Capture and explain the essential thrusts of Pascal’s argument.
Your assignment is to write an expository essay of 500 to 1000 words in which you set forth the case that Pascal makes for religious faith in the reading, “The Wager.” There is a link in the topic in Moodle that you will use to submit your essay for grading and for a plagiarism check. Your essay must be saved in either Word or RTF format.
You’ll find the reading in the Meister reader, pp. 389 – 392. It is a short reading, so be sure to read it slowly and carefully! Cite specific page numbers in the reading to support what you write.
How to Write
It is important that you write clearly and accurately. Do your best to capture and explain the essential thrusts of Pascal’s argument. Your goal is to demonstrate your ability to read and comprehend a short reading in the philosophy of religion. It is not necessary in this assignment to critically evaluate Pascal’s argument, although you may if you wish. In that case, your essay will be longer than 500 to 1,000 words. Double space your essay and use no more than one inch margins. You must proof-read your essay before submitting to ensure that it is in final draft form. There should be no writing, mechanical, or other mechanical errors in it. Before writing your essay, be sure to review the rubric to see specifically how I will grade your assignment.
Tip
It may help you write this essay to imagine that you are writing to someone who is not otherwise familiar with Pascal’s argument. What he or she ends up knowing about Pascal’s argument solely depends upon what you have to say. So, it is really important to be accurate and, in a short essay such as this, to focus upon the major points of his argument.
Sources
Make sure you do NOT plagiarize. This is not a research assignment, and you must not submit “cut and paste” jobs from the Internet or close paraphrases of sources. What matters here is your ability, at this point, in the course to read, understand, and explain a piece of philosophical writing.
•If you do use quotations, they should be kept to a minimum and be very short and they must be from the reading itself, not outside sources.
