Essay Instructions: ESSAY TOPIC: Contrast the role of women in Oedipus the King with the role of women in any other ancient Greek writings we have read this term. Be sure to do more than just observe the differences or similarities. I want to see a point argued here.
READINGS WERE AS FOLLOWS: Canterbury Tales, Beowulf, The Odyssey, Iliad, Book of Job, Gilgamesh, Oedipus the King.
ESSAY GUIDELINES:
Length – Your essay should be approximately 3-5 pages long. To analyze or discuss a topic sufficiently will require more than a brief paper. My philosophy is a bit sexist (forgive me or get over it) but I like to compare it to a woman’s dress: it needs to be short enough to keep it interesting but long enough to adequately cover the subject. The main consideration is: Did the discussion cover the topic adequately, or was it just a superficial treatment? You have all had freshman composition courses and know how to put a paper together.
Structure – Your essay should consist of an introductory paragraph which sets forth your topic and an arguable thesis statement. Don’t just put forth a bland presentation of material. The paper itself should argue a point. The introduction should be more than just a sentence or two; its purpose is to interest the reader and give some indication as to the focus of your discussion.
You should end with a concluding paragraph. The paper should not end with a discussion of your last point. Write an adequate conclusion that brings closure to the paper.
In analyzing or discussing your topic, make sure that you use specific details from the work under consideration. Give evidence from the literary work itself to support your topic. This means referring to the characters, events, settings, and whatever else may be used to bolster your case. You tend to strengthen your essay when you quote from the work itself. Papers that deal in vague generalities will not receive high marks.
Be careful about writing plot summaries. A plot summary proves nothing except that you know what happened in the work. Remember that I am your audience. I know what happens in the work!!! Your paper consists of a statement or idea (thesis) which you are trying to prove to be a valid analysis of the work. You may have to include a few details of plot summary but remember: this is not a book report.
Do not use secondary sources. This is a paper containing YOUR ideas, not those of another source.
AVOID PLAGIARISM!! Plagiarism is the attempt to pass off the words or ideas of someone else as your own work. This is illegal and is a violation of TSU’s Academic Honesty policy. It is very tempting to go to a website and lift a paragraph or two, or even an entire paper. IF YOU PLAGIARIZE, YOU WILL RECEIVE A GRADE OF “0” ON THE ASSIGNMENT.
Use correct grammar and mechanics and write in standard English. This is a college level course and you are expected to have the writing skills of a college student. Grammar and mechanics (punctuation, style, sentence completeness, spelling, etc.) will account for 10 % of the grade on the paper, BUT no paper with significant and severe writing problems will receive a grade higher than 75 %.
In writing your essay, use only standard, formal English. This is a serious paper and your writing style should reflect this seriousness. No cliches, no colloquialisms (such as “fixing to”), no first person singular pronouns (“I”), no second person pronouns (“you,” “your,” etc.).
Grading – Content = 50%; Structure = 30%; Grammar and mechanics = 10%; Style, 10%.
Read your paper before submitting it so that you catch any careless errors. Keep a hard copy of your paper and keep a copy on a disk. Submit your final version back through the assignment itself. Make sure it appears in the gradebook. Also, make sure you actually submit your paper and not the assignment file that I wrote. DO NOT USE THE DIGITAL DROPBOX. I WILL NOT EVEN LOOK FOR PAPERS THERE.
WRITING ABOUT LITERATURE:
Be objective. Use third person pronouns or first person plural (“we”). No “you” or “I” point-of-view papers will be stylistically correct.
Use present tense verbs when referring to the action, characters, events of a story, or to the author’s intentions in the story. Use past tense when writing about the author’s life, the historical context of the work, or the work’s history.
Book and play titles are underlined or italicized. Titles of short stories, essays, or short poems are placed in double quotation marks (“”).
Short quotations from a literary work are placed in double quotation marks.
Long quotations (4 lines or more) should be double-indented only—no quotation marks. Single-spaced.
Give a page number in parentheses following all quoted material.
