What Is It the Point of the Paper?

'What is the point of the paper?'

To see if you can write at length about some topic, in a focused and sustained way. Focused -- not rambling disconnectedly on "everything I know about X", but discussing a specific topic or cluster of interrelated topics in an integrated way. Sustained -- following through some clear line(s) of argument in some depth (e.g. discussing not just objections but objections to the objections).

That still leaves options. You may go 'vertically' and dig more deeply into one particular issue; or you may go 'horizontally' and be concerned to make connections, and show how different parts of the philosophical landscape fit together -- or a bit of both. But whichever way you go, you should aim for a clearly structured story and some meaty arguments.

'But typical one-word questions like "Necessity" or "Scepticism" or "Justice" are not very focused!'

True. But they are intended as invitations to write on some specific topic that falls under the one-word heading. What the the Faculty Handbook says about Extended Essays and Dissertations applies here too. "The candidate in effect sets their own question [in the given area], and is expected to define this question and then write about it, not about its general philosophical environs." To emphasize again, you cannot construct a good extended essay merely by collecting a lot of points about a topic and setting them out one after the other. They need to be organized into an argument in favour of some particular conclusion, which you have specified as your target.

'How much should I aim to write?'

Quite a bit! If your essay is hardly longer than a typical answer to a single question on one of the other papers, then it is almost certainly too short. (Of course, you might be a Gettier, about to make a Major New Point in a couple of pages -- but then again, probably not ...!)

On the other hand, you might well write rather less overall than in other three hour papers, because you need to spend somewhat more time in thinking out and planning your work. Don't just dive in -- plan your answer very carefully. And certainly, you should avoid padding your answer out with material irrelevant to your main theme (that way, you can well end up with lower marks than if you had stopped sooner).

'It's a lottery. How can I be expected to predict questions?'

You can't make reliable predictions way ahead of time. You need to have a few areas prepared. But it's no secret how the questions on the essay paper are chosen -- 'big' topics on the syllabus of other papers that don't get questions asked on them in the relevant paper are very likely to get a question on the essay paper, so that the syllabus is covered fairly. If your favourite topic is absent from its 'home' paper, then it is a very good bet that it will turn up on the Essay Paper. So you can and should do some detailed last-minute preparation of two or three sensibly chosen topics once you have seen the other papers.

'How should I prepare in general?'

Practice! Whatever style of extended essay you favour, it is important to try planning and writing some before it comes to the Tripos itself. The Easter vacation is a good time to do this. Look at the essay topics set in some previous years' papers, and sketch out in detail how you would write on three or four of them (it will be good revision for the other papers too). You should actually write at least one extended essay of at least 2,000 words, and preferably two. Get some feedback about them from your supervisor at the start of the Easter term.

'Am I expected to have something original to say?'

Yes and no. No, you are not expected (even at Part II!) to come up with a brand new idea of your own. But yes, an absolutely routine presentation of absolutely standard points, however clearly done, isn't enough to do well. We are looking for signs of reading a bit more widely than the basic three or four papers you'd have to read for a supervision essay on the topic. And we are looking for something that is original to you in the sense of bringing together your reading and thinking in an individual way that shows that you have thought through the ideas for yourself.

'But how do I give an individual twist to essays on what are, typically, very mainstream topics?'

Don't worry! You'd be surprised how different even regular supervision essays can be, even on a standard topic when everyone's essay is based on a standard reading list. If you have read more than the most basic literature (important!) and have thought about it a bit (even more important!), then you'll almost certainly write with more individuality than you realize.

Still, if you find it difficult to kick-start your thought processes when faced with a numbingly general essay title like 'Pleasure', you might like to consider the following interesting advice from Jane Heal (what follows is from her notes, lightly edited):

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One method: one example

It is a good thing to write in a way which shows that you can see the ramifications of the topic and are aware that there are many interesting questions, other than the most central and familiar ones, which can be asked about philosophical topics and many ways in which philosophical views interconnect.

To be able to do this you need, to start with, to have your mind decently well stocked with philosophical questions and ideas. And there is no way of getting it well stocked except by reading and thinking steadily throughout the year, getting into the habit of trying to relate what you hear in lectures to supervision reading you have already done, keeping a file of interesting ideas which strike you and so forth. But, even if you have a well stocked mind, you also need a method of retrieving from the various comers of your memory all the things you know about a given topic, so that slightly less familiar connections of ideas come into view and so that you can in the examination make best use of everything you know, rather than just relying on those obvious ideas which come first to mind. Here is one way of proceeding:

Construct a list of major philosophical areas