Essay 5 pages

Essay #1 Read the following essay instructions carefully and annotate.

DEADLINE:

A three- to five-page typed essay based on one of the writing prompts below will be due in class

Tuesday, February 18. If you do not submit the essay on Tuesday, you will lose 40 percent on

your grade for each class it is late until the essay is submitted. Plan to revise it at least once

before submitting it. Your graded essay can be revised once for a higher grade. I will average the

two grades.

WRITING EXPECTATIONS:

) Your typed essay must be at least three to five pages (typed, 12 points, double-space) plus a

Works Cited page that lists the sources you used for the essay. Sign up for an account with

bibme.org if you have not already done so. Follow MLA style and Butte College’s policy on

plagiarism. View OWL (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/) to review the MLA

section.

) Your paper will need to have at least four (4) examples and/or quotes specifically attributed to

the text, which will provide practice with integrating quotes/references and developing your

commentary on it. Maintain a focus on the text(s) in the prompt, not the outside examples; they

should be used to support your commentary and views about it.

) Your essay needs an introduction that includes the author and title(s) of the text and a thesis.

Each paragraph—five-plus sentences—needs a topic sentence, detailed sentences, and your

commentary. Try to bring outside examples to help illustrate your points. You can write in the

first and third person; avoid second person (“you”). Starting with Essay #2, I will deduct one (1)

point for each time you use “you” in this essay.

WRITING PROMPT (Choose only one):

1) Machiavelli advises the prince to study history and reflect on the actions of great men. Would

you support such advice? Machiavelli mentions a number of great leaders in his essay. Which

leaders would you recommend that a prince study? Do you think Machiavelli would agree?

Support your position by providing reasons and specific examples from the text as well as from

your own experiences, observations, or reading.

2) By referring to current events and leaders—either local, national, or international—decide

whether Machiavelli’s advice to the prince is useful to the modern politician. Consider whether

the advice is completely useless or completely reliable or whether its value depends on specific

conditions. First state the advice, then show how it applies (or does not apply) to specific

politicians, and finally critique its general effectiveness. Support your position by providing

reasons and specific examples from the text as well as from your own experiences, observations,

or reading.

Essay #1 Read the following essay instructions carefully and annotate.

3) Probably the chief ethical issue raised by The Prince is the question of whether the desire ends

justify the means used to achieve them. Write an essay in which you take a stand on this

question. Begin by defining the issue: What does the concept “the ends justify the means”

actually mean? What difficulties may arise when unworthy means are used to achieve worthy

ends? Analyze Machiavelli’s references to circumstances in which questionable means were (or

should have been) used to achieve worthy ends. Support your position by providing reasons and

specific examples from the text as well as from your own experiences, observations, or reading.

4) Find evidence with this excerpt to demonstrate that Machiavelli’s attitude toward human

nature is accurate. Remember that the usual criticism of Machiavelli is that he is cynical—that he

thinks the worst of people rather than the best. Find quotations from the excerpt that support

either or both of these views; then use them as the basis for an essay analyzing Machiavelli’s

views on human nature. Support your position by providing reasons and specific examples from

the text as well as from your own experiences, observations, or reading.