PHIL 4110: Philosophy of Law

Dr. Robert Lane, University of West Georgia

Spring 2007

 

TERM PAPER

 

·         These instructions supplement the more general instructions found in my online document, "Writing a Philosophy Paper": http://www.westga.edu/~rlane/paperResources.html .

I expect you to follow instructions in BOTH documents.

 

·         Before starting work on this project, you should also read this document by James Pryor:  http://www.princeton.edu/~jimpryor/general/writing.html

 

 

1. Proposal

Feb. 28

5%

2. Draft of term paper –— minimum 1500 words (do not include bibliography in your word count).

This does not count toward your course grade, however:

·         you will lose one letter grade (10%) from your final paper score for each day this is late

·         if your draft is shorter than 1500 words, then, for every 50 words the draft falls short, there will also be a penalty of one letter grade (5%) from your final paper score

Mar. 30

 

3. Final draft of term paper — 3000-3500 word

Apr. 23

20%

TERM PAPER TOTAL

 

25%

 

Topic: Your term paper must be an argumentative essay on some topic within the philosophy of law. If you are choosing to write on a topic other than those we will cover in class (i.e., other than those listed on the course schedule), you should speak with me before turning in a proposal.

 

 

1. Proposal (due February 28). This document should include two items:

a.       A summary paragraph. This summarizes the paper that, at the beginning of your work, you believe you will be writing. This paragraph will almost certainly change as you write and re-write your paper—that’s OK. The purpose this paragraph serves in your proposal is to communicate to me what sort of paper you intend to write. It should establish the question or questions you will be asking, the way in which you intend to answer them, and the claims which, at this early point, you think you will be arguing for. It should be no shorter than 150 words.

b.       An outline of the paper you expect to write. This should be as detailed as you can manage at this early stage. You may use whatever outline format you like. The point is to show me, to the degree possible at this early stage, the structure of the paper you think you will end up with.

 

Your grade for this proposal will be based on how detailed and thoughtful it is. If your proposal consists of a single sentence (e.g., “I want to write about Locke’s defense of religious freedom”), you will get no credit for this portion of your assignment. You need to communicate to me, in your summary and outline, exactly what aspect(s) of Locke’s defense theory you will be investigating, what questions you will be asking about it, and what conclusions you anticipate you will be defending.

 

I will give you my comments and suggestions when I return your graded proposal. The more detailed your proposal, the more comments and suggestions I can make, so give me as much detail as you can.

 

Note, however, that it is possible to get full credit for this part of the assignment even if I think the topic you’re proposing needs to be dramatically changed.

 

 

2. Term Paper Draft (due March 30). This should be a solid draft, something that you’ve already spent a good deal of time on. It should be as close as possible to the final draft as you can manage by the due date. It should contain an opening that explains to the reader what you’ll be doing; a solid, detailed, clearly structured body; and a conclusion that summarizes your results. You should proofread it for grammatical mistakes and other technical problems, and include a bibliography, just as you would a final draft.

 

This draft must be no shorter than 1500 words.

 

This doesn't count toward your course grade, but you will lose one letter grade off of your final paper score for each day this is late, and if your draft is shorter than 1500 words, then, for every 50 words the draft falls short, there will also be a penalty of 5% from your final paper score.

 

I will give you extensive written comments and suggestions as to how you can improve your paper.

 

If the draft you turn in is of sufficient length (3000-3500 words) and quality to qualify as an “A” paper as it stands, then I will accept it as the final draft.

 

 

3. Final Draft (due April 23).

 

3000-3500 words. You may exceed 3500 words only with my explicit prior permission.

 

No late papers will be accepted without penalty unless I have given you my explicit prior permission.

 

You will lose one letter grade (10%) each day your paper is late. I will not accept any papers after April 27.

 

I recommend that you have a copy of your paper printed out the evening before it is due. If you wait until that morning to print it out and you run into problems (lost disk, printer failure, etc.) which prevent you from turning your paper in on the day it is due, you will be penalized.

 

 

Resources Other Than Your Textbook

 

For this assignment, you ARE required to use at least one resource (at least one book chapter or journal article) other than your textbook.

 

Your textbook (Law & Philosophy by Thomas Simon) contains excerpts from many important works in the philosophy of law. But they are only excerpts, and many of them are relatively short excerpts. In writing a paper about a given subject, you should deal with larger chunks of the original source material, and this will require that you go outside your textbook. For example, if you wish to write about Hobbes’ account of the state of nature, you need to lay hands on a copy of Leviathan and read more of that work than the brief excerpt than is included in your textbook. If you want to write about Hart’s legal positivism, then you should read more of The Concept of Law than is included in your textbook; etc.

 

See Writing a Philosophy Paper for information on how to track down sources.

 

 

A Reminder About Plagiarism

 

If you use another person's words or ideas without giving him or her credit, you have committed plagiarism and thereby violated the Honor Code of the University of West Georgia.

 

When you quote from someone else’s work, including from your textbook(s) or from my lecture notes, you must indicate that you are quoting, and you must cite the source, including the page number [this should be done in a footnote or an endnote]. Quoting without indicating that you are doing so constitutes presenting someone else’s words as your own. This is plagiarism.

 

When you use someone else’s ideas without indicating that those ideas are not your own, you have committed plagiarism. This is true, even if you are not quoting their exact words. If you employ someone else’s ideas in your paper, you must cite the source of those ideas [this should be done in a footnote or an endnote]. If you put their ideas into your own words but do not say that those ideas are someone else’s, you have committed plagiarism.

 

If you commit plagiarism in this class, you will receive an "F" for the entire course. You will also be reported the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and recommended for disciplinary action, which may include expulsion from this institution.

 

 

Use of Class Lecture Notes

 

One of the most common errors in term papers for my courses is that students rely too heavily on my online lecture notes in writing their papers. One of the points of the paper is that you show me that you can read and critically respond to philosophical writing. You will do this only if your paper demonstrates that you are dealing with the source material about which you are writing. You will not do this if your paper explains my own lecture notes back to me. For this reason, I urge you not to refer to my lecture notes in writing your paper only if doing so is absolutely necessary.