Simone de BeauvoirOrder Descriptionthink about the material. Ponder what the authors intent is in writing the assigned pieces. Did he or she succeed? Is the author persuasive? What would it mean if theauthor is right or wrong? What other arguments are compatible or incompatible with the authors stance? Long baths, showers, walks, or aimless metro rides are perfectsituations for contemplationAs to citation, though the Chicago Manual of Style is the preferred guidebook for philosophical writing, any scholarly format isacceptable, provided it is consistent throughout the assignment. All quotes and ideas taken from sources other than the students mind are to be scrupulously cited toavoid plagiarism and cheating. It is cheating to consult other sources to supplement your understanding of the reading. Part of the work of philosophy is interpretingthe text, so students who look to other sources for guidance on interpretation inevitably adulterate their own views of the material.Generally speaking, philosophicalwriting is argumentative, in that it states a clear position the author means to defend at the beginning, and spends the rest of the paper proving the thesis. Greatpapers are equal parts textual evidence and author opinion. Students should refer to the texts and quote them throughout the paper. On the basis of the text, studentsshould then assert their own voices, offering an interpretation or answer to a prompt that goes beyond mere summary of the reading(s) at hand. The most common types ofpoorly-written papers have unclear theses, over-cite the text, or devolve into unproven speculation. Response Papers -1-2 pages in length, due at the beginning of aclass. Students will select a short passage from the text that is especially fascinating, troubling, or important, and analyze it in the paper. Numerous techniques maybe used to assess the passage: students might contextualize the passage within the work as awhole; they might show ways in which the passage opens up new avenues ofthought; they might show how the passage throws the entire work into question; or they might try to make a confusing passage clear through their analysis. Studentsshould offer both an interpretation of the text and some creative thought on it.