Instructions: Please develop your prelim thesis into an analytical paper. Below are further instructions for every writing component, not all of which will be on the grading rubric, however. These fulsome instructions are meant to reduce any anxiety you may have about the unknown; they aren’t meant to overwhelm you.
-title. Your title should not only refer to your central question but also at least hint at your answer. Feel free to use a title and a subtitle, separated by a colon.
-analysis and evidence. Your analysis or argument should be viable in the academic study of classical literature, that is, it should be open to debate, not obvious, and it should be based on evidence from the text, namely passages from Cicero; it should not be based on religious or irreligious truth claims (such as: ‘God exists // God does not exist, therefore ….’). In addition to, but not as a substitute for, evidence from the text itself, you’re welcome to bring in material from the intro and notes to Walsh’s edition of Cicero as well as material from Denova. Do not use unapproved online sources: no Wikipedia, Google, etc. The purpose of the assignment is for you to rely on your own critical reading and thinking skills to make your own analysis or argument. I’m interested in what you, not others, have to say about the text.
If you want to get into the present-day implications of your topic, what’s at stake, for whom, and so on, you definitely can, but be sure to hold that until the concluding paragraph or two; don’t lead with that.
-organization and flow. You should have a deliberate introduction, body, and conclusion. Each should consist of however many paragraphs are fitting. At the macro level, there should be a conscious sequence of elements, and this sequence should be intuitive to the reader. At the micro level, there should sign-posts to guide the reader (such as first/topic/bridge sentences, key terms and phrases, transitional terms and phrases, pointing words).
-citation and works-cited page. You should use MLA style for all citations, and you should cite your source/s in-text. Citations should be consistent. Source/s should be summarized, paraphrased, or quoted appropriately, and any quotations should be smoothly integrated into your writing. Keep direct quotes to a bare minimum; summarize or paraphrase instead, leaving as much room as possible for you and your analysis or argument.
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