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 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 | Not available to visiting 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. |  
| Course description | Each week of the course the students will watch a pre-recorded lecture with short comprehension exercises. 
 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 |  | Co-requisites |  |  
| Prohibited Combinations |  | Other requirements | None |  
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 paperwork within the word counts of an assignment effectivelychoose an appropriate topic for the assignmentevaluate arguments and develop counter- argumentsuse language appropriate to academic philosophical writing |  
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 Eli Lichtenstein Tel:
 Email:
 | Course secretary | Ms Olivia Coltman Tel:
 Email:
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