FAQ5: For all courses, what are Dr.

Harwood's CRUCIALLY important Guidelines A-Z for Creating & Grading Papers?

I will use these 26 guidelines in grading your papers and presentations. So learn all the guidelines thoroughly. The first letter in a comment like
'AF' refers to the guideline I am relying on to comment on your paper and the second letter will be 'F' (meaning 'followed') or 'U' (meaning
'unfollowed'). So, for example, 'AF' means guideline A was followed. 'AU' means guideline A was unfollowed. 'BF' means guideline B was
followed and 'BU' means guideline B was unfollowed. Don't worry, 'FU' means only that guideline F was unfollowed. ;o) Avoid being confused
by 'UU,' which means only that guideline U was unfollowed. Call me @ 408-259-7777 or my cell @ 408-687-8199 if you want any more help
with understanding my comments on your graded work, my guidelines A-Z, or any other part of our course together. When writing your first
draft, concentrate primarily on guidelines A through F, but follow all 26 guidelines A-Z before submitting your paper. Guidelines with an asterisk
(*) are especially important. The alphabetical order is no indicator of importance.

GUIDELINE A*. Always avoid attachments when emailing your term paper to me. You must successfully deliver your term paper to me by
emailing it to me, without any attachments, to svharwood1@aol.com. Failure to do so counts as failing to submit your paper at all. You will get
an F on the paper if you submit it only as an attachment by the deadline, which is 1159pm PT the same day as the final exam (our last class).

GUIDELINE B* Begin your paper with In this paper I will argue that ____ and then fill in the blank to announce at the outset the main purpose
of your paper. Be sure to fill in that blank with the same position you stated in your title (see guideline T) and in your heading for your
introduction (see guideline U). The quotations in your A-sections must always be controversial and published. Clearly identify which arguments
are yours. Take a stand on the main issues early on, and continue to take stands on issues throughout your paper. Announce in your first
paragraph of your introduction what conclusion you will argue for in your paper and, if your paper is about a moral issue, what moral principles
you will use to support your conclusion. If you are morally evaluating a case, then state your moral evaluations of each morally questionable
action in your case clearly and early in your first paragraph on p.1 of your paper. When writing on a moral question, you must argue from at least
one moral principle. But the more moral principles you show to be on your side, the better your paper will be. The last paragraph of your
Introduction must look like this, with the blanks filled in of course to summarize your paper:

In 2C I will argue that ___. In 3C I will argue that ___. In 4C I will argue that _____. In 5C I will argue that _____. In 6C I will argue that
_____. In 7C I will argue that _____.

Go beyond 7C if you have more than the minimum of 6 ABC sets in your term paper, as you should try to do, following guideline E. The blanks
will be filled in with a summary of your C section that is similar to the heading you will use atop your C-section, following guideline U.

GUIDELINE C.* Anticipate and fully present all significant counterarguments to your views, and respond to these counterarguments. You may
respond by modifying your position or by arguing against the counterarguments. If you are writing on a moral question, then in your first
paragraph on page 1 announce what moral principles your opponents will use. You will find counterarguments in the assigned readings. The
better the argument, whether it favors your side or not, the more space you should devote to it in your paper.

GUIDELINE D. Guideline 'D' is about 'doubt.' Avoid extreme relativism and skepticism, unless that is your approved paper topic. Extreme moral
relativism states that no argument is any better than any other argument. Extreme moral skepticism is the view that no moral knowledge exists.

GUIDELINE E. * Extra effort exhibits excellence. More is better. Show that you have read and mastered all the assigned readings. You must
always use citations. See guideline O below. Carefully present and evaluate ALL the assigned readings that are relevant to your paper topic.
Avoid viewing the paper as a mere exercise or chore that you must complete. Instead, view the paper as one of the few chances you will have to
show what you know. View the paper as a great opportunity to show all of the relevant information that you know. Your paper should be an
analytical paper rather than a research paper. You might find some outside research helpful after mastering and analyzing the readings assigned.
You must however document any factual claims you make that fail to be obvious. If you have any doubt about whether your factual claims are
obvious, document them. See guideline M below. Philosophy papers are not history or psychology papers. Philosophy papers frequently morally
evaluate and argue rather than just describe. In moral topics (the topics on the syllabus that start with "Based on the 5 moral principles ..."), you
must apply all 5 moral principles in every C-section. Avoid "one and done," which occurs when a student applies only 1 of the 5 moral principles
in a C-section and then moves on to another ABC set. If you apply only 1 or 2 of the 5 moral principles in a C-section, then that is only 20% or
40%, which is an F level of quality. The 3 most important moral principles to apply are utilitarianism, libertarianism, and egalitarianism, but if
you apply only those 3 of the 5, then you can get at most only 60% credit, which is a D- level of quality. If you apply only 4 of the 5 moral
principles in a C-section, then the most credit you can get is 80%, which is a B- level of quality. To repeat for emphasis: apply all 5 moral
principles in every C-section if you write about a moral topic (for example, abortion, affirmative action, euthanasia, gay marriage, gays in the
military, gay adoption, stem cell research, cloning, gun control, capital punishment, or any other topic that is listed on the syllabus on in my email
approving the topic starting with "Based on the 5 moral principles ...").

