Begin with an introductory paragraph that a) presents your thesis, b) identifies which text you will discuss, and c) prepares the reader for the organization of your paper.

Begin with an introductory paragraph that a) presents your thesis, b) identifies which text you will discuss, and c) prepares the reader for the organization of your paper. Your THESIS is a clear and exact statement of the claim you will support in your essay.
 The body of the paper should consist in a focused discussion on your chosen reading. Your paper should provide a clear exposition of one of the arguments in the text you focus on. Following the exposition, give one or two objections to the author’s claims. Discuss your objection(s) carefully. Provide the strongest possible counter-argument or counterexample. Be sure that your objection(s) are specifically linked to the arguments given by the author whose work you have exposited.
 The conclusion should not simply repeat what you have already said in the body of the paper. The concluding remarks may reiterate briefly the structure of your foregoing argument and the conclusion(s) you have reached. But, crucially, concluding remarks should say something more than this. Are there still further, related questions that you have not addressed? Does your discussion have an important implication for the topic, for philosophical theory, for life in general? In other words, try to show how your work in this particular essay reaches out to other topics of interest or paves the way for further argument or analysis. Remember that philosophy papers rarely solve problems once and for all time, so resist the temptation to overstate or exaggerate your conclusions. It is reasonable, even admirable, to acknowledge the limitations of your discussion in your concluding remarks.