Follow exact guideline. I will post a picture of the reading for this essay. 90% of the info should be based on this text that I uploaded.
Essay Guidelines
Note: This document is an addition to the Two Analytical Essays section of the syllabus for this class. Please re-familiarize yourself with that information before reading this.
Turning in your essays:
Please write in double-spaced, twelve-point Times New Roman font with one-inch margins. The minimum length is 1,000 words.
Outside research is not necessary, but if you do cite sources beyond the textbooks for this course, please create footnotes in Chicago style: https://www.citefast.com/styleguide.php?style=Chic…
Only sources from the LMU library (print or digital collections) are acceptable as outside research (no Google searches).
Primary source citations are required. Cite from Sources in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations using 1) the source number, 2) the author of your source (if provided), 3) the title, and 4) the page number. Place your citation in the text of your essay at the end of a sentence, and enclose it in parentheses. Example: (68-Herodotus, The Histories, 271).
I will not read paper drafts submitted by email, but I encourage you to discuss your thesis and evidence with me in office hours.
As you begin:
Read the appropriate primary source text(s) multiple times and take notes on the important themes before you develop a thesis or start outlining your essay.
Look up the author and/or text in question in the indexes in the back of your textbook and read the appropriate pages to put your document in historical context.
Only then should you develop a thesis and gather textual support for it from your document. If the evidence seems thin or contradictory to you, it will probably seem so to me as well. When that happens, try modifying your thesis to fit the available evidence before you draft your paper.
Descriptive vs. Analytical Theses:
A descriptive thesis simply describes what is in a primary source, while an analytical thesis makes an argument about the information contained in it. Your goal is not to make the argument that you think I will find compelling but simply to make a plausible argument that makes use of the data in your source.
Example of a descriptive thesis: “In The Prism of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria displays a long list of his victories and conquests.”
Example of an analytical thesis: “The king of Assyria highlighted the violence of his conquests in The Prism of Sennacherib in order to intimidate his subjects and decrease the chance of rebellion against his rule.”
The second thesis answers an (unstated) question that begins with the word “Why?” Why did Sennacherib display this test around his empire? What was he trying to accomplish?
Answer a “Why?” question using the information from your primary source, and you will arrive at an analytical thesis.
Questions to answer early in your essay (you need not answer all of them for each topic):
When was this document written?
What does the editor tell you and what clues are there in the text?
Where does this text fit in ancient Mediterranean history?
How close was the author chronologically to the events described?
Who wrote this document?
It’s great if you are given a name, but if you aren’t what clues do you have?
How does it change your interpretation of a text if it was written by, for example, a dramatist, a philosopher, a poet, or a historian?
What access did the author have to the events or ideas described?
What is the genre of this text?
You will read a diary, a law, a shopping list, and a divine hymn very differently, and they will provide different kinds of information.
Why did the author choose to write this kind of text?
The answers to those questions will frame your discussion of the information that your text provides concerning the time period and culture in which it was written and help you respond to your chosen topic.
Grading Rubric
14/15 or 15/15 Points – In addition to correct length, formatting, and citations, an essay earning 14 or 15 out of 15 possible points provides an analytical thesis and supports it with an appropriate blend of information from the primary source and from the course, with the possible addition of outside reading.
13/15 Points – In addition to correct length, formatting, and citations, an essay earning 13 out of 15 points provides a descriptive thesis and supports it with appropriate information from the primary source.
12/15 Points – An essay earning 12 out of 15 points provides the correct length, formatting, and citations, but lacks a clear thesis and/or appropriate support from the primary source.
<12 – An essay earning fewer than 12 points fails to provide the correct length, formatting, or citations and may be off-topic.