GUIDELINE F.* Give the FULL and COMPLETE definition of any principle or concept when you first use it, which will most probably be in
2C (section 1 is your introduction). Never define two moral principles in a row. Apply the first moral principle only after you give the definition
of the moral principle. Finish the application of the first moral principle defined before you move on to define the second moral principle. The
definition and application of the same moral principle should appear in two separate paragraphs (see guideline M below). After you have given
the full and complete definition, usually in section 2C of your paper, you should starting in section 3C -- just repeat a short version of the key
element in the definition that you intend to apply to evaluate an action in your case. Since my courses often involve applying principles and
concepts, define your terms and then SHOW HOW they APPLY to the case or argument or issue or quote in question. In writing on moral
questions, show, BY ARGUMENT, that the moral principles make the facts of the case morally relevant. Argue that the facts favor one side
rather than the other(s). The more principles you use (without distorting the principles or the facts of your case) to support your evaluations or
analysis, the better your paper will be.
GUIDELINE G. Use topic sentences. Use words to show the relationships between sentences in your arguments (for example, "In other words,"
"That is," "For example," "However," "Still," "Besides," "Indeed," "So," Hence, Thus, Ergo, "Therefore," "Further," "Furthermore,"
"Moreover," "Similarly," "Likewise," "Contrariwise," "On the contrary," "Rather," "Instead," "In sum," "Finally," and "In conclusion,"). Use
'Further' or 'Additionally' rather than 'And' to start a sentence. Use 'However' or "On the other hand" rather than 'But' to start a sentence. Use
Alternatvely rather than Or to start a sentence. 'And,' 'But' and 'Or' are a bit too informal for your scholarly papers.

GUIDELINE H. Minimize assumptions, especially key, controversial, or unstated assumptions. Clearly and explicitly argue for every evaluation
or conclusion or analysis that you make. In moral writing, morally evaluate every morally questionable action in your case. The number of
morally questionable actions will vary from case to case. Accepting an assumption without critical thinking is giving someone a free pass and in
philosophy and critical thinking there are no free passes.

GUIDELINE I.* Be specific. In the words of The Beatles' album "Sgt. Pepper": "Indicate precisely what you mean to say."

GUIDELINE J.* Use extreme words (also called watchwords, for example, 'any,' 'all,' 'always,' 'whenever,' 'whatever,' 'never,' 'no,' 'none,'
'every,' 'solely,' 'only,' 'completely,' 'fully,' 'lone,' 'must,' 'absolutely,' 'unquestionable,' 'impossible,' inconceivable, 'undeniably') only with
extreme caution, since extreme words used without qualifying words (e.g., 'almost,' 'usually,' 'typically,' 'often,' 'frequently,' 'not') often lead to
overstatement and falsehood. Avoid hyperbole (that is, exaggeration for rhetorical effect). Avoid overstating arguments & using slanted rhetoric.

GUIDELINE K. Avoid using rhetorical questions as substitutes for arguments. Try to answer any questions you pose in your paper and do so
immediately after you ask them. So that means you should never pose two questions in a row. Consider the following exchange from Lincoln, a
novel by one of my favorite writers, Gore Vidal:
Seward: "Never end a speech with a question."
Lincoln smiled, "For fear you'll get the wrong answer?"
Seward nodded, "People are perverse."
Compare this to the ad populum fallacy.

GUIDELINE L. Be brief. As Shakespeare wrote (in "Hamlet"), brevity is the soul of wit. Eliminate unnecessary words by using the active voice
instead of the passive voice. Further, almost always delete 'actually' and 'really.' Balance guidelines L and E. See guideline W on the passive
voice. Here's an example of the active voice: "The bat hit the ball." Here's an example of the passive voice: "The ball was hit by the bat." The
active voice is briefer than the passive voice.

