Good Life

Writing and Submission Requirement

ESSAY INSTRUCTIONS

Length: Format:

Submission:

Writing Prompt

1,000-1,250 words, not including the Work Cited Section.

MLA Style (see MLA handout on the Course Resources page in Canvas). 12-point Times font, double-spaced, one-inch margins, name and date, paginated.

Submit the assignment electronically as an attachment through Assignments on Canvas in Word format (.doc or .docx) by 8:00 AM on April 15, 2019. **

The audience of Greek tragedies cannot help but have strong emotional responses to the action that takes place on stage, as they see characters with powerful convictions locked in irreconcilable conflicts. Sometimes the characters express values and beliefs that are praiseworthy. At other times, they commit unthinkable acts of violence and cruelty. Most characters make mistakes that the audience cannot help but condemn. The play is often meant to provide the audience relief from these repressed emotions (the process of catharsis).

In your essay examine each of the possible culpable characters in the Sophocles’ Antigone (Antigone, Ismene, Kreon, Haimon, Eurydike) and their role in the tragedy that unfolds. Observe the duality of the fight for social order and the fight for morality that is evident in the play. Which of all the characters is most culpable for the final death of Antigone, Haimon and Eurydike?

Organization and Format Introduction

• Start your paper by succinctly introducing your topic.
• Explain what you are going to prove or claim about Antigone [i.e., “Thesis Statement” or
  “Claim”].
• Your thesis statement needs to be specific and concrete (e.g., “Although Kreon realized that he was
  wrong and wanted to make amends for his mistake, I sympathize more with Antigone because she was willing to die for what she believed was right. In the context of the play her moral beliefs can be considered accurate because they align with divine law.”).
• Avoid statements that are general and sweeping that go beyond the scope of the paper (e.g., “I sympathize more with Antigone because she was right”; “Was Antigone right in everything that she did? Couldn’t she have achieved the same results without causing so much pain to her loved ones?”).
  Body
• Prove what you say you are going to do [i.e., prove your thesis statement or claim].

o Avoid introducing extraneous and tangential material that does not support your claim.o Remain focused on your topic and thesis statement.

**Papers will be marked late if submitted in Canvas after 8:00 AM on April 15, 2019. Deduction of 15 points for not submitting the paper by the deadline and 30 points for every day that passes before paper is submitted to Canvas.

• Be sure to examine the positive and negative attributes of the characters as you explain why one is more culpable over another.
• Support your claims with evidence from the play which you either quote (verbatim) or paraphrase (i.e., using your own words to summarize the main points of the reading).

o Do not simply state what you believe.o Do not simply summarize the text.

o Refer specifically to the text and cite passages and sections of the work that support the claims that you are asserting.

• When quoting and/or paraphrasing sources, be sure to cite them with in-text citations and listthem in your Work Cited section (see MLA Handout in Writing Resources on the Course Resources Page in Canvas).
• Failure to cite a source which you draw from is plagiarism. Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty. All instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Students.
  Conclusion

• So what? Explain why your findings matter. Tell the reader what is significant about your understanding of the characters that helps us better appreciate the conflicts that Sophocles is depicting. Don’t just summarize what you said in the body. Explain to your reader the significance of your investigation.

Works Cited

• List in alphabetical order sources which you draw upon in your paper (i.e., readings which you have quoted, referred to, and/or paraphrased in your paper (see MLA Handout on the Course Resources page in Canvas). There is a deduction of 10 points for any paper without a Works Cited section (see Grading Rubric on the Essay Assignment in Canvas).

Mechanics

Style

• Write simple, straightforward, and coherent sentences.
• Use active verbs, and have nouns, not dependent clauses, serve as subjects of sentences.
• Watch out for agreement of tense and number.
• Avoid excessive use of dependent clauses in a single sentence.
• Avoid repetition of same words.
  Edit
• Print out your paper and correct it by hand.
• Voice-over and have your computer read it back to you.
• Re-write the paper; don’t be afraid to scrap it and start over.
• Correct all grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors.
  Format
• One-inch margins, double spaced lines, twelve-point font, Times New Roman.
• HEADING on top of first page, flush right: your name, section number, TAs name,
  date.
• Place the title of your paper centered and bold face.

Name

Section:

TA:

Date:

Outline for Essay

IDS 1161: What is the Good Life?

Spring 2019

Dr. Bargrizan

A. Your Main Claim / Thesis Statement(State in three to five sentences what you are going to prove in your paper. Be sure to specify your second source or reading, if you decide to use one.)

B. Claim about Reading 1 (state what is the claim that you will be making about your main reading.)

Proof/Point 1 (Evidence in text to support claim. Cite specific sections.)

Proof/Point 2 (Evidence in text to support claim. Cite specific sections.)

Proof/Point 3 (If necessary)

C. Claim about Reading 2 (if you use a second source, state what is the claim that you will be making about your second reading.)

Proof/Point 1 (Evidence in text to support claim. Cite specific section.)

Proof/Point 2 (Evidence in text to support claim. Cite specific sections.)

Proof/Point 3 (if necessary)

D. Conclusion (state in two to four sentences what is significance about your findings regarding your reading, or readings if you use a second one. )