VERY HARD GRADER- please do not reply if you are not an EXCELLENT writer. I need nothing less than an “A”
PLS 372 –Modern Political Philosophy
Final Paper Assignment: Answer the following questions in a single essay. Essays should be 5-7 pages and should answer each of the questions in a single coherent paper. Be sure to cite where appropriate. If you have any questions regarding the assignment, please email me. It is due Thursday, June 27th at midnight. The final paper is worth 40% percent of your final grade. It will be graded on a 100-point scale.
Prompt: Compare and contrast the accounts of the state of the nature provided by Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. In doing so, be sure to address the following questions: How do the above thinkers describe human nature? What is our condition in the state of nature? What are our relations with other people? Why do we leave the state of nature?
Formatting: Your essay should be written in Times New Roman and be in 12 -point font. It should have 1-inch margins on each side and be double- spaced. In the top left corner of the first page only, write your name and nothing else (no need to include date, semester, etc.).
Citations: I do not require a specific style of citation, but you are required to cite the sources and be consistent in your style of citation. There is no strict rule as to number of citations, but a good rule of thumb is that you should average three citations per page. Avoid excessive quoting of the text, but do recognize that a citation may be needed even if you are not directly quoting. Avoid secondary materials. Secondary materials vary in quality, will likely only confuse you further, and generally will not help you write a better paper. Stick with the primary sources.
General tip: Instead of looking at outside sources, work closely with the primary texts. The best papers will present the arguments in their own terms and provide original examples to explain the material. The best papers will also explain how each of the ideas are related and connected to one another. Thinking through the primary texts on your own, and in your own words, will be rewarded. Relying upon the language of others is obvious, lazy, shows less understanding, and may also be guilty of plagiarism. A paper that is written in your own words, and displays a personal and close interaction with the primary text, even if it makes minor slip-ups, will earn a higher grade than a paper that uses meaningless academic jargon that you do not understand, but is more “accurate.”
Please be grammatically correct, and follow directions. This professor is a VERY HARD grader, and I cannot afford a grade lower than an “A.”
Links MANDATORY- provided below
Rousseau, Second Discourse (Pages 100-181)- you can find this by going to google and typing in “The first and second discourses Rousseau pdf” it is the first link listed
Aristotle, Politics: Book I http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/politics.1.one.h…
0 comments