Book Essay Guidelines
The Epoch of Napoleon
Your book essays should NOT be in a narrative format or a review of the story and its details. I would like you to take a position on this book and defend it, citing examples from the book itself. This is commonly referred to as an argumentative essay. (Note: If you would like to cite outside sources, that is fine, but please be consistent in your citation format. If you prefer APA or MLA style to Turabian, you can use whichever you are familiar with, just make sure to do so throughout your paper.) Below I will provide an example of an argument about The Epoch of Napoleonand use an example to support these arguments. This is merely an example; you should identify a position of your own and support it with your own examples.
My only requirements for the essay are as follows:
• 750 words (Double spaced)
• Cover page with name, course number and section, date, and title of essay
• Page numbers (Top right hand corner, no page number on cover page)
• Works Cited Page ONLY if you use outside sources, like a website, another book, or an article
A successful paper should think critically about the book and make an argument for the book’s significance, literary style, or deeper meaning. For example:
Argument–Owen Connelly argues that though Napoleon ruled in a despotic and authoritative manner, he considered himself a democrat based on the ideas of Montesquieu and Rousseau.
Example – For instance, Napoleon expressed sentiments such as “Sovereignty resides in the French people, in the sense that everything without exception ought to be done in their interest, for their welfare and for their glory.” (Connelly, 10)
Therefore, the opening paragraph of my essay would look like this…
Owen Connelly argues that though Napoleon ruled in a despotic and authoritative manner, he considered himself a democrat based on the ideas of Montesquieu and Rousseau.For instance, Napoleon expressed sentiments such as “Sovereignty resides in the French people, in the sense that everything without exception ought to be done in their interest, for their welfare and for their glory.” (Connelly, 10)
An argumentative essay can have one main theme, or thesis, or it can be united by a number of connected arguments. All arguments should be supported by evidence though, either throughdirect quotes or paraphrasing; in both cases, when using another person’s ideas a citation is always necessary.