LTPR 113

Spring 2010

Second Paper Assignment

 

In a paper of 5-7 pages (double-spaced, 1 inch margins, 12-point type), on one of more of the texts we have read so far this quarter. Be selective and specific rather than vague and general in developing your thesis. Use specific examples from the texts you choose to support your argument. Some examples of the sorts of things I might choose to investigate if I were doing a paper of this sort: Amazons in the Oresteia, Herodotus, and Hippolytos; blindness and sight in the Theban plays of Sophocles; a comparison of Thucydides' plague narrative with another plague narrative (I am thinking of Boccaccio, but there are lots out there); a pair of speeches in Thucydides; a comparison of Thucydides' stated aims with the method of Herodotus; a recurring theme in several tragedies (lots of choices here — pride, yielding, suicide...). Pick a topic that interests you / bothers you and really look hard at the texts themselves.

 

Every paper must have a Works Cited section at the end (this doesn't count as part of the 3-5 pages). Be sure to cite the editions of the texts you use properly. You need not use secondary sources for this assignment, but if you do, you must cite them appropriately as well. You are expected to consult The Chicago Manual of Style for format (for documentation of sources, see especially sections 15.77ff. of the fourteenth edition; for instructions on how to quote extracts from poetic texts, see especially 10.11, 10.22, 10.25, 10.28, and 10.60). A quick guide to citing books, journal articles, etc. is available online at http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html or at http://library.osu.edu/sites/guides/chicagogd.php.

 

Bring 3 copies of your drafts to class on May 21. These drafts should represent your best work, and should be complete and well formatted, with Works Cited section included. We will divide the class into groups of four, and you will distribute these three copies to members of your group. Each group member is responsible for editing the drafts she receives, correcting typos, improving style, organization, and content, and writing a brief paragraph of critique at the end of each draft. Edited drafts are to be brought to lecture on May 24 and returned to and discussed with their authors then. Final drafts are due at the start of class on May 28.