GRADES

Grades were curved once again.  In the future the following scale will be used:  90 = A; 85 = B+; 80 = B; 75 = C+; 70 = C; 65 = D+; 60 = D; less than 60 = F

The second project will not be marked in detail.  Inadequate papers will receive a failing grade.

ABBREVIATIONS USED TO MARK THE MOST COMMON ERRORS.

ag = agreement is wrong (e.g., plural subject and singular verb)
dang = a participle or another word is "dangling," it is not clear to what part of the sentence it refers.
ess = English sentence structure is poor.
frag = sentence fragment: no verb in a separate sentence.
onew = one word, without hyphenation
PR! = proofread your text before printing it out, or print out a draft and proof read it.
runon = "run-on" describes a style where the writer branches out from one structure to another, and then to another, without  connections, so that the reader loses track of the main statement.
sp = spelling
voc  = The choice of vocabulary is poor.
VT =  verb tenses are not consistent.
wordy = empty rhetoric or repetition of obvious or vague statements

SUGGESTIONS ON FORM

IF ENGLISH STYLE WAS A PROBLEM IN YOUR FIRST PROJECT, TAKE A DRAFT OF THE SECOND PROJECT TO THE WRITING CENTER (ROOM 9, BASEMENT OF AH).  YOU MAY WALK IN.  STUDENT MENTORS WILL NOT WRITE YOUR PAPER FOR YOU, BUT WILL PROOFREAD IT AND TELL YOU HOW TO SOLVE THE MAJOR PROBLEMS.

Write short sentences.  Your style should be straightforward.  Do not use words whose meaning you know only vaguely.  Avoid a pompous style as well as a style that is too familiar for a paper (e.g., "as you can see...").

Take your assignment seriously and give yourself enough time to edit.

Follow these instructions to refer to sources:

Summarize the myths or the description of rituals in your own words.  Copying from a book or a webpage without indicating the source is plagiarism.

If you cite textually from an ancient author, indicate the source in parentheses, e.g.:

"So said the ready-voiced daughters of great Zeus, and they plucked and gave me a rod  (Hesiod, Theogony 29-30)."

If you consult secondary sources, list them in a bibliography at the end.  In the text either insert a footnote or put the last name of the author in parentheses.  The full title will then be included in the Bibliography.

SUGGESTIONS ON CONTENT

Do not repeat interpretations found in a webpage or in a book without checking if they are reliable.  A number of students plagiarized sources that led them to false conclusions.  Some repeated myths retold for young readers.

A few papers reveal the following problems: myths and rituals are confused; plots of myth are taken as evidence of norms or the lack thereof in society; myths are considered as explanations of phenomena; gods in ancient religions are imagined to be composing their own myths, as it were.  The list could continue.

If you do not understand why some passages in your paper were marked as errors, email me and I will explain!

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GUIDELINES ON CONTENT

Choose one of the topics given in the on the List of Topics for Project 2

You are not expected to report on bibliography concerning the topic you choose, but to collect primary materials (texts and images from antiquity which you find on the web or in books) and then briefly express your own conclusions drawn from the examination of those materials.

SUGGESTIONS ONSTEPS TO FOLLOW

1) COLLECT YOUR MATERIALS. Even though you may read, of course, Morford and Lenardon, or reliable sources on the web, your materials must be ancient, be they stories or graphic representations such as vases,  etc.

2) CLASSIFY TOGETHER monsters that have something in common (if you choose Topic I) , or deities and myths relative to death in the Greek and the Egyptian culture (if you choose Topic II) then refine the comparison and contrast. For guidance, look up the Example of Comparison and Contrast, yet do not submit a chart as the one given on that page.  That is preparatory work.

3) DRAW CONCLUSIONS, on the basis of these observations, on these issues or any other pertinent idea:

a) Point out the similarities and differences between the myths or mythic characters you have compared.
b) Draw some personal conclusions on the construction of these myths and the impulses that generate them.  Point out the themes of myths or mythic characters.  What is the cultural function of the stories, gods, on which you have collected information?

RESOURCES FOR THE SEARCH

The main resource is Perseus. If you have difficulties using Perseus, click here to find a tutorial.

There are many more excellent resources on the web, but it is not a very good idea to start navigating globally if you have limited experience in the field and a deadline for your paper... You will find a selection of sources clicking on this link:
WEB RESOURCES FOR ANCIENT RELIGION.

A HYPERTEXTUAL PAPER, ANYONE?  Students proficient in webpage-making or who want to try their hand at it (with the current programs it is extremely simple) may submit a hypertextual paper, i.e. a paper on the web.

?  Please, no plastic covers! Number the pages and staple them together.

?  On a cover page, type the title (as listed) your name, the course number, and section number.

? LENGTH: approximately 1,000-1,500 words. FOUR pages, double-spaced and in Times 12 or comparable, will normally cover the minimum length.  Please do not exceed the maximum of 1,500.  (If you have a Word-Count utility in your word processor, give a total.)

? No quotations, except very brief ones.

? The translations obtained from Perseus are those of the Loeb edition, in old-fashioned, often pompous style.  Please do not imagine that you have to express yourself in the same manner when you refer to those passages!

? Since you are not expected to consult bibliography, references to other sources should be minimal.

For an ancient text, indicate in parentheses author, title, and section, just as you find them in the links or in Perseus, e.g. Hom. Iliad 4.127-182.

For a modern book include a footnote or endnote, and cite as follows or according to another generally accepted convention:

Doniger O' Flaherty, W. Other Peoples' Myths : The Cave of Echoes, Chicago 1995.

?  Titles of books must be either italicized or underscored, not enclosed in quotation marks.

?  You are not expected to include further footnotes or endnotes or a bibliography.

?  Use complete sentences and correct spelling.  Compose short sentences unless you are an accomplished writer and know that your longer paragraphs are clear.

?  Avoid the stereotype of student papers, such as an introductory paragraph that states vague generalities, and a final paragraph that repeats it.  Start simply saying that you will examine an X number of texts and/or paintings, and explain what you are trying to understand.  In the final paragraph do give your personal conclusion, but remember to qualify it saying that it is based only on the materials you have at hand.