Rene Descartes’ “New Foundations for Knowledge.”
An IAEQ is an opportunity for you to show that you understand the week’s readings and to organize your
thoughts in writing. IAEQ is an acronym for Identification, Analysis, Evaluation and Questions. The goal is to
distinguish each type of writing by giving each its own paragraph. Thus, the IAEQ should have three
paragraphs and several questions at the end. Here is a break down:
Identification: This is your opportunity to show that you understand the author’s main point. You should try to do
this using your own words.
Analysis: This is the most important of the three paragraphs and it should probably be the longest. In the
analysis paragraph, you should try to explain or “unpack” what the author is saying. This is your opportunity to
show that you have thought about the readings in a meaningful way. In philosophy, it is not enough to repeat
what an author says. You need to explain to the reader in your own words why the author says it.
Evaluation: This is your opportunity to agree or disagree with what the author has to say. You should back up
your points with clear reasons. The length of this paragraph will be variable.
Questions: At the end of the three-paragraph response, you should formulate several questions about the
readings. Remember, these should be probing questions that could be used to generate discussion
