Summer 2009--ENGL 1101-03
Choose ONE of the following topics for your first essay. Your essay must have an introduction, a main body, and a conclusion. The introduction will contain a thesis statement that sets out the argument of the essay. The rest of the essay should back up the thesis statement. You should use the “3 Ied Monster” structure to build your main body paragraphs.
Your essay should be 1000-1200 words, typed, double spaced, in 12 point Times New Roman font, with 1-inch margins. It must be on paper; I will not accept papers submitted by e-mail. Here is a link to the grading rubric: http://www.westga.edu/~engdept/FirstYearWriting/ENGL1101and1102/OutOfClassWritingAssessment.htm
We will workshop the essays in the periods leading up to the final due date. Failure to fulfill the workshopping requirements will result in a penalty of 5% from the final grade of the essay and will forfeit your right to revise and resubmit the essay if it gets a C- or below.
The final draft is due Tuesday, June 30, at the beginning of class. This assignment is worth 15% of your final grade.
Essay Prompts:
1. Does Euripides’ play, Medea, make the audience sympathize with Medea?
To make your argument convincing, you should acknowledge and refute counterarguments. You might also consider how your argument bears on the question of whether the play challenges or reinforces women’s roles in Euripides’ 4th century BCE society.
2. Most Greek mythology portrays Jason as a hero: the leader of the Argonauts (a band of warriors) and the rightful heir to a kingdom. In Medea, is Jason heroic?
3. Near the beginning of Medea, the Nurse says, “excess / never should have a place in our lives” (lines 127-28). How does the play portray the consequences of strong or excessive emotions (such as passionate love, hate, and anger)? In what ways does the play imply that strong emotions are dangerous? Are there ways the play suggests that strong emotions are valuable or important?
4. I encourage you to generate your own topic on Euripides’ play, Medea. If you choose this option, you must see me in my office before your first draft is due to discuss your working thesis statement.