first term assignment - outline and paper

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McMaster University *

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2O06

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Political Science

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Oct 30, 2023

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POLITICAL SCIENCE 2O06 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL THEORY First Term Essay Assignment Fall 2023 Instructor: Inder S. Marwah ______________________________________________________________________________ The following questions are for the second term essay assignment. Answer only one question. These questions are for both the one-page outline, due by 5 pm, Nov. 7 (worth 5% of the final grade), and for the 6-8-page essay, due by 5 pm, Nov. 21 (worth 20% of the final grade). Each must be uploaded to the designated Dropbox folder on the course Avenue page before the deadline. Outline Instructions: 1. Your outline should not exceed one page. 2. It should be in point form, indicating the points you wish to make and some of the evidence you intend to use (e.g. citations) to make them. (We understand that this may change as you write the essay.) 3. It should place these points in logical order, so as to make a coherent and persuasive argument. 4. The front page of your assignment should include: (1) the course, (2) your name, (3) the instructor’s name, (4) your tutor’s name and tutorial time, and (5) the number of the question you have answered. Essay Instructions: 1. Your answer should be an essay of 6-8 pages/1500-2000 words (typed, double-spaced, 12-pt Times Roman or equivalent font, with proper margins and citations) – please include a word count on your front page. It should conform to the guidelines for scholarly reporting in the Social Sciences and Humanities. Your answers should be based entirely on the primary sources, rather than on commentaries. 2. If you use the assigned editions and parenthetical citations, you should give the author ’s name and page number, as well as a complete reference in the bibliography. Check your citation style guide for instructions on how your citations should be composed. 3. A good political theory essay includes: a clear thesis statement; an introduction, body, and conclusion; a clearly structured, logically developed argument; and appropriate textual evidence supporting your arguments. 4. The front page of your assignment should include: (1) the course, (2) your name, (3) the instructor’s name, (4) your tutor’s name and tutorial time, (5) a word count, and (6) the number of the question you have answered. Extensions will be granted only for medical reasons or on grounds of a disability. In order to obtain an extension, you must submit a request to your tutor prior to the due date. Essays submitted after the due date without an extension granted by your tutor prior to the due date will 1

be penalized 3% per day (including Saturday and Sunday). If there are reasons to suspect that you have used AI technologies (such as Chat GPT) to complete either (or both of) the outline or essay, you may be asked to meet with me to undergo a detailed oral examination on either or both assignments. In such a case, your grade may be based on my assessment of your oral examination, in part or in full. McMaster’s Academic Dishonesty Policy: Before writing and submitting essays, students should re-familiarize themselves with McMaster University’s policy on “Academic Dishonesty” in its entirety. An important part of it is reproduced here: “Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means and can result in serious consequences, e.g., the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the transcript (the notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university”). It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, specifically Appendix 3, located at: http://www.mcmaster.ca/senate/academic/ac_integrity.html The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty: 1. Plagiarism, e.g., the submission of work that is not one’s own or for which other credit has been obtained. 2. Improper collaboration in group work. 3. Copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations. SECOND TERM ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS Answer one of the following questions in an essay of 6-8 typed, double-spaced pages (1500- 2000 words): 1. Both Plato and Aristotle are critical of democracy, but for very different reasons. Whose critique of democracy do you find most compelling, and why? Be sure to address each thinker’s views in building your argument, and to explain precisely what you find convincing about one thinker’s view and less so about the other’s. 2. In what ways are significant wealth inequalities politically problematic for Plato and Aristotle? Each sees a distinctive set of political problems associated with wealth inequality – what are they, whose view do you find most convincing, and why? 3. Compare and contrast Machiavelli’s conceptualization of virtue with either Plato’s or Aristotle’s. Explain how they differ, and why these differences lead to a very different view of the nature and ends of political association. 2

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