1. Topic Question: The writer should come up with a topic essay and to phrase that topic in the form of a question. Your topic question is therefore an important component of the essay because it introduces the subject matter youll be discussing. It should therefore exhibit the following characteristics.
First, it should be as specific as humanly possible. A question such as How has Plato influenced the history of political thought? is so broad that entire libraries could never answer it.
Second, it should be the sort of question that enables you to make an original argument about the importance of a given authors political theory. In other words, pose a political theory question and provide a political theory answer that is original to you and that informs the reader as to why he or she should care to know your answer. To do so, avoid posing yes or no and either/or questions. A question such as Was Socrates influenced by Protagoras? or Was Aristotle a rationalist or an empiricist? doesnt enable you to say much other than yes or no. Given that youre being asked to advance an argument in your papers, I recommend posing questions that begin with In what ways . . . ? or To what extent . . .? or What are the implications of . . . ? Such phrasing not only enables you to make an argument in response, it also helps you fashion a thesis statement that is as specific as possible.
Third, the topic question should identifiably pertain to the subject matter of this course. I dont wish to be dictatorial about this, but writing about what you did over winter break likely wont make it past the guardians.
Example: To what extent does Socrates employ sophistic reasoning and why is this significant for his theory of justice?
2. Thesis Statements:
First and most importantly, your thesis statement must constitute a response to the topic question youve posed. Upon completion of your paper, check to see whether the thesis statement youve provided actually answers the topic question in some intelligible and provocative fashion. If not, change one or the other.
Second, your thesis statement should be a one sentence summary of the argument you intend to make. It should be the clearest, most specific expression of your argument and should appear somewhere in the first paragraph of your essay.
3. Originality, Supporting Argumentation, and Quotations:
Recall that Im asking you to advance an original argument in your paper, by which I mean an argument that you and only you can come up with. This means several things. For starters, it means that you must advance a position with which someone could disagree. To say that the Empire State Building is tall is not an argument, its a statement of fact. To say that the Empire State Building is the most beautiful building in Manhattan is not an argument, its an opinion. To say that the Empire State Building should no longer be used because the events of September 11th conclusively demonstrated the inherent dangers of high-rise office towers is an argument. Why? Because its something with which someone could disagree and its a claim for which you can provide evidence. Accordingly, you too must support what you say in your paper with evidence from the texts weve read. So, for example, if you wanted to claim that Socrates is a closet Sophist, you need to back this claim with passages from our readings that support this contention. In short, you must always say why you think what you think and provide appropriate support in the form of direct quotations from our readings. Recall as well that the thesis statement is the clearest expression of the argument youre making. What this means is that every point you make in the supporting paragraphs of your essay must in some way support the thesis statement. If, after completing your paper, you discover sentences or paragraphs that dont obviously and coherently relate to the thesis statement, re-write or discard them.
4. Implications, or the why does this matter? question: Recall that Im asking you to be explicit about the importance of your argument. The reason is because all good essays inform the reader as to the ramifications of the argument they advance. Once again, this contributes to the originality of your argument. Put simply, you must tell the reader why you think he or she should know what you have to say. Ask yourself: what is the purpose of this document? or why does it matter that anyone know what I have to say here? Do not assume your reader automatically sees this purpose or the significance of your argument. Instead, come right out and say it. Take the above example topic question concerning Socrates possible use of sophistry. Why does it matter that we know about this? What are the implications of the claim made in the sample thesis statement?
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