RS 361E Essay Guidelines Page 1 of 1
Essay 3: Christian and the State
Select one of the following options and indicate your choice in the upper right corner of your paper after your name, date, “RS 361E/Leininger: Essay 3A” or “3B”.
Question: How should Christians view the state and what is the proper of role, if any, of Christians in interacting with the state and why?
Essay 3A:
A) No more than 1/3 of essay : explain how Catholic Christians answer this question according to the Cochrans and the class lectures. (See especially Cochran, pages 3-6;
11-17; and 19-21)
B) 2/3 of paper or more : Construct and analyze arguments that support, oppose, or point to an alternative to how Catholic Christians answer this question.
Essay 3B:
A) No more than 1/3 of essay : explain how evangelical Christians answer this question according to Wolterstorff (in chapter seven of Toward an Evangelical Public Policy ) and class lectures. You may, but are not required to, also draw upon other assigned readings from Toward an Evangelical Public Policy to explain how evangelical
Christians answer this question.
B) 2/3 of paper or more : Construct and analyze arguments that support, oppose, or point to an alternative to how evangelical Christians answer this question.
Suggestions
1.
Minimize summary of stories, assigned readings, etc. (or avoid summary by instead explaining arguments using your own analogies, examples, etc.) and maximize argument and analysis.
This means thinking through the connections or tensions between the ideas in the assigned texts rather than paraphrasing what the texts and lecture notes say.
2.
Evaluate your essay drafts by asking: “What level of understanding of the course concepts (e.g., individualism) does this display through its application and analysis of these concepts?” “How can this essay demonstrate an even deeper grasp?”
3.
Never go beyond 1/3 of the essay for the first task. Make it shorter than 1/3 if you can do so effectively.
4.
For most people, writing a good two-page essay requires writing at least four pages and then selecting the best of those four pages for your two-page essay. The Writing Center can help you edit.
5.
Use every inch of the allowed two pages single-spaced.
6.
In constructing your argument, avoid statements such as I feel, I believe, my opinion, and instead offer arguments (reasons) that support your thesis (and consider counterarguments that might challenge it.)