Critical Assignment

Students will complete a major paper detailing his/her views related to the central disciplines of philosophy. The paper will display the student’s ability to articulate the central issues in each discipline of philosophy, and present their own views related to each topic. Every student in this course is a philosopher, and this paper is a chance for the student to detail his/her philosophic worldview. The paper requirements are as follows:

1. The paper must be a minimum of 8 pages (excluding cover page and bibliography), double spaced, written in 12pt Times New Romans font, with standard 1” boarders.


2. The paper must use proper APA formatting.


3. The paper must reference at least 4 academic sources (scholarly books, articles, presentations, etc. Popular sources such as blogs, Wikipedia, and the like are not acceptable) beyond course texts in the paper.


4. The paper will include sections on the following:
   
   
   
   1. Metaphysics
   
   
   2. Epistemology
   
   
   3. Philosophy of Religion or Aesthetics (pick one)
   
   
   4. Ethics or Political Philosophy (pick one)
   
   
   
   


5. In each section, students will:
   
   
   
   1. Describe the central question(s) of each branch of philosophy.
   
   
   2. Engage the thought of at least 2 philosophers discussed in class.
   
   
   3. Enumerate their own answers to these questions.
   
   
   
   

Each paper should have a brief introduction and conclusion (1 short paragraph).

Papers will be graded based on the following rubric:

Performance

Levels

Dimensions &

(CLO/SLO Addressed)

Exemplary (4)

Accomplished (3)

Developing (2)

Beginning (1)

Score

Dimension 1

Metaphysics Section

CLO – 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2

SLO – 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3

USO – Apa, BR, GM, ESa, ESb

WCC* - W, IL, CT

Weight= 20%

Student describes the contours of metaphysics discussed in the course and expresses and defends his/her position on the topic.

The student engages the thought of two or more major thinkers discussed in course lecture/reading.

Student describes the contours of metaphysics discussed in the course with few errors and expresses his/her position on the topic.

The student engages the thought of one major thinker discussed in course lecture/reading.

Student describes the contours of metaphysics, but with some misconceptions or unclear points of comprehension. The student either does not  express his/her position on the topic, or does so but does not develop and flesh out his/her ideas.

The student engages the thought of no major thinker discussed in course lecture/reading.

Student does not describe the contours of metaphysics and/or does not express his/her position on the topic.

The student engages the thought of no major thinker discussed in course lecture/reading.

Dimension 2

Epistemology Section

CLO - 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2

SLO – 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3

USO - Apa, BR, GM, ESa, ESb

WCC* - W, IL, CT

Weight= 20%

Student describes the contours of epistemology discussed in the course and expresses and defends his/her position on the topic.

The student engages the thought of two or more major thinkers discussed in course lecture/reading.

Student describes the contours of epistemology discussed in the course with few errors and expresses his/her position on the topic.

The student engages the thought of one major thinker discussed in course lecture/reading.

Student describes the contours of epistemology, but with some misconceptions or unclear points of comprehension. The student either does not  express his/her position on the topic, or does so but does not develop and flesh out his/her ideas.

The student engages the thought of no major thinker discussed in course lecture/reading.

Student does not describe the contours of epistemology and/or does not express his/her position on the topic.

The student engages the thought of no major thinker discussed in course lecture/reading.

Dimension 3

Philosophy of Religion or Aesthetics Section

CLO - 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2

SLO – 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3

USO - Apa, BR, GM, ESa, ESb

WCC* - W, IL, CT

Weight= 20%

Student describes the contours of philosophy of religion/aesthetics discussed in the course and expresses and defends his/her position on the topic.

The student engages the thought of two or more major thinkers discussed in course lecture/reading.

Student describes the contours of philosophy of religion/aesthetics discussed in the course with few errors and expresses his/her position on the topic.

The student engages the thought of one major thinker discussed in course lecture/reading.

Student describes the contours of philosophy of religion/aesthetics, but with some misconceptions or unclear points of comprehension. The student either does not  express his/her position on the topic, or does so but does not develop and flesh out his/her ideas.

The student engages the thought of no major thinker discussed in course lecture/reading.

Student does not describe the contours of philosophy of religion/aesthetics and/or does not express his/her position on the topic.

The student engages the thought of no major thinker discussed in course lecture/reading.

Dimension 4

Ethics or Political Philosophy Section

CLO - 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3

SLO – 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5

USO - Apa, BR, GM, ESa, ESb

WCC* - W, IL, CT

Weight= 20%

Student describes the contours of ethics/political philosophy discussed in the course and expresses and defends his/her position on the topic.

The student engages the thought of two or more major thinkers discussed in course lecture/reading.

Student describes the contours of ethics/political philosophy discussed in the course with few errors and expresses his/her position on the topic.

The student engages the thought of one major thinker discussed in course lecture/reading.

Student describes the contours of ethics/political philosophy, but with some misconceptions or unclear points of comprehension. The student either does not  express his/her position on the topic, or does so but does not develop and flesh out his/her ideas.

The student engages the thought of no major thinker discussed in course lecture/reading.

Student does not describe the contours of ethics/political philosophy and/or does not express his/her position on the topic.

The student engages the thought of no major thinker discussed in course lecture/reading.

Dimension 5

Grammar, Syntax, and Formatting

CLO - 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2

SLO – 1.1, 1.2, 1.5, 1.6, 1.8

USO - Apa, BR, GM, ESa, ESb

WCC* - W, IL, CT

Weight= 20%

Paper follows the formatting guidelines as detailed in the syllabus, is the proper length, and contains no more than 1 spelling or grammatical error per page

Paper follows the formatting guidelines as detailed in the syllabus, is the proper length, and contains an average 2-3 spelling or grammatical errors per page

Paper follows the majority of the formatting guidelines as detailed in the syllabus, is the proper length, and contains an average of 4 spelling or grammatical errors per page

Paper does not follow the formatting guidelines as detailed in the syllabus, or is less than the proper length, and/or contains an average of 5+ spelling or grammatical errors per page

Total

/200