Read Euripides’ Iphigenia at Aulis and write 1250-1300 words about the role and actions of Iphigenia in the play. You need to demonstrate understanding both of the story and of women in antiquity, so you will need find 3-4 scholarly articles to support your argument. Diotima and Women in Antiquity are good places to start (and do not forget about JStor). Please note that newspapers, magazines, blogs, etc. are not scholarly resources (contact me early if you think you have found an exception). Just being on the library website does not make something a scholarly resource. You need peer reviewed articles which address the play and historical/cultural timeperiod in whichit was written.
This is a formal paper, and as such there are certain minimum requirements of format and style.
- The paper is to be double-spaced, 12 pt. font, with one-inch margins on all sides, and no extra space after paragraphs.
- Use tab indentation, not double spacing between paragraphs.
- Your paper title, your name, the course number and name, and the date should appear on the cover page only.
- Number the pages in the upper right-hand corner.
- Font: Times New Roman.
- Check that the font and font size are consistent throughout (including headers, title page, bibliography, quotations, etc.)
- You need citations and a bibliography page with MLA citations. Do not forget to cite the main work you read to analyze (i.e. the text of Apuleius or Sophocles).
- The paper should be as free as possible from mechanical and grammatical errors.
- Do not use contractions!
(Yes, these matters can and will affect your grade.)
Nota Bene: word count does NOT include title page, bibliography, header, footnotes, appendices. . .
The tone of your paper should be fairly formal, but it should also reveal the presence of a creative and interested mind at work. The two extremes that you should avoid are the overly chatty paper that sounds like a conversation or a personal letter addressed to your teacher, and the dry-as-a-bone “lab report” paper, which is signaled by extensive use of the passive voice and the use of phrases such as “in the opinion of the present author.”
As you begin the essay, do
not waste time praising the author or the question: “One of the most important
questions ever to face humanity is the function of the simile in Homer’s
magnificent epic poem, the Iliad.”
Likewise, do not waste time by slowly
2
funneling into the actual question with irrelevant background “Since the dawn of time,”).
Get to the point; 1250 words is not that long for proper analysis.
The introductory paragraph should leave me with a very clear idea of where the paper is headed. The best way to do this is to provide a thesis statement. Every paragraph should contribute a logical step toward proving your argument. The conclusion of your paper should not merely summarize the paper. Rather, it should persuade the reader that you have discovered and discussed something significant.
In constructing your argument, each paragraph should make a point (claim), give textual evidence supporting your point, and then make clear why that evidence supports the point you are making. It is easy to forget that last step, but it is an important one..”
