Philosophy-Related Resources
Best All-Around
Pink Guide to Philosophy addresses reading philosophy, writing papers, myths about philosophy and general tips for doing well in a philosophy class.
Taking Notes in Class
- 5 Note Taking Methods from California Polytechnic State University
- Taking Great Notes in Lecture handout from Princeton University provides tips on how to actively listen, and organize lecture notes.
Reading Philosophy
- How to Read Philosophy Handout by Jessey Wright (Adapted from David Concepción’s 2007 article, “Reading Philosophy with Background Knowledge and Metacognition“).
Writing Philosophy Papers
- A Sample Philosophy Paper Prezi by Professor Angela Mendelovici, Western University
- Four Steps to Arguing Intelligently (or, How to Criticize with Kindness) by Daniel Dennett
- More Guidelines for Writing a Philosophy Paper from Simon Fraser University
- A humorous How to Write a Bad Philosophy Paper handout from James Lenman
Other
Book Recommendations
Books on Writing
- They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing by Gerald Graff, and Cathy Birkenstein. This book explains how to write a good argumentative essay.
- The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White. This is a book everyone should read and own. (Free .pdf found here).
Productivity Tips and Tricks
Dropbox
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The Pomodoro Technique
Sitting down to write a paper may feel like a huge, even impossible endeavor to undertake. The pomodoro technique is a great way to break longer tasks, like reading, studying, or writing a paper into smaller, more manageable size tasks. (I use this technique myself, and is hands-down the most effective thing I did to get writing done on my dissertation).
Research seems to indicate that there is only a finite amount of time we can focus on a task. The pomodoro technique takes advantage of this by breaking up work in 25 minute intervals.
Last Update: Sept 2014