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

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	None

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1)		Quota: 0
Course Start	Semester 1
Course Start Date	16/09/2024
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Learning and Teaching Activities
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	None: Zero-credit training course
Feedback	Not entered
No Exam Information

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