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Final Paper Topics Explain and critically assess Kant's moral theory as philosophical foundation of Rousseau's social contract theory

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Final Paper Topics

1. Explain and critically assess Kant's moral theory as philosophical foundation of Rousseau's social contract theory.

2. Contemporary feminist critique of modern philosophy.  What is the critique? Formulate a learned judgment as to the merit of the critique with regard to Descartes, Kant and Rousseau.

 Content Requirements for Final Paper Assignment

The assignment is to write a persuasive argument of no fewer than 5 pages in defense of a thesis statement that you have formulated.  Your paper should take the form of any essay (Introduction, Main Body, and Conclusion), but with a few specific requirements.

1. The introductory paragraph is a thesis statement in which you specify your topic, your position on that topic, and the reason why you hold that position on that topic. The thesis statement MUST consist of three sentences only (no more, no less!):

1. Topic

2. Your Position on that topic

3. Reason why you hold that position on that topic

Important: the third sentence is usually the most difficult of the three because you must give a philosophical reason for your position, not a personal reason. 

2. The main body of your essay MUST be a persuasive defense of your thesis statement; that is to say, you must demonstrate that the reason why you hold your position on your topic is valid. Do not write a commentary or a book report! You must formulate a coherent argument that best explains your thesis statement and conveys its validity.

3. In your conclusion, DO NOT summarize your argument, but specify how the reader (me!) benefits from your argument. Why is it good that the reader has been persuaded to your position?

Formal Criteria for Final Paper

The following set of criteria pertain only to the form of your paper (format, style, font size and the like).  Keep in mind that points will be taken off, if you do not adhere to the formal criteria of your paper assignment.  In general, the point of the formal criteria is to ensure that you write a COMPLETE paper that maximizes the amount of your own words on each page.

1. Cover Page: This is NOT one of the 5 pages of your final paper, but an independent page without a number. The cover page MUST include: title, your name, the date, and the class title.

2. Paragraph Indent: The paper begins on the top of page one with a ½ inch indent (every new paragraph must be indented ½ inch). For every line that you lower the start of your paper, two points will be taken off your final grade.

3. Paper Length: The end of a 5-page paper, in order to ensure that you write 5 complete pages, is the top of page 6. I want at least one word, but there could be more than one word on the top of page 6.

4. Font Size:

   1. 12 font

   2. Times New Roman

   3. Double Spaced

5. Margins: Default MS Word

6. Quotations:

   1. Short Quotes: two lines and fewer. The quotation will be part of the main text with the same font size etc.

   2. Long Quotes: three to no more than six lines. This requires a new format.

      • Indent side margins another inch

      •  

      • Single Space

      • Reduce font size to 10

Important: when quotation is complete, return to main text. For every line quoted beyond the limit of six lines, two points will be taken off final grade.

• Beware of Quotation and Paragraph Abuse!!!!

  1. Quotation abuse is when a student uses an abnormal amount of quotes to fill up space on the page. Points will be taken off for this depending on the level of abuse. For a five page paper, you should have, at most, four small quotes and two (but preferably one) long quote.  Use your quotes wisely.

  2. Do not begin a paragraph with a quote, but use quotes to confirm what you have already written.

  3. Use quotes to emphasize the main point of your argument. Thus, quotes should be used wisely and sparingly.

• Paragraph abuse is when a student includes an abnormal amount of small paragraphs in order to fill up space on the page.  Points will be taken off for this depending on the level of abuse.