Final Draft

ASSIGNMENT: ESSAY 2

DUE: Final draft due Monday 11/24 by 5pm

Papers should be emailed to arh2123@columbia.edu as .doc or .docx attachments. If you do not use Word, a .pdf file is also acceptable.

TASK:

Write a well-crafted, academic essay on one of the following prompts, using two or three (no more, no less) of the texts that we have read up through Plato's Symposium. Your paper should make an argument about some facet of the texts you have chosen, supported by close reading "evidence" from the text. This is a primary-text assignment, not a research paper - what is most important is your direct engagement with the texts themselves - so you should not need to use secondary sources.

FORMAT:

Papers should be 1800-2000 words (about 7-8 pages) in any standard 12-point font, double spaced, and should include a word count at the end of the document. Papers should have MLA parenthetical citations corresponding to a "Works Cited" section at the end.

GRADING CRITERIA:

Argument: Does the essay make an interesting and original argument about the texts? Does the argument develop from the thesis to conclusion?

Evidence and Analysis: Does the paper use evidence drawn directly from the texts? Is the evidence carefully analyzed through close-reading techniques? Does the evidence support the argument effectively?

Style and Structure: the 'well-written-ness' of the essay. Does it employ an effective voice? Is it well organized? Does the essay correctly use mechanics like spelling, grammar, punctuation, citations, etc?

This assignment is worth 20% of the class grade.

PROMPTS:

1. Language and identity: Many of the texts we've read use language to create a sense of identity (either for a character or for the author himself). Explore this linguistic "self-fashioning" in 2-3 texts: what specific rhetorical techniques does the author or a character use, and to what effect? What techniques seem effective (communicating a convincing sense of identity)