles of Islam preclude the development of feminism within the tradition, or is feminism consistent with the Qur’an and the sunnahof Muhammad?
Choose one of the four major paths of Hindu “discipline” (i.e. Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga or Bhakti Yoga) and explain its approach to religious self-transformation in terms of the foundational principles of Hinduism — Brahman, Atman, Karma and Moksha.
Describe the relationship between the caste system (varna), the four “stages of life” (asrama), and the Hindu concept of dharma — known collectively as Varnasrama Dharma.
How does this system relate to the principles of Brahman, Atman and Karma … and how does it help one progress towards spiritual liberation (Moksha)?
What are the most important religious themes common to Judaism, Christianity and Islam? Based on your understanding of these three religions, do you think that Islam is more similar to Judaism or to Christianity … or is it somewhere in between the two? Justify your answer with specific examples.
What beliefs do Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism have in common? How do they differ? Do you think that the similarities are more important than the differences, or vice-versa?
Describe the basic beliefs and practices of Chan/Zen Buddhism, highlighting specific elements that show the influence of Daoism and/or other East Asian traditions. What is the significance of this East Asian influence on the Chan/Zen tradition?
