English II 2011
Julius Caesar Persuasive Essay Guidelines
Write a five-paragraph essay in which you attempt to persuade the citizens of Rome to agree with you. You will select from one of the five topics listed below, choose your position, and prove it.
Topics
1) Is Brutus a villain or a victim?
2) Would Julius Caesar make a good king?
3) Was Brutus justified in killing Caesar?
4) Is Brutus an honorable man?
5) Who would be the best leader: Brutus, Antony, or Julius Caesar?
Requirements
1. Your introduction will include a thesis statement which clearly states your position
on the topic. You will highlight and label this in the margin.
2. Each body paragraph must include a topic sentence (3 total). Highlight and label in the
margin.
3. You must use a minimum of one of the three persuasive appeals we have studied:
ethos, pathos, logos. Highlight each appeal and label it in the margin.
4. One concession to the opposing position is required. Adding a refutation is worth
more points. Highlight and label in the margin.
5. You will include a minimum of two rhetorical devices: repetition, restatement,
parallelism, rhetorical question, comparison, flattery, damning with false praise,
fallacy, false dilemma, reverse psychology, metonymy, non-sequitur, anaphora,
paradox, antithesis, digression. You will highlight each rhetorical device and
label it in the margin.
6. Include evidence to support your position. You will use three quotes from the text of Julius
Caesar to provide examples/evidence. These must include internal citations.
Example: (III.ii.115) = (Act.scene.page). Highlight and label in the margin.
7. It is expected that your mechanics will be error-free. Improper spelling,
punctuation, capitalization, and grammatical conventions will result in a
reduction of points.
8. Your essay should be typed, Times New Roman font, 12 pt., double-spaced.
Follow MLA rules for header: Name, Period, Teacher’s Name, Date in left corner.
Do include a title but DO NOT underline, bold, or increase size of type.
In the rare case that you need to handwrite your essay, follow these rules:
*blue or black ink only
*write on the front side of paper only
*double-space
*it must be legible