Assignment

Guidelines

Write an analytical essay about Andrew Newman.

Andrew Newman, Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire (2009) [online]

The link to the book is: goo.gl/CCiGxU

Make sure to focus on the following questions:

1. Introduce what the book is about:

- What is the overall theme of the book?
- What smaller problems does it discuss?

2. What is the author's main argument/intention?

3. What sources does he/she base his/her analysis on? (i.e., writings of Muslim thinkers, works of other historians, interviews, etc.)

4. What are the author's conclusions?

5. What are the strengths/weaknesses of the book?

- I.e., what is it that you like about the book? Why?
- What do you disagree with? Why?

The paper should be 8-10 pages-long, double spaced, justified throughout. The paper must begin with a full bibliographic information about the book, following the Chicago Manual of Style

The paper that is not your own must be documented in a footnote, which will list the author and the title of the book/article where the idea comes from.

1. Principles of Grading

1. Formatting (you have to follow the formatting guidelines outlines above.
2. Clarity: Write in a language that any educated person can understand. Guide and help the reader, avoid confusion.
3. Critical approach: Don't just summarize the book. Critique it, along the lines presented above. A simple summary won't get a good grade.