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How to Write a Philosophy Essay – A 2024 Step-by-Step Guide

No matter if you decided to study literature or history, there are big chances that you’ll need to take a philosophy class. And, if you are completely new to the subject, writing an essay revolving around this science might be really daunting and complex, mostly because it is a subject that is difficult to comprehend and learn.

You’ll need to read a lot of books and text, however, reading it is just the beginning – you’ll also need to carefully analyze and think about it, especially when it comes to the message of the author. Hence, it might be difficult for you to finish an assignment if you do not completely understand what you read.

But, although it is difficult, there are some things that you can do that will make the entire process easier and less stressful and luckily for all of you that need to write a philosophy essay, this article has got your back. Let’s take a closer look at the guide for writing a philosophy essay:

Step 01: Opting For a Topic

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One of the very first things that you’ll need to do is choosing a specific topic that you’ll write about, and this is, perhaps, the part most individuals get stuck on. Now, if you cannot choose a topic that you would like to work on or that you are interested in, you could talk to your professor or you could browse through different ideas online.

Step 02: Read Everything Carefully And Make Notes

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Once you determine what topic you’ll work on, gather all of the materials that you’ll need. Of course, you’ll probably need to read it a few times in order to completely understand it, and while doing so, do not forget to take notes of the most important things in the materials.

Step 03: Think About How it Will Look Like

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Before you actually start typing, it is important to think about what it will look like. This means that you’ll need to have a strong thesis that will successfully state your position. In fact, the thesis is the central part of the essay, which implies that it will need to be followed by claims that will support it.

Step 04: Work on The Outline

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An outline is like an introduction and it will need to incorporate all of your ideas for the thesis, main arguments & points, as well as the conclusion. You can get an outline online before you begin writing which will ensure that you don’t forget the main points. If you think, at any point that you cannot finish the essay, there are companies such as getphilosophyessay.com that will help you with it.

Step 05: The Introduction is Crucial

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Keep in mind that the introduction is one of the most important parts of your essay, mostly because it will allow the reader to learn what you’ll be writing about. You should think about it as a chance to grab someone’s attention, hence, you should work on it until you feel it is perfect. Remember step 03? You should include it in the introduction.

Step 06: Working on The Main Body

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When writing the main body, it is important that you provide strong arguments that will successfully support the thesis you have. Hence, you’ll want to begin with a clear and supported explanation of the entire concept and idea the philosopher had, and you can also support it by adding and using different examples.

Step 07: The Conclusion is a Summary

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A conclusion is basically the part where you’ll be able to restate your main thesis and some of the arguments supporting it. What should it look like? Well, it should look like a summary of your introduction, which means that you’ll want to summarize all the important parts of the essay you wrote.

Step 08: Formatting is Difficult but Important

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A lot of students quickly get confused when they get to the formatting part, however, it is an important part, hence, you cannot skip it. Here, you’ll need to cite all of the sources you used, you’ll need to format the information you listed, and you’ll also need to organize the entire essay. Luckily, there are a lot of examples and outlines that will help you with this, so, do a little digging online.

Step 09: Do Not Forget to Revise And Proofread it

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Once you are finished with all of the aforementioned things, you’ll need to take some time in order to revise, edit, and proofread your essay. Now, you’ll first want to leave it for a few days and then get back to it. Why? Well, doing this will allow you to have a new and better perspective, which will allow you to see all of the mistakes and things that you might want to edit and change.

Is There Something That You Need to Avoid?

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When writing a philosophy essay, it is a bit easy to get carried away, which is why you’ll need to avoid making your introduction and quotations long. If not, you probably won’t be able to attract the reader’s attention which is something that is bad and that you’ll definitely want to avoid.

Additionally, if you state something while writing the paper, ensure that you actually finish saying what you started. Never go to another statement before you finish the previous one. This won’t only create confusion, but, it might also imply to the reader that you did not understand what you wrote, which needs to be avoided.

Last, but not least important is for you to remember to always be formal. When writing about philosophy, there is no place for being cute, for using slang words, or for simply writing “etc.”. Hence, ensure that your entire essay has a formal tone, without any abbreviations.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is a wide range of things that you’ll need to do when writing a philosophy essay. However, by following all of the steps mentioned above, you’ll be able to make the entire process less daunting, less time-consuming, and more importantly, less stressful for yourself.

So, now that you know what you’ll need to do in order to successfully finish your project, you should not waste any more time. Instead, you should go back to the beginning of this article and determine what you’ll topic will be. From there, you can start working on the rest of the steps as well.

About Peter Janos