The Allegory of the Cave

To the student: The purpose of this final exam is for students to demonstrate their understanding of argument, the writing process, and MLA format. Students will read The Allegory of the Cave by Plato and develop a 750-1000 word essay based on the assigned prompt below. The intent of this essay is for students to make an argument that pulls elements of persuasion together.  This essay must have an arguable thesis, provide evidence from Plato’s text to support your position, demonstrate your conceptual thinking and control of information, refer with regularity to the text, and be clearly written.  PLEASE DO NOT CONDUCT ANY OUTSIDE RESEARCH OR USE ANY ADDITIONAL SOURCES BEYOND PLATO’S TEXT. Outlining the answer in advance will help, but you do not need to include your outline with the essay you submit. Students who write a rough draft and then revise (sometimes more than once) customarily produce the best essays. The essay is due no later than 11:59pm EST on Friday, December 3, 2021 via Blackboard.

Students must select from one of the prompts below:

Prompt: In his text, Plato is not only concerned with how we should act, but also with how we know, who we are, and what is true. For instance, Plato argues that working in public affairs and working for ones own private advantage cannot be mixed. Using argument, develop an essay in which you discuss how contemporary politics bear out this assertion or contradict it. AVOID THE USE OF 1ST AND 2ND PERSON IN YOUR WRITING UNLESS IT WAS USED IN A DIRECT QUOTATION BY PLATO.  

Tips for Writing Your Final Exam

Your papers must follow all MLA formatting and documentation guidelines.  
You must identify specific information from the text, either by citing them verbatim or summarizing them, and by identifying the page numbers where readers can find them.
Essays must be 750-1000 words of word-processed, double-spaced text. 
Essays must be written solely from the material assigned for this final exam.
Essays must present a thesis or argument that responds to the question you have chosen to answer. The thesis must be presented at the end of the introduction. The introduction should not merely restate an exam question.
Essays must reflect a students ability to think conceptually and historically, and to write his or her thoughts in essay form.
Essays must ref