Write a 5-8 page paper on one of the following topics. Your topic must be approved by me.

You should probably look at the general directions given with the first paper topic, for general pointers that apply to all topics: to include a thesis, avoid lists, give evidence, etc.

Warning: Be sure in your paper to avoid plagiarism by properly crediting all sources whose information you use. Failure to include a proper bibliography and parenthetical references can result in failure in the assignment and the course. Tips for Avoiding Plagiarism. Use the MLA Style of Documenting Sources.

Topics:

1. Compare three or more translations of a work we read in class.

• Be sure you follow the ideas spelled out in Tips for Writing a Comparison.
• Be sure your paper makes some overall point or position about the translations. That is, be sure your paper has a thesis and is not just a list. This was also required in Paper 1, Part 2, so writing that assignment should have helped prepare you for this one.
• You obviously don't have to compare every single word of two translations to do a good job: look at parts throughout the work, though. Compare some key passages.
• Where appropriate, bring in discussions by the authors of how they translated the work. (For example, in class we discussed Melville's comments on translating Ovid's Metamorphoses, p. xxxi-xxxvii.) You should form your own opinion of the translations, not just echo the translators' views, but you should be aware of what the translators were trying to achieve and what they thought the main problems were in a particular translation.

 

2. Read something new and compare it to something we read in class, first or second half. (Or even reuse something you've read for another class.) Your topic must be approved by me. Be sure you follow the ideas spelled out in Tips for Writing a Comparison.

Be sure your paper makes some overall point or position about the things you are comparing. That is, be sure your paper has a thesis and is not just a list, as before. Give evidence for your views: this means referring to specific places in the texts you are discussing.

Any plot summary that you do will not count as part of your paper, so describe your source briefly as you discuss it, or include a plot summary separately from the five pages of your paper.

 

Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

Stephen Sondheim's Frogs

 

3. Compare a work we read in class to a movie or -- God help us -- TV program. Be sure your comparison is careful and well defended. Be sure your paper makes some overall point or position about the things you are comparing. That is, be sure your paper has a thesis and is not just a list, as before. Give evidence for your views: this means referring to specific places in the text and in the TV show or movie. Be sure you follow the ideas spelled out in Tips for Writing a Comparison.

Any plot summary that you do will not count as part of your paper, so describe your source briefly as you discuss it, or include a plot summary separately from the five pages of your paper.

Sample Paper, Topic 3

 

 

4. Locate a source and read it and write a brief report on it. This topic is like the one for the midterm paper. In a briefer format, I have adapted the directions you had last time below, but you may want to refer back to them. The source should be a secondary source about something we have read or will read in class in the second half of the term.

Help with Summary Writing
Sample Paper, Part b

Criteria for a source:

• It should be 8-30 pages long.
• Except in special cases, it must be dated later than 1995.
• Show it to me for approval, before or after class. All assignments must be done on sources approved by me.
• Xerox it and submit it with your paper.

1. What to pick as a topic:

   • Any aspect of Sophocles' Trachinian Women
   • Any aspect of Euripides' Heracles
   • Comparisons of Sophocles and Euripides relating to the plays we read
   • Any aspect of Aristophanes' Frogs
   • Any aspect of Herodotus' Histories
   • Any aspect of Aristophanes' Frogs
   • Articles dealing with Plato's' Symposium as a literary work. Watch out for and avoid articles that are primarily about Plato's philosophy as such. We have not in this class done enough work on Plato for you to deal successfully with such an article.
   • Discussion of the lyric poets we read, if it deals mostly with the particular poems we covered

   How to write the report:

   • Write a paper that is 5 pages long. The first part of it should be a summary of the source. The second part should analyze the source, comparing it to the topics we discussed in class.
   • Consult the directions and suggestions for Paper 1 for more information on writing this paper.