FAQs for Philosophy 201

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Here are some answers to "frequently asked questions:"

Optional journals on the schedule

No, it's just a short written exercise that I recommend to help you get ready to write the paper. You don't have to do it and it isn't graded, but I'll give you some feedback on it to help you improve. There are a couple of these, timed to the 1st Critical Analysis Paper. You should all really do them, but they aren't part of your grading scheme.

How do you figure out due dates for assignments?

Also a great question. The mid-term is on the schedule, so if you do that, it happens March 3. Journals need to be turned in periodically over the course of a few weeks, usually, to allow for feedback and flexibility. Paper due dates are harder to predict. Once you identify a topic of interest, you should generally try to bring the paper to completion within about two weeks. That might even include a rough draft, though that could add a little time.

I do want papers and journals and most informal work done by about mid-April (late Nov for Fall), so it's hard to write a paper on the last few topics we address, but if you really want to you can.