Writing AssignmentIliadGUIDELINES For SubmissionTyped3-5 pages double-spaced.Font 12 point: Times New Roman or Cambria.MLA style.Staple your papers before you come to...

Writing Assignment

Iliad

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  GUIDELINES For Submission
  
  
  








• Typed




• 3-5 pages double-spaced.




• Font 12 point: Times New Roman or Cambria.




• MLA style.




• Staple your papers before you come to class.

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  PROMPT
  
  
  








• Homer’sIliadwas a classic in its own time. That is to say ancient Greeks found it important, and continued to tell and retell the story. Young Athenians studied it in school, and performers would recite the poem at community festivals. Even philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle considered its importance and questioned its assumption. Simply put theIliadwas foundational to the Greeks.




• Achilles is a part of this tradition. He was an ideal hero. Yet, when we read him today he doesn’t sound so heroic. In this essay, I want you to answer this question:




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  What made Achilles the ideal Greek hero?
  
  
  
  
  
  

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  Your assignment is to develop an essay that attempts to see Achilles from the point of view of the ancient Greeks.
  
  
  








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  You will need to include specific examples from the text.
  
  
  




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  You will need to include some original research (resources) regarding the ideal Greek hero.
  
  
  








• This assignment requires you to be familiar with each work, and to develop a persuasive argument from your reading.




• You should plan on using specific examples from the text.




• Please read the remainder of these instructions, as they will help you understand what I am asking you to do.

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  NOTES ON STRUCTURE
  
  
  








• You paper should be persuasive.

• INTRODUCTION

• Include a clear thesis.








• Do not state your thesis in the form of a question.








• This thesis suggests you do not know the answer.








• Do not say: “I intend to explore…” “I hope to demonstrate.”








• This thesis again demonstrates that you are not sure about what you are arguing.








• Instead state your thesis like this: “In this paper I will argue [and then tellexplicitlywhat you are attempting to prove.]








• For example“In this paper I will argue that Martin Luther’s theology helped create the conditions for modernity by foregrounding the role of the individual in determining truth.”
  
  
  




• Or“In this paper I will argue that Greece’s warrior culture led them to celebrate youth and vitality, while Rome’s legal emphasis led them to celebrate wisdom, age, and virtue.”
  
  
  

• Include a summary of your argument.








• Your introduction should include some direction as to what evidence you will use for your argument.

• Hint: Go back and rewrite your introduction after you have completed your paper. By then you will know exactly what you argued.

• BODY OF THE PAPER

• Support your argument.




• Every paragraph should tie directly back to your thesis. If it doesn’t, it does not belong in your paper.




• Use examples from the text and bring in original research.








• We all read the book, so don’t summarize more than absolutely necessary.




• Use the space to focus on your argument.








• Hint: If you wrote a good introduction your reader should expect each of the paragraphs in this section, as you have already provided him or her with a roadmap of your argument.

• CONCLUSION








• Your conclusion should simply restate what you have achieved




• There should be no new information in the conclusion.

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  SOME THOUGHTS
  
  
  








• Speak in your own voice








• Don’t try to use words that you don’t know the meaning of to make you sound smart.








• Read it out loud. If it sounds awkward, it is so change it.








• Avoid clichés








• Avoid making grand statements that can be difficult to prove.








• Back in the day




• Everybody knows




• Everybody believes












• Write it in such a way that you believe someone may actually want to read it.








• It’s not just a grade, make it interesting.












• Proofread your work.