Your topic is the impact of Aristotle on European culture and history, but your main idea in the paper can be one focus on that topic. This means you can focus on one central aspect of the greater topic – you do not and should not attempt to deal with everything you learn about Aristotle from reading the book. Examples of focused main ideas: 1.) Aristotle’s influence on the study of science or mathematics; 2.) Aristotle’s impact on religion, spirituality, faith vs reason, etc.; 3.) Aristotle’s influence on specific thinkers, such as Augustine, for example, and how his ideas are transmitted to Europe through that thinker. Your thesis will be a claim you make and justify about your main idea. An “A” paper will include the following: 1. Exceptionally clear, arguable, well-developed thesis statement and an introduction that grabs the reader’s interest and states the topic. A thesis is a statement of position that can be justified by a statement of fact. The thesis must convey the essence of the argument you intend to defend in the paper. 2. Solid historical research sources. No superficial internet websites. Use sources that rely on research, and which have citations included. Bring forward important and accurate details. Research sources must support the thesis statement or any counterargument you present. 3. Analysis must be critical, relevant, consistent, and must make connections between evidence and thesis. 4. Clear, logical, mature development of thesis in the body of the paper with clear transitions between and within paragraphs. 5. A conclusion with a thorough summary of the ideas of the paper and a discussion of its relevance to our course. 6. The paper will include a bibliographic reference page. 7. Footnotes and bibliography will be in the Chicago Style. 8. The paper must be based on 7-8 sources. The paper should be written in an appropriate academic style and voice, and should be free of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.
