I need help.

While I am not a Philosophy major I can advise that when you create a help topic, it really is ideal to post what you need help with or at least give some-what of an idea if it happens to be personal.

I have to write a philosophy paper and I have no idea how to go about it.

I'd say once again, you'd need to be more specific. Even if it's just what your word limits are... do you have an assigned topic or do you have to pick out what?

Really - is there anyway you can explain what your teacher wants the paper to be on?

I just need to know how philosophy papers usually start out.

They start philosophically. ^^ Joking. Haven't you taken a witting class? Start with the basics( Using a strong intro. that gives your thesis statement which is the philosophical subject you are going to talk about, then break that thesis into paragraphs...etc. ), and also look it up on google, like to see what other papers have been written in that specific format. Look for similarities.

But, don't take my word for this. You need to contact your proff/teacher/whatever else they can be called, and ask them what format they wish for you to use.

Originally Posted by Ren Ayane

I just need to know how philosophy papers usually start out.

With an introduction?

lol, I think you're having trouble starting your paper and since I'm an English major, let me see if I can give you some help.

Make your first sentence exciting - an attention grabber if you will. I don't know what your topic is, but relate it to the topic. This can be a statistic, a quote from somebody, etc. Then state why this is realted to your topic. Finally, go into your thesis statement - this is what your paper will be focused on. Then preview what your body paragraphs will be about.

(Haha, this actually sounds more like starting out a speech, but I feel that the same can be applied to writing a paper as well.)

I know how to write an English paper pretty well. However, philosophy papers are different and actually break a lot of the usual rules for papers. For instance, they say things people tell you never to say in papers like, "I am going to argue that..." and "I will conclude by..." That is why I'm confused. I don't know if I'm supposed to use a hook or what.

I think you could still use a hook and then go with "I'm going to argue..."

If you can't find any other helpful information soon, try a website like Yahoo Answers. Usually when I post up a question, it's answered fairly quickly. Just make sure you let everyone know what you're trying to find out or people will ask that you give more information.

I'm pretty sure the main difference between a regular paper and a philosophy paper is that in the latter, it's all about your opinion. so instead of making a big deal about it, just write the paper as normal and make sure your opinion is made known

How about starting off with an attention grabbing introduction, then flow into the body like you would with an informative or argumentative paper.

And you really shouldn't right "My paper is about" or "In conclusion" in any papers at a certain level, or at least in the college level (or are you in high school?)