Theory Analysis -- 2

Select a portion of text written by Karl Marx (such as Capital) or Friedrich Engels (such as The Origin of
the Family, Private Property and the State). The text you refer to should be about 20 to 30 pages long.
The text you choose must be actually written by Marx and/or Engels (translated into English if
necessary) and not by someone commenting about their work. The text you choose must provide new
insight into the Marx’s theories that are not discussed in this course. The text you choose must not
repeat the ideas of Marx as presented in the readings and course notes. You should avoid the
Communist Manifesto and German Ideology and parts of Capital since they are covered in this course.
For example, do not write about ‘value’ such as surplus value or exchange value since they are
covered in this course. Your assignment should focus on theoretical issues (and not the life of the
theorist nor on the empirical substance of the text). You may find it useful to look at less popular
writings to find something that adds to their more popular work. The work you select must have
enough theoretical content to do this assignment. You are expected to
Part 1: summarize the theory presented in the text you have chosen,
Part 2: specify how this theory adds to the coverage of Marx provided by this course,
Part 3: provide your own critique of how Marx’s theory is inadequate even with this additional theory.
Nearly everything written by Marx or Engels can be found at: Marxist Archives
Label each part of your assignment as Part 1, Part 2, Part 3. Each part is important and each part
should constitute about ⅓ of the assignment. Do not provide an introduction or a conclusion. Provide
a link to the material you are discussing. Do not refer to any source except the text at the link. Do not
quote from the material you are discussing. All of the words must be your words and only your words.
If you use words from the link, this is academic misconduct. Use your own words as discussed on
page 4 above.
When you refer to an idea from the work that you are studying, you must put the page number
where you found the idea in brackets at the end of a sentence. You must provide at least 5 citations
to specific pages in the work you are studying. If page numbers are not visible, you may use pdf page
numbering if it is a pdf file. Otherwise, refer to the section of the work in which you read the idea you
are referring to.
The assignment must be less than 1500 words long. You must count absolutely every word in the
assignment. Put the word count at the top of the assignment along with the link to the text you are
using. The assignment is worth 25% of the final grade for this course. You will lose marks if you are
even one word over the limit. If you provide less than 1400 words it is unlikely you will have done a
good job of meeting the requirements.
Do not provide a cover page. The first line of the assignment must be the link that leads to the text you
are studying. The second line must be the word count. You must provide the link and the word count, or
you will lose marks. Line three is blank. Line four says Part 1.
The text should be a 12 point font, preferably Segoe UI (which is what you are reading) or a similar font.
Use single spacing. (The UI stands for user interface and is designed to be readable on screens.)