Aquinas’ First Way

 Thesis Statement and Abstract: Your paper should be summarized in an abstract which contains a clear thesis statement. The purpose of an abstract is to help the reader understand the content of the paper as well as its conclusion. Your abstract should be almost exactly 200 words. The abstract should be a kind a blueprint of your paper and also explain why your paper is worth reading. What will the reader learn or understand after reading your paper? Why is your paper worth reading? You should start by writing your abstract but keep in mind that you will be updating and revising your abstract right up until you turn in your paper Title: Give your paper a title that reflects its content and your thesis. It’s okay if the reader can’t figure out the exact content and thesis of your paper from the title but the title should make sense to them and be illuminating after they have read the paper. Introduction: Your paper should contain a clear introduction. This introduction should be an extension of your abstract in the sense that it elaborates and explains the question that you are addressing. Your introduction should set up the thesis and argument which is to follow. Tell the reader what your paper is about why you wrote it. Do not waste space or try your reader’s patience by opening with grand generalizations about the history of philosophy or mankind, how long people have asked a particular question, the human condition, etc. Do not provide extensive biographies of the historical figures unless their biography is relevant to your thesis Conclusion: Your paper should include a conclusion that not only summarizes what readers have already encountered in the paper but also brings your ideas to closure by explicating how they are significant and meaningful. The conclusion should also summarize the reasons that you offer for thinking that your thesis is true and significant. Audience: Your paper should be addressed to people in the academic community who, are roughly familiar with your topic but have not focused on and analyzed the particular issue you address as closely as you have. Since your audience is an academic one, this means that you must meet certain academic expectations. You should also keep in mind that an academic paper should make sense to readers outside of our small class. This means that you might need to add more explanation than if you were just writing for our class