This document provides a guide to writing a philosophy essay in 4 steps: 1) Read the question to understand what is required, 2) Prepare by being familiar with sources and ensuring the essay is on topic, 3) Shape thoughts into an introduction, main body, and conclusion, 4) Double check references and formatting. The introduction should state the problem, how it will be addressed, and outline the essay. The main body executes the plan and tests the argument. The conclusion provides results and answers. Referencing should be in APA style in text and in a bibliography.

1. A Short Guide to Writing
a Philosophy Essay
1.Writing the essay
2.Referencing
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2. Firstly: Read the question
• Make sure you understand what is required of
you.
• Are you being asked to:
– Summarize
– Explain
– Give a critical discussion
– Analyse
– Take up a certain position
– Write a review
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3. Secondly: Prepare for the essay
• Be familiar with the sources you use
– Know these well by reading them and making
notes
• Make sure that you keep to the scope of the
essay
– Otherwise, you are off topic.
• Make sure about the meanings of important
words, concepts
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4. Thirdly: Shape your thoughts into
an acceptable form
• An essay is usually divided into three
sections:
1. Introduction (10%)
2. Main body (75%)
3. Conclusion (15%)
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5. The Introduction
• With the introduction the aim is to:
– Capture the reader’s attention
– Let the reader know what to expect throughout
– Therefore, the introduction should do 3 important
things:
– State the problem
– Say how you will address the problem
– Outline the order of the rest of the essay
• An introduction is necessary but it should be short and
sweet
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6. Main body
• Execute the plan according to the
sequence laid out in the introduction
• You can even query your own argument to
test its strength through questions or
imagined objections
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7. Conclusion
• Tell the reader what conclusions or results
your argument has led to
• Give your final answer to the initial
question or problem
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8. Fourthly: Double-checking
• Is the order and the form of the essay right?
• Is there a general consistency to the flow of the
essay?
• Is your argument clear?
• Is the question or problem addressed /
answered?
• Are there any spelling mistakes?
• Make sure that all sources are referenced in the
text and in the bibliography
• Make sure that you have not committed any
plagiarism
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9. Referencing
• The APA 6th Ed Referencing Style should be used
• This is an in text referencing style (no footnotes/endnotes)
• E.g. ‘Some authors claim that Marx was wrong about the
nature of class conflict’ (Cohen, 1978, p. 223).
• Or: ‘Cohen (1978, p. 223) claims that Marx was wrong about
the nature of class conflict’.
• So the form is (author, date of book/article, page number)
• Or if the author has already been mentioned in the same
sentence, the form is ‘author (date, page number)
• For more details see the file ‘Guide to APA in text referencing’
on the moodle site, under ’Assessment’.
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10. Bibliography
• Bibliography:
– Book:
• Author surname, Author intitials. Date. Title (in italics). Place of
publication: Name of publisher.
• E.g. Villet, C.M. 2001. Life, Death and Mortality. Johannesburg:
Monash University Press.
– Journal:
• Author surname, Author intitials. Date. “Title of article”. Name of
Journal, Volume (Number), Page numbers.
• E.g. Villet, C.M. 2001. “Life, Death and Mortality”. Monash Journal of
the Social Sciences, 16 (2), 231-240.
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