Konrad A. Czynski, Ph.D.

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ESSAY GUIDELINES

2/2008 - As in our Syllabus: 8-10 pages @ 25 points, in standard typeface, with standard margins. While CONTENT is paramount, your expression of ideas, spelling, grammar, even proper punctuation and, of course, logic are important as well. Your how is really not less deserving of attentiveness than your what. So, you are expected to proofread your typed essay with an eye for emendations/corrections/improvements. In an essay of this modest length, there really should not be a single infelicity of language. Well, 1#) what are you to write about? AND 2#) what style shall you choose? #1: Any theme/topic that you can think of which interests/grabs you as it relates to one or more of the literary works required in our course. For example, "Female Figures in The Aeneid: Divine and Human Portraits." BUT, while that has the sound of an academic-style essay, you could select Queen Dido and examine her life and character (from her husband's murder to her self-immolation to her reunion with S - and her encounter with Ae - in the Underworld) by writing in the genre of a Short Story or a one-act Play or even a 1st-person Memoir or a Screenplay or ... .OR pick a theme that interweaves several works: for ex., the role/influence of the Divine (gods/goddesses/God) in the main character's experiences; or, family-relations in Lady Sarashina's Memoir and The Aeneid. Or, do a compare/contrast critique between Beowulf and the movie The 13th Warrior. ... Well, these possible topics naturally reflect my interests. BUT what are yours? Find/define your own subject, and compose your 8-10 pages in any literarily respectable manner you wish. No requirement to do secondary research; feel free, of course, to consult sources on the WEB or in the library or ... . If so, present acknowledgements. So, be free to create/recreate/analyze/expostulate/story-tell/dramatize/poeticize. Your choice! After Spring Break, we'll meet individually when you can share your ideas. I'd urge you to draft an outline/skeleton or, at least, a general statement of how you intend to proceed in composing your piece = direction and destination.