Alexander and Essay Writing

"The principles of Caesar were those of Hannibal, and those of Hannibal were those of Alexander: keeping your forces together, not being vulnerable at any point, rapidly bringing all your forces to bear on a given point." 

This is a quote by Napoleon Bonaparte, as published in an excellent compilation of his aphorisms and thoughts by French novelist Honoré de Balzac. 

Although it concerns war, this quote can be used in an academic context as well (aka the war-place of ideas). Let us attempt to dissect it and apply its teachings in the context of drafting an argumentative legal essay. 

Keeping your forces together

Every law essay, every piece of legal writing in general, ought (in principle) to be argumentative. The essay, moreover, needs to be bound by a single argumentative thread. Even you veer from the topic to make a point or cite some relevant research, it all need to come back to what you are trying to "prove", i.e. to your central thesis. Your "forces", therefore, i.e. your paragraphs and your various sub-arguments, need to stay close together. Too many sprinkles of irrelevant ideas, too many parantheses, too many historical facts, and the thread is cut; the essay is no longer forceful enough, no longer convincing. Focus, focus, focus and stick to the script. 

Not being vulnerable at any point 

This is the other side of the coin. Sure, you need to be very solid at one point (your central thesis). Still, the even harder part is that you are not allowed to have any real weaknesses anywhere else, i.e. any real argumentative vulnerabilities. As the saying goes: "Offence wins games but defence wins championships". This is true for both basketball games and law essays. An essay with a brilliant point and a compelling argument will rapidly unravel if some paragraphs are so weak they seem to have been written by a different author. In other words: try to write in a way that is intelligent, in part by avoiding writing in a way that is simplistic. 

Swift and concentrated action at the critical point 

This is, perhaps, the hardest part. You have helped your reader navigate all sides of the argument, while politely but assertively steering them your way. You have escaped major pitfalls and minimised your vulnerabilities. Now what?

Now is the time for you to bring your point home. Towards the end of your essay (or the end of your piece of writing in general) you need all your previously developed arguments to crescendo together, demonstrating why your position is clearly the most compelling of all the alternatives. The way the essay reaches this critical point will determine whether you "win" or "lose", whether the reader is sold or not. Granted, the stakes cannot be compared with Alexander's cavalry charge against Darius in Gaugamela, but bringing your forces to bear on your key point will be equally decisive in the context of your writing. 

To sum up, three takeaways emerge from the stratagems of the great Greek commander, as synopsised by Napoleon: focus on your strengths, avoid major vulnerabilities and strike forcefully when the time is right. Fortune favours the bold, the decisive, the argumentative. 

 Best of luck with your essays!