Short Paper 1
Civil Disobedience
In an essay of at least six pages (1800 words) in length, answer the following
question: What is the most effective means of protesting an unjust law? Your answer to
this question should serve as your thesis for the paper and should be stated clearly in you
introductory paragraph.
There ought to be two basic sections to your essay. The first part should provide
a critical review of the three different position developed in Platos Crito, Dr. Martin
Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail, and Malcolm Xs The Ballot or the
Bullet. Not only do you need to state what position each of these thinkers hold, but also
why. Make sure to indicate or quote passages where necessary.
The second section of your paper should focus on defending the position you find
to be the most effective. In this section, you should entertain and respond to possible
objections to your position. The central purpose of this section is to show why you hold
the position that you do.
Civil Disobedience
In an essay of at least six pages (1800 words) in length, answer the following
question: What is the most effective means of protesting an unjust law? Your answer to
this question should serve as your thesis for the paper and should be stated clearly in you
introductory paragraph.
There ought to be two basic sections to your essay. The first part should provide
a critical review of the three different position developed in Platos Crito, Dr. Martin
Luther Kings Letter from Birmingham Jail, and Malcolm Xs The Ballot or the
Bullet. Not only do you need to state what position each of these thinkers hold, but also
why. Make sure to indicate or quote passages where necessary.
The second section of your paper should focus on defending the position you find
to be the most effective. In this section, you should entertain and respond to possible
objections to your position. The central purpose of this section is to show why you hold
the position that you do.
The most important aspect of the paper is your defense of the different positions and
the defense of your own position. This means you should focus on why the different
thinkers hold the positions that they do and why you hold the position that you do.
Hence, stating what these thinkers wrote is inadequate.
Finally, make sure to cite all material properly. You may use other resources than
the ones assigned in the readings, but this is not necessary. You may use any standard
citation format, but make sure to be consistent.
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