20 Mar Essay on Hobbes, Machiavelli and/or Locke

You can choose to do the paper on 1, 2, or the 3 authors.

Identify the topic of each essay plainly in its title and first sentence.

Each essay has three parts. They should be clearly demarcated using subheadings.

Each part should be treated for at least 250 words; how you balance the remaining

length expectations between the parts is up to you.

Part I

With reference to the text but largely in your own words, explain what the author means

when they discuss the topic, and why it is important to them. This part largely involves

an expository summary or synthesis of the textual elements you find most relevant.

Part II

With reference to the text but largely in your own words, explain what it is that you think

is important about the authors treatment of this subject. Why is it especially insightful,

useful, problematic, confusing, curious, revealing, or challenging? Engage the text in

analysis, criticism, and/or interpretation, saying something about why you think this topic

is significant, and what your assessment of it is upon evaluation.

Part III

With reference to an example drawn from outside the text from history or fiction, some

person, character, or story reflect further upon the topic. You may use the topic to

illuminate or criticize some aspect of the example. You may use the example to

illuminate or criticize some aspect of the topic.

Include a word count at the end of your essay. The assigned word length does not

include footnotes/bibliography. This is not intended to be a research paper; you are not

required or expected to consult the scholarly literature on the assigned texts. It is helpful

to provide some citation(s) referring the reader to relevant source materials pertinent to

the example used in Part III. Chicago style citations are preferred, although any

standard scholarly format is acceptable so long as you are consistent and page

numbers are specified wherever available. Provide full and proper citations for every

source you consult even if you dont reference them directly. Dont pretend something is

a quotation when its not; dont pretend something isnt a quotation when it is. Provide

citations even when you are only paraphrasingnot only as a matter of intellectual

honesty but also to better impress your reader.

Additional Guidelines

Essays should be structured, integrated, coherent wholes, not three short miniessays

comprised of unconnected parts. Select a topic for each essay that will

allow you to relate all three parts of it to each other.

Essays that place more weight on Parts II and/or III will always be more

impressive than essays that focus most on Part I.

Carefully proofread your essay so that it actually says what you mean for it to say

in polished prose. Review your word choices and check your grammar.

Approach the material with an open mind and a generous spirit. Make an effort to

understand before passing judgment. Nuance and even-handedness are

preferable to simplification and one-sidedness.

The representation of safe and obvious points impresses less than the

advancement of claims that require some interpretation or demonstration.

Modest, provisional, or conditional conclusions are preferable to exaggerations

regarding the scope and certitude of your conclusions. Acknowledge the limits of

your own analysis.

Refrain from straightforwardly applying prefabricated interpretive frameworks,

ideological lenses, or technical jargon foreign to the material under analysis.

Remember that quotations do not make arguments for you. Do not use excessive

or long quotations to pad for length.

Some rhetorical adornment will enhance your paper but avoid polemical

excesses. Use rhetorical questions sparingly; they rarely make arguments worth

making.

Do not waste the short space allotted to you in this assignment by relating

biographical facts or broad references to the historical context that do not pertain to

your analysis.

Avoid long introductions, drawn-out conclusions, or significant repetition.

Using the first person is acceptable and recommended. It will help you to

distinguish between what the philosophers, persons, or characters you are

discussing say, what youre saying about them. It also helps you to avoid

excessive use of passive voice