Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians once sang that "philosophy is a walk on slippery rocks." Although philosophy can be a difficult subject to understand, full of seemingly unanswerable questions and paradoxes, writing in philosophy is pretty much the same as any other academic writing done in college. Philosophy papers still revolve around a thesis, still rely on evidence and logic to prove their points, and are still written to showcase student understandings or gain new insights just like any other academic paper. The biggest difference between a philosophy paper and any other kind of academic writing is the topic. While a typical undergraduate paper might be built around taking and explaining a position on a given topic, "philosophy will require [one] to clarify and defend beliefs that [one] believed were beyond question" (Garrison, Graybosch, & Scott 22). Every animal on the planet is capable of communicating, whether verbally, physically, or perhaps by some yet discovered means. Writing, on the other hand, is a form of communication unique to humans (and perhaps occasionally apes). Children are taught to read and write as soon as they begin to speak. Writing becomes a part of everyday life, and because of this it is easy to forget that writing “is a means of communication that [one] must consciously learn” (Heffernan and Lincoln 3). For this reason, writing in college can be a challenge for even the most skilled writers. While the basics of academic writing may seem like common knowledge, knowing and understanding them can be very different. In the writing center, it's our job to help writers take what they know about writing. and start to understand it. Understanding is the basis for... half of the article... ed.New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.. 2004.Griffith, Kelly Writing Essays about Literature: A guide and style sheet. 4th ed.New York, NY: Harcourt Brace & Company 1994.Heffernan, James A.W. and John E. Lincoln Writing: 4th ed.New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company 1994.Hjortshoj, Keith. The Transition to College Writing Boston, MA: Bedford/St.Martin's 2001.Kemper, Dave, Verne Meyer, and Patrick Sebranek. Writers Inc: A Student Manual for Writing and Learning. Lexington, MA: DC Heath & Company. 1996. Seech, Zachary. Writing philosophy articles. 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/ThomsonLearning. 2000. Wilson, Gordon. Personal interview. October 24, 2007.Wilson, Gordon. Personal interview. November 13, 2007. Wilson, Gordon. “Medieval Philosophy: Writing Research Papers in Philosophy.” flyer.