Clearly present an argument about God (either that God exists, or that God does not exist).
Classmates will review your analysis.
Write your paper as a letter to a classmate “Dear classmate,”.
In this assignment, you will do the following:
Make a case for or against the proposition you select.
Introduce your paper with a roadmap of what you will be discussing. Get right to the point. No fancy statements about how people have been debating this issue for ages. Just state in a few sentences what you intend to do in the paper.
In the next paragraph, introduce one argument for the position you are defending. Your argument should be expressed in premise to conclusion format: E.g.
Premise 1: xxxx
Premise 2: yyyy
Therefore: everything is physical
Make sure the argument is logically valid (meaning that the conclusion is true if the premises are true).
Use consistent terms and phrases in your argument.
Discuss at least one reason to believe each premise (about a paragraph each). In your discussion of the premises, be sure to explain what you mean by any key terms (such as ‘physical’ or ‘relative truth’).
Discuss two objections (the strongest you can think of!) and a reply to that objection (at least one paragraph for the objection and a separate paragraph for the reply).
The paper length should be 2,000 words +/- 100. I care about the quality of content more than the length, but I do care about the length. Put the number of words on the top of the paper.
I am primarily grading for the quality of analysis and clarity of expression.
Tips:
First start with an outline of your main argument
Then get a draft done—early!
Read your paper out loud to yourself (or a friend) to proofread.
As you read, ask yourself: “Can I shorten this sentence and still say the same thing?” “Can I say this more clearly?”
Repeat step 3 a few times across multiple days before reaching your final draft.
Turn in your best work.