Assignment title: Information
Week 2 Readings: Thomas Jefferson: The Declaration of Independence
From the State of Nature to Civil and Political Society:
John Locke: Two Treatises of Government (the selections here are from
The Second Treatise on Government, 1689): pp. 7-20 (through sec. 33); p.
38 (sec. 77); 40-42 (sec. 86-90); pp. 44-47 (sec. 94-99); pp. 58-60 (sec.
123-131); pp. 66-67 (sec. 142); p. 72 (sec. 155)
Compose a brief essay of at least 400 words but no more than 600 words
(not including your references list) in which you answer the following
question, referring to and critiquing relevant ideas from at least three of the
Week 2 readings as you develop your thoughts: What are the main
challenges to achieving justice in American society today and how does
American republican government allow the country to address those
challenges better than either the Platonic and/or Aristotelian forms of
government would?
Be sure to bring in relevant ideas from the essays that correspond to those
and to offer your critical thinking opinion of the ideas you synthesize.
Write an essay form (that is, in paragraphs, not in bullet points). Be as
specific and precise as possible.
Write in Arial font, size 14 Reference specific ideas from at least the
two readings that illustrate these values. Always name the author whose
ideas you are discussing (use the author's full name the first time you refer
to him/her; after that, identify authors by their last names).
Provide in-text citations for all ideas, opinions, and facts derived from the
course readings, whether you simply refer to them, paraphrase them (put
them entirely into your own words), or quote them. Place the in-text citation
at the end of your sentence but before the period that ends your sentence.
The in-text citation should give the author's last name (unless you've used
it already in your sentence), the year of publication (if known), and the
appropriate page number(s) from the reading (if page numbers are used in
the online text of the essay). Do not use the title of the reading unless it
does not have an author).
Here's an example of a citation for the Thomas Paine reading for Week 1:
(Paine, 1776).
Here's an example of a citation for the John Locke reading for Week 2:
(Locke, 1689, pp. 46-47).
Provide a References list at the end of your essay that includes
bibliographic references for every reading cited in your essay.
Note: Your references list does not count toward your minimum word count.
Center the word References (do not underline it, place it in quotation
marks, or place it in bold or larger size font).
Present your references, listed alphabetically by author's last name.