GUIDELINE M. Use a separate paragraph every time you start a significantly new event in your paper. For example, defining a moral principle is
one significant event but then applying that definition to a quote is a new event deserving a new (separate) paragraph. Further, if a paragraph
consists of only one or two brief sentences, check to see whether the paragraph is best incorporated into another paragraph of your paper. If a
paragraph runs for much over a page, check that you are neither rambling, merely drifting down a stream of consciousness, nor being verbose.

GUIDELINE N. Avoid using scarequotes (that is, inverted commas). For example, avoid saying "This seems 'right'" or "You are 'wrong'."

GUIDELINE O. * No Internet-only citations are permitted in the A-sections, except for The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and
www.sterlingharwood.com (the quotes I say on this site that you can use in A-sections). See the 5 required pieces of info in the next
paragraph. You must cite a named, individual, non-fictitious person (or set of such persons as co-authors). The name must be sufficiently
recognizable to allow identification. Remember, only information attributable to a named individual nonfictitious person is eligible for citation in
your term paper. Read and think about whatever you like, but Dr. Harwood wants your term paper to focus on real info from real people rather
than waste time or distract by you citing in your term paper, for example, just some actor or imposter or fictitious person like "lonely girl" on the
Internet. Whenever you use someone else's idea(s), use a citation immediately following it (at the end of the sentence, in parentheses) to
give 5 pieces of key information: For a book, give: 1) author; 2) title; 3) publisher; 4) year; and 5) page (or pages if the quote runs from
one page to another);

For a periodical (magazine, newspaper, scholarly journal, newsletter, etc.), give: 1) author; 2) title of the article; 3) title of the publication
(magazine, etc.); 4) date (month, day and year), and page (or pages if the quote runs from one page to another);

For a film, give: 1) the person's name (actor's real name, see IMDB.com or the film's credits); 2) title of film; 3) film company (see
IMDB.com or the film's credits); and 4) year film was first released (see IMDB.com);

For a TV show, give: 1) the person's name (actor's real name, see IMDB.com or the show's credits); 2) the name of the TV show; 3) the
network the show was broadcast on originally (see IMDB.com or the show's credits); and 4) the first air date (see IMDB.com)

For a radio show, give: 1) the person's name who spoke the quoted statement; 2) the name of the radio show; 3) the call letters (such as
KLIV or WBAL) of the radio station that aired the show; and 4) the date on which you heard the show;

For the Internet, use in an A-section only if it is the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy or www.sterlingharwood.com, but you can cite
any Internet source in any part of your paper that is NOT an A-section, and give whenever you cite the Internet: 1) the name of the
person who wrote or spoke the quoted statement; 2) the Internet URL (website address, such as sterlingharwood.com); and 3) the date
you last successfully visited the Internet site and saw the quoted statement.

Avoid quote-quilting (that is, overusing others' arguments and merely weaving them together into a position). If you use the exact words of
another, then you must use quotation marks around all of those exact words. Failure to quote exact words and failure to credit others with a
citation when you use their ideas is plagiarism, which is unethical and sometimes illegal. Dr. Harwood punishes plagiarism by giving an F for the
course to any student who plagiarizes. If you have any doubt or ignorance about what plagiarism means, then before you submit any work
carefully read the definition of plagiarism at www.dictionary.com -- and other dictionaries -- and consult a school counselor about our college's
rules concerning plagiarism and academic honesty and integrity.

GUIDELINE P. Avoid understating your point. One of the most important things you will learn in college is how to give your points just the right
level of emphasis, avoiding overemphasis and underemphasis. On overemphasis, see guideline J above. On underemphasis, probabilities are
usually crucial. Showing a mere possibility is helpful only when rebutting a claim that something is impossible. Lawyers rightly ridicule
arguments trying to show some possible, horrible consequence to a law or ruling, calling such arguments "possible horrible arguments." Avoid
making such arguments. Avoid weasel words, which tend to water down and understate your point. Weasel words include, but are hardly limited
to: maybe, may, perhaps, might, could, would, possible, possibly, conceivable, conceivably, and can.

GUIDELINE Q. * Expose the commission of any fallacies others commit, but avoid oversimplifying or distorting others' views or the definitions
of the fallacies just to rebut your opponents. Avoid committing any fallacies yourself. See sterlingharwood.com for the definitions of fallacies.

