5 pages essay focusing on one concept or theory from Machiavelli’s Discourses
Following the instructions in the essay writing guide, which I upload, write a 5-7 page essay. Your essay should respond to the following topic:
Choose one or two chapters from Machiavelli’s Discourses, to which you may optionally add one chapter from Machiavelli’s Prince. (Clarification: you may leave the Prince out, but must include the Discourses.) Closely analyze the chapter(s) you have chosen and explain precisely what you interpret the chapter to mean, focusing on one concept or theory. Then apply what you have learned to some issue or institution of politics today, arguing that Machiavelli’s ideas help to explain or to solve some important political problem we currently face.
Once you have done this analysis, make sure your introduction and conclusions explain with clarity what your paper is attempting to accomplish and emphasize the significance of its results.
Do not use secondary sources for this paper. This paper should emphasize careful, deep, close reading of the text and insightful interpretation.
How to Write an Essay for Professor Peter
PRE-WRITING:
Understand that writing happens in distinct stages, and that you must allow yourself time to go
through each step. The vast majority of papers that I read could be considerably improved just by
allowing enough time to do the job properly.
Many people start to write before they really know what they want to say. When you are writing
an essay (as opposed to a literature review) you really must spend some time honing your ideas.
The best way to do this is to adjust your thinking to the reading. As you do the reading for the
course, you should already be thinking about writing your paper. You want to “read with a
purpose.” You want to do your reading while on a kind of “treasure hunt” for good ideas and
quotes you can later use.
I prefer to buy my texts and to mark key passages–either directly or with post-its. Any quote that
you find that you sharply agree or disagree with is worth marking. As you begin to identify a
pattern of agreements and disagreements you have with the text, you will actually be developing
an idea you could write about.
