POLITICAL CLASSICS: What did Thomas Hobbes see as threatening to a stable political order?
– attempt to develop an original argument/analysis, and attempt to defend it in novel, well thought out, and precise terms.
– be ambitious and bold in reaching a conclusion (so long as you have defended it).
– read, reference and discuss pieces off the reading list (markers always award marks for this).
– include secondary sources in the bibliography
– integrate discussion of various approaches/arguments/concepts throughout.
– ensure the essay is clearly road-mapped: the Introduction states what you will argue, and your approach the body of the essay makes those arguments; the Conclusion reviews what you have argued, how you got there, and why it matters.
– ensure that it is clear why each paragraph follows the one preceding it.
´ DON’T just list what each thinker argued: make the significance of comparisons and contrasts clear.
´ DON’T track the content and structure of lectures too closely: try to impose your own vision.
´ DON’T make wild claims about why a thinker is right/wrong unless you have given a detailed argument to back those claims up, and have made reference to the secondary literature.
´ DON’T present a stream of consciousness.
´ DON’T include overly long quotes.