GUIDELINE R. Proofread your paper carefully! Bad proofreading is the fastest way to lose credibility with your readers. Imagine if you wrote
paper on Microsoft and kept calling it Macrosoft or Macrosift all the way through your paper. Your readers would infer that since you fail to
know even how to spell your subject, you do not know what you are talking about. At best, typographical or grammatical errors distract your
reader; and dividing your reader's attention risks misinterpretation of your views. At worst, such errors obscure thoughts you wish to
communicate, and convince your reader that his or her wisdom is no match for your ignorance. Here are some words that are often misspelled or
misused: 1) 'argument' is right; 'arguement' is wrong; 2) "it's" means "it is"; 'its' is the possessive of 'it'; 3) 'criterion' is singular and 'criteria' is
plural; 4) 'solely' is right; 'soley' and 'soly' are wrong; 5) 'occurrence' is right; 'occurence' is wrong; 6) 'likelihood' is right; 'likelyhood' is wrong; 7)
'judgment' is best in America; 'judgement' is the British spelling; and 8) 'lose' (not 'loose') is the opposite of 'win', and 'losing' (not 'loosing')is the
opposite of 'winning'; 9) 'loose' is the opposite of 'tight'.

GUIDELINE S. Put points positively, which makes your writing less evasive and more forceful and clear. Use these words to help you avoid
'not': 'lack', 'without,' 'refrain,' 'shun,' 'fail,' 'scarcely,' 'hardly,' 'refuse,' 'refrain,' 'reject,' 'avoid,' 'doubt,' "decide against," and "rather than ;
instead of." Avoid using negative terms such as 'not' and 'never.' Avoid using contractions (for example, "don't" and "ain't" and "I'll") in formal
writings such as your paper. This guideline prevents you from using double negatives and from mincing words (e.g., "not without")

GUIDELINE T: The title for your paper must clearly TAKE A STAND on your approved paper topic and clearly IDENTIFY YOUR PAPER
TOPIC. This means that if you use a question for your title, be sure to answer that question in your title (or a subtitle). Here's an example of a title
with a subtitle: "Is Abortion Moral?: No". 'No' is the subtitle. "Is Abortion Moral?: Yes" would be an equally excellent title for a paper on
abortion. Here are examples of bad titles that fail to follow guideline A: Paper, Term Paper Philosophy Paper; Philosophy Term Paper;
"Affirmative Action"; "Abortion"; Death Penalty, Executions, Capital Punishment, Euthanasia"; "Gun Control"; "Surrogate Motherhood."
Here are examples of good titles that follow guideline A: "Say 'Affirmative' to Affirmative Action"; "Affirmative Action is Reverse
Discrimination & Wrong," "Kill Euthanasia: It's Wrong," Put Mercy Killing out of its Misery: Its Wrong, "Euthanasia: We Have a Moral
Right to Death with Dignity," "Abort Abortion: It's Wrong," "Abortion: Women Should Have the Right to Choose," "Gun Down Gun Control: It's
Wrong," "Gun Control is So Good It Saves Lives."

GUIDELINE U.* Use numbered headings (see the sample paper in FAQ3 above) to show your readers where you are heading. The heading is
like a headline and thus the heading for your introduction, for example, should thus appear on a separate line above the first paragraph of your
introduction. Pity your reader. He or she must take thousands of tiny stains (letters) and use interpretation to make from these stains a philosophy
or a position. Avoid passing up opportunities to use headings to let your reader know what your conclusions will be (where you are heading) and
how you will get there. Headngs are useful signposts.

GUIDELINE V. Use complete sentences. That is, avoid "sentence fragments."

GUIDELINE W. Work to be clear and literal. Avoid sarcasm, metaphors and figurative language. Use the active voice to promote clarity.
Passive voice is good for politeness, suspense and evasion of responsibility (for example, President Reagan's "Mistakes were made" on the
Iran/Contra scandal). Your scholarly papers put a premium on other values such as clarity and brevity, which are much better served by the active
voice. The passive voice often uses forms of the verb "to be", often uses the past participle of a verb, and often uses 'by.' For example, the active
voice of "Plato argued for this conclusion" is better than "This conclusion was argued for by Plato."

GUIDELINE X. Avoid splitting infinitives. Infinitives involve verbs. Examples of infinitives: 1) "to go" is the infinitive of 'go'; 2) "to die" is the
infinitive of 'die'. Here's an example of a split infinitive: "Its 5-year mission is to boldly go where no one has gone before."

GUIDELINE Y. Avoid ending sentences with prepositions. Winston Churchill jokingly said that this error is a mistake up with which he will not
put. ;o) Examples of propositions include: at, under, over, of, for, in. Examples of sentences ending with prepositions include: 1) "Where's the
library at?"; 2) "Check to see if the mail is in"; and 3) "You are the one I came for."
Another joke concerning this guideline is:
Freshman: Wheres the library at?
Professor: Here at Cornell we simply do not end our sentences with prepositions.
Freshman: OK, then wheres the library at scumbag!

