You need to be proving something. What are you going to prove?
Also, you should be very specific about your area of focus. “Early Greek philosophers influenced Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.” This is NOT good. First of all there are a lot of preSocratic philosophers; pick one. Second, there are many many areas of philosophy; pick one. Third… pick one. Then explain HOW! How did the earlier influence the latter. Then explain why we should care. Why is this important?
If you are not breaking your topic down in this manner, you will not get a good grade on this important assignment. We are not speaking in generalities here. This is not a high school paper. You have to critically think to complete this paper. You have develop your own ideas and then find research that backs your ideas.
Last, DO NOT use the words “you” or “we” in an academic paper, ever. Use the topic of the paper as the subject of your sentence. For example: “You can see how the sculpture of ancient Greece influenced the latter sculptors.” First of all, this WAY too general; you would need to include specific artists and name specific pieces and the attributes of those pieces for this sentence to make any sense at all. But as I was saying, just write the sentence like this: “The sculpture of ancient Greece…” Take me out of the equation.
In a well thought out paper of 1250 words minimum, look back at Early Greece (Chapter 2) and discuss its impact on Classical Greece (Chapter 3). Choose one thing as it relates to another. You might discuss the effects of the Persian Wars on Athenian politics and government. You might discuss the influence of early Greek music and dance on Greek theater in the Classical Age. You might want to compare the early philosophers to the Classical. The possibilities are endless. Be sure you choose ONE aspect (visual arts (be specific), theatre, music, philosophy, architecture) of the culture and stay with that idea.
There is a lot to chew on there. Do NOT attempt to discuss everything. Choose ONE aspect of these events and analyze that particular element in relation to later developments. You should use just ONE aspect of these early cultures: art, religion, literature, architecture, music, etc. Do NOT list all the attributes of these early peoples and discuss all of them briefly. This should be an in-depth analysis of ONE element and the change that occurred in that element between Early and Classical Greece. Did I mention ONE? We are looking for the influence. Answer the question how did this element change and why is that change important? How did the early influence the latter?
Each paper should have a thesis. “Early cultures were important to later development” is not a thesis. That’s a “Yeah. No kidding. Why are they important?” kind of statement. A thesis should be something interesting, something that can be disputed by others who don’t see things the way that you do. This is your paper, not someone else’s. There is a PowerPoint on thesis writing in the Content section of your class shell. Please look at it before you begin. It will help you in your development of this important statement.
• Papers should be at least 1250 words. They can be longer.
• Papers should utilize outside resources. These are your thoughts based on the readings in the book, but they should be reinforced with research from scholarly sources. No Wikis, enotes, gradesavers and alike.
• You must utilize at least five outside sources. The textbook should also be used. That means that you will have at least six sources in your Works Cited page.
• Papers should use parenthetical references in MLA format from the readings in the text and your research to back and defend your thesis.
General Guidelines for MLA format:
• Type your paper on a computer and print it out on standard, white 8.5 x 11-inch paper.
• Double-space the text of your paper, and use a legible font (e.g. Times New Roman). Whatever font you choose, MLA recommends that the regular and italics type styles contrast enough that they are recognizable one from another. The font size should be 12 pt.
• Leave only one space after periods or other punctuation marks.
• Set the margins of your document to 1 inch on all sides.
• Indent the first line of paragraphs one half-inch from the left margin. MLA recommends that you use the Tab key as opposed to pushing the Space Bar five times.
• Create a header that numbers all pages consecutively in the upper right-hand corner, one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin.
• Use italics throughout your essay for the titles of longer works and, only when absolutely necessary, providing emphasis.
Formatting the First Page of Your Paper:
• Do not make a title page for your paper.
• In the upper left-hand corner of the first page, list your name, your instructor’s name, the course, and the date. Again, be sure to use double-spaced text.
• Double space again and center the title. Do not underline, italicize, or place your title in quotation marks; write the title in Title Case (standard capitalization), not in all capital letters.
• Use quotation marks and/or italics when referring to other works in your title, just as you would in your text: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas as Morality Play; Human Weariness in “After Apple Picking.”
• Double space between the title and the first line of the text.
• Create a header in the upper right-hand corner that includes your last name, followed by a space with a page number; number all pages consecutively with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), one-half inch from the top and flush with the right margin. (Note: Your instructor or other readers may ask that you omit last name/page number header on your first page. Always follow instructor guidelines.)
Tips:
• Do not use contractions (don’t, can’t, shouldn’t)
• Your thoughts and feelings should shine through in your discussion of the topic.
• Do not make me part of your discussion by using the pronoun you. Avoid sentences like “You can see how much the Mesopotamians did.”
• Do not make unsubstantiated assumptions about anything. Do not start your paper out by saying something like “Life in ancient times was boring.”
• Everything you write in your paper should in some way be substantiating your thesis. Everything.
• Introductory paragraphs with thesis will be posted in the discussion boards by Wednesday, March 18. You must reply to two classmates by Sunday, March 22.
• Final Drafts are due in SafeAssign by Sunday, April 5 @ 11:59 pm.
• Absolutely NO LATE PAPERS will be accepted. If you fail to complete the research paper assignment, you automatically fail the class.