Postgraduate Course: Phil Skills (Online) (PHIL11203)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
| Course type | Online Distance Learning |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 0 |
ECTS Credits | 0 |
| Summary | A short (2-week) online course on the basics of reading and writing philosophy papers. It is targeted specifically at students on the online philosophy programmes, and is aimed to prepare them for their writing assignments. It introduces students to the principles of extracting arguments from papers, and how to present and critique arguments in their own work. Students will then put these skills into practice by writing a formative essay for their first philosophy course (or, in the case of students taking multiple courses in a semester, for any one of those philosophy courses). |
| Course description |
Each week of the course the students will watch a pre-recorded lecture with short comprehension exercises. They will submit a formative essay, written for one of their assessed courses, to the course organiser, who will comment on its clarity, structure and argument.
Week one -Reading Philosophy
This week covers techniques to enable students to get the most from reading philosophy papers. Topics covered include:
- How to extract an argument from a paper
- What questions should I ask myself as I read this paper?
- What should I do if I don't understand a passage?
- How can I relate this paper to my own arguments?
Week two - Writing Philosophy
This week covers techniques to enable students to get the most from reading philosophy papers. Topics covered include:
- The assessment criteria for MSc work
- How to develop an essay prompt
- Techniques to keep your paper focussed
- How to present an argument
- How philosophical writing may differ from other disciplines
- Referencing conventions
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- identify and reconstruct the argument of a philosophy paper
- work within the word counts of an assignment effectively
- choose an appropriate topic for the assignment
- evaluate arguments and develop counter- arguments
- use language appropriate to academic philosophical writing
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Reading List
| This is made available as part of the course and updated regularly. |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Transferable skills in research, analysis, and argument. |
| Keywords | philosophical skills,argument,analysis,research skills |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Suilin Lavelle
Tel: (0131 6)50 3665
Email: |
Course secretary | Ms Becky Verdon
Tel: (0131 6)50 3860
Email: |
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