Writing philosophy is a unique kind of beast. It demands critical thinking, meticulous care, rigorous revision and precise concision.
The best approach when writing a philosophy paper is to seek feedback. The more eyes that review your work, the better. Writers often have blind spots, so it’s crucial for others to point them out and provide constructive insight.
One way to seek feedback is during your professor or teaching assistant’s office hours. While they may or may not be able to read your paper before submitting it, you can talk through it together. As experts in the field, their support is invaluable in crafting an excellent paper.
However, another resource that students taking a philosophy class should be able to rely on is the University Writing Center.
“The goal is to help students become more confident, independent and effective writers,” said Alice Batt, the center’s assistant director. “We don’t do that by focusing on making a perfect product here together. We engage them in conversations that help them become more effective at looking at their own writing and what could be improved.”
To ensure this mission is accomplished in the context of philosophy, it’s important to have consultants who have a background in the field and understand the specific writing criteria and expectations.
As a philosophy major myself, a lot of the feedback I’ve received from the center is more applicable to fields like literature and English rather than philosophy. However, speaking with a consultant has still been useful, particularly for brainstorming ideas and receiving support with grammar.
Since many students, regardless of their major, enroll in philosophy courses during their college years, the center should prioritize offering consultations that reflect a high level of expertise in the field.
“A lot of that might be just personalizing more outreach across campus,” said Jackie Rhodes, the center’s director. “We do a lot of outreach across campus, and we work very closely with, say, the engineering school. But, having a contact in philosophy (would be) good, and then getting the word out that we are looking for people who write all sorts of different things.”
An active effort to recruit philosophy students for consultant positions would be especially beneficial.
If you’re a philosophy major or have a background in philosophy, I encourage you to apply to work at the University Writing Center and use your expertise to provide support to your fellow students.
Rhodes also discussed the possibility of incorporating a certificate program in philosophy for consultants.
“We do have certificate programs, and the consultants can earn certificates in particular types of writing,” Rhodes said. “It might be a matter of designing a certificate with particular training that maybe we could work with philosophy students on, and just incorporating a certificate training that would actually let the front desk know who is qualified or ready to work with (someone seeking help in philosophy writing).”
While these are great ways to strengthen the support students could receive for their philosophy paper at the University Writing Center, that is not to say that you can’t get any support now.
“What you can do is call the front desk and tell them you’re hoping to find somebody who knows philosophy well,” Batt said. “It’s good to know who feels confident and comfortable with that, and by calling the front desk, you can have them take a look and figure out who might be able to help you. It might take a day or two to track that person down, but we can help you.”
Remember, two heads think better than one. Don’t hesitate to seek support — navigating the fog of complex philosophical writing is always more straightforward with some guidance.
Mendoza is a philosophy junior from El Paso, Texas.
