PP1PS: Philosophical Skills for Life

Module code: PP1PS

Module provider: Philosophy; School of Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Credits: 20

Level: Level 1 (Certificate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 2

Module convenor: Dr Charlotte Newey, email: c.newey@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 23 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

This module is designed to help you thrive in both academic work and career skills. Learn the art of academic writing, research, and referencing to maintain integrity. Learn techniques to write persuasive essays, present nuanced arguments and communicate them effectively. Discover how to identify both the limitations and the advantages of the analytic philosophical style.

Engage in writing seminars that enhance and integrate lessons from your previous philosophy courses, as you perfect your writing skills with peer-reviews and eliminate jargon. Acquire valuable writing and communicative skills that will serve you beyond your academic journey.

Learn essential research skills, using library resources, search engines and databases to find exactly what you need. Develop your ability to evaluate sources, take insightful notes, and integrate information from different sources in your assignments.

Discover the transferable skills a Philosophy degree has to offer and how to showcase them to future employers. Learn to effectively communicate your skills and plan for a successful career with tools and guidance from the University of Reading Careers team.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Identify basic techniques for writing compelling essays
2. Structure an essay to effectively and persuasively express complex ideas and arguments
3. Present philosophical views with precision, using correct referencing, reflecting academic integrity
4. Respond effectively to feedback by revise and deepen what they have written
5. Locate and recognise appropriate sources for academic writing
6. Identify a range of skills that transfer to the workplace and to explore their different applications

Module content

Topics to be covered:

• Introductions and conclusions
• Constructing arguments
• Strategies for exegesis of philosophical texts
• Integrating research into scholarly writing
• Going beyond the short essay
• Academic integrity and correct referencing
• Locating, identifying and using appropriate academic resources
• Philosophical skills for your career: CV writing and development

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

There will be regular lectures and seminars. The lecture will primarily consist of a presentation from the module convenor(s), encouraging student engagement using activities which may include quizzes, surveys, open discussion, and group work.

The seminars will primarily involve group-led discussion. Seminars will be based upon the required and further readings, writing exercises and discussion. Students will provide the raw material for writing exercises in the form of essays written for their previous part 1 modules. In the seminars, students will engage in peer-review, focused revision exercises, and intensive discussion of good writing practice. Some of the sessions will be led in collaboration with the Library and Careers teams.

A mix of lectures, class discussions, online content, assignments, feedback and structured reading will support you to reflectively develop your philosophical and communicative skills. 

Study hours

At least 30 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Small group work, class discussion, quizzes, and in-class tasks

Reassessment

Additional costs