Criticize a philosopher’s argument; or show that certain arguments for their thesis are no good
Defend their argument or thesis against someone else’s criticism (for instance, you could defend a paper we read against a response paper that we also read)
Offer reasons to believe their thesis
Offer counter-examples to their thesis
Contrast the strengths and weaknesses of two opposing views about some thesis
Give examples which help explain their thesis, or which help to make the thesis more plausible
Argue that certain philosophers are committed to some thesis by their other views, though they do not come out and explicitly endorse the thesis
Discuss what consequences the thesis would have, if it were true
Revise the thesis, in the light of some objection