CLAS 3308: GUIDELINES FOR PROJECT 1

1)  Search and analysis of the materials

Examine the page for Project 1 .  Read the texts, explore the links, think about the stories, before you choose one of the topics.  To develop either topic you need to compare and contrast at least two cultures.

Once you have selected the terms of your comparison, search the www to see if you can find other primary texts or pictorial representations to illustrate them.  Please use only websites belonging to universities, museums, and, of course, the materials in Perseus.  There are numerous amateurish pages on the Internet and many are not reliable.

Compare and contrast the elements you have found and draw preliminary conclusions, then organize your report.  You may look up an example of comparison and contrast, but please note that you are not expected to submit a chart, as on that page, but to present your conclusions in a prose report.

2) Writing the report

PLEASE do not begin with the traditional  "introduction" that says nothing; do not end with an empty "conclusion."  Especially, avoid general philosophical considerations on the function of myths, on the legacy of the Greeks, etc., etc.

In your first paragraph state your intentions, e.g. "In this paper I examine /  I seek to understand/ I study, etc. the myths of  origin of  the following cultures...  with special consideration of / focusing on / discussing, etc.  The issues I address are...

NOTE: it is not a crime to use the first person singular!  Refer to what you do in the paper using the present tense.  Do not jump back and forth from present to past .

YOU ARE  EXPECTED TO EXPRESS YOUR OWN OPINIONS rather than reproduce what you find in your sources.  If you present your ideas thoughtfully and clearly, it will not matter if I disagree.

3) Guidelines on form
 

  •   Please, no plastic covers!  NUMBER YOUR PAGES and staple them together.

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  •   On a cover page, type the title of the paper,  your name, the course number, and section number.

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  •  TITLE:  Myths of origin: comparison and contrast.

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

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  • LENGTH: approximately 1,200  words. Four pages, typed and double-spaced, will normally cover the minimum length.  Using the Word-Count utility in your word processor, give a total.

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  • CITATIONS

    •  Do not copy the texts that you find unless they are very brief, but give references; do not print out the vase paintings that you find in Perseus, but give as a reference the url (the electronic address) shown on the screen.  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!

    Unless your paper is "advanced," you are not expected to include further footnotes or endnotes or a bibliography, therefore references to handbooks, textbooks, etc., are not appropriate.  Put your references in the body of the paper, in parentheses.  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.

    Deadline:  Friday, March 9, 2001, by 5:00 pm.  Bring it to class or  turn it in at 413 AH, Department of Modern and Classical Languages.
    LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE PENALIZED.