GUIDELINE Z. Avoid contractions, which are too informal for the scholarly writing you do. Examples of contractions include: "I'm," "Don't,"
and "I'll." Further, avoid starting sentences with 'And,' 'But,' or 'Or' since these are also too informal.
BONUS MATERIAL: FAQ40: What are 24 quotations by or about Confucius that students may use in the A sections (and the C
sections) of a term paper for which they are relevant?

1. To see what is right, and not do it, is want of courage, or of principle. ~ Confucius, quoted in Donald O. Bolander, Dolores D. Varner, Gary
B. Wright, and Stephanie H. Greene, eds., Instant Quotation Dictionary (New York: Dell Publishing, 1972), p. 227.

2. Honeyed words and flattering looks seldom speak of love. ~ Confucius, quoted in The Sayings of Confucius (Barnes and Noble, 1994),
hereinafter abbreviated SOC, p. 1.

3. Of a gentleman who is frivolous none stand in awe, nor can his learning be sound. Make faithfulness and truth thy masters: have no friends
unlike thyself; be not ashamed to mend they faults. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 2. Compare: "Opposites attract" and "Birds of a feather
flock together." Compare "Variety is the spice of life" & admiration for diversity & inclusion.

4. A gentleman who is not a greedy eater, nor a lover of ease at home, who is earnest in deed and careful of speech who seeks the righteous and
profits by them, may be called fond of learning. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 3.

5. Not to be known should not grieve you; grieve that ye know not men. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 4. Compare the old saying: Its not
what you know but who you know that counts. Further, compare the counter-saying: Its not who you know that counts but who knows you.

6. Guide the people by law, subdue them by punishment; they may shun crime, but will be void of shame. Guide them by example, subdue them
by courtesy; they will learn shame, and come to be good. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 5.

7. At fifteen, I was bent on study; at thirty, I cold stand; at forty, doubts ceased; at fifty, I understood the laws of Heaven; at sixty, my ears
obeyed me; at seventy, I could do as my heart lusted, and never swerve from right. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 5.

8. If I talk all day to Hui [Confuciuss favorite disciple], like a dullard, he never stops me. But when he is gone, if I pry into his life, I find he can
do what I say. No, Hui is no dullard. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 7.

9. Look at a mans acts; watch his motives; find out what pleases him; can the man evade you? Can the man evade you? ~ Confucius, quoted in
SOC, p. 7.

10. He [a gentleman] is broad and fair; the vulgar are biassed [sic, biased] and petty. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 7.

11. Work on strange doctrines does harm. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 7.

12. Listen much, keep silent when in doubt, and always take heed of the tongue; thou wilt make few mistakes. See much, beware of pitfalls, and
always give heed to thy walk; thou wilt have little to rue. If thy words are seldom wrong, they deeds leave little to rue, pay will follow. ~
Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 8.

13. Confucius, to a questioner, on why he is not in power: What does the book say of a good son? An always dutiful son, who is a friend to his
brothers, showeth the way to rule. This also is to rule. What need to be in power? ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, 1994), p. 8

14. Without truth I know not how man can live. A cart without a crosspole, a carriage without harness, how could they be moved? ~ Confucius,
quoted in SOC, p. 9.

15. Confucius, to the questioner Tzu-chang, on whether we can know what is to be ten generations hence: The Yin inherited the manners of the
Hsia; the harm and the good that they wrought them is known. The Chou inherited the manners of the Yin; the harm and the good that they
wrought them is known. And we may know what is to be, even an hundred generations hence, when others follow Chou. ~ Confucius, quoted in
SOC, p. 9.

16. A friend to love, a foe to evil, I have yet to meet. A friend to love will set nothing higher. In loves service, a foe to evil will let no evil touch
him. Were a man to give himself to love, but for one day, I have seen no one whose strength would fail him. Such men there may be, but I have
not seen one. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 18.

17. A scholar in search of truth who is ashamed of poor clothes and poor food it is idle talking to. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 18.

18. The chase of gain is rich in hate. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 18.

19. Be not concerned at want of place; be concerned that thou stand thyself. Sorrow not at being unknown, but seek to be worthy of note. ~
Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 19.

20. One thread, Shen [a particular disciple of Confucius], runs through all my teaching. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 19.

21. A gentleman considers what is right; the vulgar consider what will pay. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 19.

22. Who contains himself goes seldom wrong. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, p. 20.

23. A gentleman wishes to be slow to speak and quick to act. ~ Confucius, quoted in SOC, 1994), p. 20.

24. The Masters teaching all hangs on faithfulness and fellow-feeling. ~ Tseng-tzu, quoted in SOC, p. 19.