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Plato Essays: A Short Example on Writing on Plato’s Work
Under the term Plato essays two types of assignments can be distinguished, essays on Plato as a prominent figure, and essays on Plato’s works. It can be stated that Plato essays might imply a combination of the latter as well. It can be stated that as a demonstration of critical thinking Plato essays focusing on Plato’s works present more interest to teachers, and thus, they will be briefly covered in this article.
Overview
The range of the works typically covered in Plato essays mainly includes his famous series of Socrates dialogues, The Republic. In that regard, the whole work is seldom used in assignments, as it is rather voluminous. Thus, Plato essays typically address single famous fragments of the book, e.g. the allegory of the cave, forms of government, views on justice, etc. Another feature of Plato essays is that despite the fact that Plato’s works are mostly philosophical in nature, they can be connected to various disciplines.
Example of Plato Essay’s Structure
An example of the typical structure of a Plato essay can be seen through the following points on one of his most famous dialogues, the Allegory of the Cave:
- Introduction – a brief overview of Plato and the allegory, transitioned to the essay’s thesis statement.
- Thesis statement – in the current example the thesis is that the Allegory of the Cave is a basic reflection of the role of media in contemporary society.
- The body of the essay – this is the part which will be devoted to providing the arguments that support the thesis. In short essays, the main body is about 3-5 paragraphs long. The division of the body in the present Plato essay might resemble the following structure:
o The media change people’s perception of the truth. Support from the allegory.
o The process of seeking the truth. Support from the allegory.
o The perception of media. Support from the allegory.
- Conclusion – connecting the arguments in the Plato essay together, and restating the thesis.