Assignment I – Short Scholarly Essay on the Iliad
Your first writing assignment is a short scholarly essay on the Iliad.
Let me explain what I mean by a scholarly essay. A scholarly essay is intended to be read by scholarly audiences, that is, people who already have a basic familiarity with the work you are writing about. When writing an essay intended for a scholarly audience, you should assume that your audience is already familiar with the major characters and events of the story. A plot summary will not do for a scholarly essay. You are bringing something new to the table, a fresh perspective, point of view or aspect that quite possibly no one else has considered or thought about before. That may seem like a very tall order, but you can use the recommended topics below, which are things I have thought about.
You must have a title (not “Assignment I”) and a thesis for your essay. A thesis is a kind of scholarly argument. I look for your thesis statement somewhere towards the end of the first paragraph or beginning of the second (I often underline it when I grade a paper). The title and thesis statement help communicate to your reader what it is you are writing about. In your essay, you must argue your case (thesis) using evidence from 1. the text itself, and 2. scholarly sources. These sources must be cited according to MLA style guidelines. Scholarly sources can be found in the library’s online databases. Most of the databases licensed by the library will also help you to generate your citation according to MLA style format. (Look in the MLA folder in Supplemental Readings if you need help.)
” You MUST correctly cite at least one line from the work itself, but preferably a lot more.
” You MUST correctly cite at least one scholarly source from an academic journal, but it would be advantageous to you (and you will have an easier time writing) if you cite a lot more. No Wikipedia, no Cliff Notes or other sources intended for students; these are not “scholarly” sources. Take your sources from the library’s online databases to be on the safe side.
” It is OK to take some quotes from outside of the limited selections we have read if needed to argue your case.
Please do not give me a running internal monologue of your thoughts and reactions to different aspects of the story. Try to tell me not what you think something means on a personal level (personal: “I know the kind of man Achilles is because my cousin was married to one. . . “), but rather (scholarly) what Homer is trying to say. Be brave! No one really knows for sure. That’s part of the fun. Honestly, what many people (good students and academics) do is form some initial opinion, and then jump into the databases or Google Scholar to see if they can find articles / evidence to support their opinion. . .
The paper should be five pages plus a Works Cited page. You can make it longer than five pages if you like. I don’t mind reading more. You don’t have to write on the topics below but please, please, do not plagiarize!! And do not tell me that Achilles is immortal or say anything about his heel. That’s not in this story. Please also base your essay on more than just Book I of the Iliad. You must demonstrate to me that you have read the work, or at least the selections assigned. Good luck!
Your first writing assignment is a short scholarly essay on the Iliad.
Let me explain what I mean by a scholarly essay. A scholarly essay is intended to be read by scholarly audiences, that is, people who already have a basic familiarity with the work you are writing about. When writing an essay intended for a scholarly audience, you should assume that your audience is already familiar with the major characters and events of the story. A plot summary will not do for a scholarly essay. You are bringing something new to the table, a fresh perspective, point of view or aspect that quite possibly no one else has considered or thought about before. That may seem like a very tall order, but you can use the recommended topics below, which are things I have thought about.
You must have a title (not “Assignment I”) and a thesis for your essay. A thesis is a kind of scholarly argument. I look for your thesis statement somewhere towards the end of the first paragraph or beginning of the second (I often underline it when I grade a paper). The title and thesis statement help communicate to your reader what it is you are writing about. In your essay, you must argue your case (thesis) using evidence from 1. the text itself, and 2. scholarly sources. These sources must be cited according to MLA style guidelines. Scholarly sources can be found in the library’s online databases. Most of the databases licensed by the library will also help you to generate your citation according to MLA style format. (Look in the MLA folder in Supplemental Readings if you need help.)
” You MUST correctly cite at least one line from the work itself, but preferably a lot more.
” You MUST correctly cite at least one scholarly source from an academic journal, but it would be advantageous to you (and you will have an easier time writing) if you cite a lot more. No Wikipedia, no Cliff Notes or other sources intended for students; these are not “scholarly” sources. Take your sources from the library’s online databases to be on the safe side.
” It is OK to take some quotes from outside of the limited selections we have read if needed to argue your case.
Please do not give me a running internal monologue of your thoughts and reactions to different aspects of the story. Try to tell me not what you think something means on a personal level (personal: “I know the kind of man Achilles is because my cousin was married to one. . . “), but rather (scholarly) what Homer is trying to say. Be brave! No one really knows for sure. That’s part of the fun. Honestly, what many people (good students and academics) do is form some initial opinion, and then jump into the databases or Google Scholar to see if they can find articles / evidence to support their opinion. . .
The paper should be five pages plus a Works Cited page. You can make it longer than five pages if you like. I don’t mind reading more. You don’t have to write on the topics below but please, please, do not plagiarize!! And do not tell me that Achilles is immortal or say anything about his heel. That’s not in this story. Please also base your essay on more than just Book I of the Iliad. You must demonstrate to me that you have read the work, or at least the selections assigned. Good luck!
Iliad Essay Topics
1. Achilles’ mom Thetis always seems to know Zeus’s will, which she communicates to her son. She also seems to know Achilles has some sort of destiny to fulfill, and that he will die young. On the other hand, Achilles also seems to believe he has a choice in the matter, which is why he frequently considers sailing home but never does. How does Achilles’ conviction that, in exchange for risking his life, Zeus is supposed to grant him great honor (1.366ff) play into the story?
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