Assignment 5: Major
Essay
Due: after Unit 9
Length: 4,500–5,000 pages (18–20 pages
double-spaced)
Weight: 40% of your final course grade
This assignment
consists of a summary paper, research paper, position paper, compare/contrast
paper, or exposition paper.
Evaluation Criteria
Your major essay grade
will be based on
the difficulty level of your chosen topic.
how well you have identified the
problem(s) to be addressed.
the quality, clarity, and effectiveness of
your answer, including the following elements:
structure: introduction, thesis statement,
plan stated and followed, conclusion stated and supported, weaknesses
acknowledged
content: accuracy in dealing with the source
materials, analysis and use of external sources, synthesis
style: clear and concise expression and vocabulary, proper use of
quotations and references, internal and external logical consistency
imagination: originality, creativity/innovation,
acknowledgement of weaknesses, overall interest of the paper
writing mechanics: grammar, spelling, neatness,
sentence and paragraph structure
Topic of Essay:
Dworkin’s Theory of
Rights and it’s applicability to today’s democratic governance
When Dworkin speaks of legislative rights
being prior to legal rights, what are these legislative rights and where
do they (supposedly) come from (e.g., natural law, positivism, pure theory
of law, legal realism, somewhere else)?
Dworkin speaks of having rights against
the government in the strong sense. However, if the government is not
prepared to acknowledge or enforce these rights what is the point of
claiming to have them? Who (or how) will they be enforced and respected?
If no one will enforce or respect them, can we actually claim to have such
rights? Discuss.
Dworkin suggests that all people agree
that there are moral rights that take priority to government laws. Do you
agree that all people recognize the existence of such rights? Do you agree
that there is universal agreement on any particular rights? Explain.
If utilitarian claims are not sufficient
to limit the strong rights of citizens, are any justifications available?
If so, what justification(s)? If not, why not?
Last Completed Projects
| topic title | academic level | Writer | delivered |
|---|