Your task is not to argue whether or not Machiavelli’s views (for example on morality) are attractive or correct. Rather, you must to persuasively establish that a very specific way of interpreting the text is the correct one, as against other possible ways of interpreting it. You must accomplish this task by means of careful argumentation and textual evidence.
In writing this kind of essay, it is important to keep in mind that while there certainly can be better and worse interpretations of a text (more or less cogent and insightful, more or less attentive to the complexities of the text, more or less consistent with what we know about the historical context in which it was written), there is no “right” answer in a strict sense, at least for the purpose of this assignment. You should therefore approach the topic statement of your choosing without reverence, assessing it from the standpoint of your own considered and well-informed understanding of the text.
Since there is no right answer, note that two students in this class could get the same grade by arguing (in an equally cogent and persuasive manner) for two opposite positions on the same topic.