QUOTATIONS: quotes are very important in a paper: including and discussing specific quotations from the primary text(s) helps you support your views. Use quotes only in support of your views, and not as summaries of the narration.
Please remember this is a Comparative Literature course; that means when you write your papers, you should attempt to compare themes, styles, or characters from different texts discussed in this course.
PLAGIARISM: plagiarism means using someone else’s words or ideas, published (in the form of a book, magazine or Internet), or unpublished, as your own without giving him or her proper credit. If you do not know how to cite a particular source consult The MLA Handbook For Writers of Research Papers (LB 2369 .G53 1999) in your library. Anyone found to have committed plagiarism or anyone who buys a paper from Internet will automatically fail the course. For further information on Plagiarism please refer to Queens College’s Academic Integrity Policy.
FORMAT: papers should be double space only, typed with Times New Roman font, 12 point (not 14-18 point font), and, one-inch margin all around (not two or three inch-margins). A double-spaced page contains roughly 22 lines. ADD NO EXTRA LINES BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS. The Title page (containing your paper’s Title, your name, Prof.’s name, topic #, as well as time of class meeting) should be a separate page. Number all pages, except the title page. You should also have a Bibliography or Works Cited page in which you list, in alphabetical order, all books and articles (or internet sources) you have consulted in order to write your paper. The Bibliography page should be in addition to the five pages of text. In all you should have at least seven pages.
GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS PAPER
1. Be sure to include the title of the book you’re analyzing, in the title of your paper.
2. EXAMPLE: “The nature of desire in Apuleius’ The Golden Ass”
3. Do not double space between paragraphs.
4. Cite your sources, both primary and secondary, in parentheses throughout your paper. Include a Bibliography page at the end of your paper.
5. Integrate textual evidence into the body of your essay
6. Quotes: up to three lines long. (If they’re longer, they need to be single space. Absolutely avoid long block quotes.)
7. Make sure each paragraph has a topic sentence and that there are effective transitions between paragraphs.
8. Avoid comma splices or putting a period between sentences that are not complete.
Use semi-colons or rewrite sentences with conjunctions.
Example of comma splice: Desdemona can be seen as a feminist heroine, she defies patriarchal norms by eloping with a Moor.
Rewritten: Desdemona can be seen as a feminist heroine because she defies patriarchal norms by eloping with a Moor.
9. Number each page at the top right-hand margin.
10. Italicize book titles. Use quotation marks “…” for chapters or articles in books. Example, “Comedy and War.”
11. Be sure to use the present tense when you discuss literary works (details of plot, character, etc).
12. A paper needs to have an Introduction with Thesis, several pages of development and a Conclusion. See my posts on Blackboard on how to write an Introduction/Thesis, a Conclusion, etc.
13. NO PLOT SUMMARIES; see my posts on BB on the difference between a Plot summary and a textual analysis.
FIRST PAPER: 5-pages long, due
Topics: Choose any topic of your preference.
1) Which three concepts in Cicero’s On Friendship do you consider indispensable for a healthy friendship, and why? Please discuss and make sure to include a few pieces of evidence from the text(s) of your analysis.
2) What kind of moral goods emerge through friendship in Cicero’s views? You may want to refer to the stories of Orestes and Pylades, as mentioned several times throughout On Friendship. Discuss and make sure to include a few pieces of evidence from the text(s) of your analysis.
3) Is friendship based on advantage, or does advantage result from friendship, in Cicero’s On Friendship? Discuss and make sure to include a few pieces of evidence from the text(s) of your analysis.
4) What sorts of things destroy friendship in Cicero’s On Friendship? Refer to at least three things. Discuss and make sure to include a few pieces of evidence from the text(s) of your analysis.
5) Some scholars feel that language can be just as injurious as a sword. Keeping this in mind, which of the speeches of Job’s friends do you find the most injurious, and why? (injurious = damaging, destructive, detrimental, harmful, insulting, poisonous, ruinous, etc). Refer only to two of Job’s friends’ speeches. Discuss and make sure to include a few pieces of evidence from the text(s) of analysis.
6) Do you think Job’s friends do provide consolation for his loss? If yes, how is this so? Discuss and make sure to include a few pieces of evidence from the text(s) of analysis. (Make sure to define “consolation” as early as possible in this paper.)
7) What is your view of “friendship” in “The Book of Job”? Discuss and make sure to include a few pieces of evidence from the text(s) of analysis.
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QUOTATIONS: In a paper, quotes are highly important: adding and discussing particular quotations from the source text(s) will Help you support your points. Quotes should only be used to support your arguments, not to summarize the story.
Please keep in mind that this is a Comparative Literature course, which means that you should seek to compare themes, styles, or personalities from different texts addressed in this course when writing your papers.
PLAGIARISM: Plagiarism is when you pass off someone else’s words or ideas as your own, whether they are published (in the form of a book, magazine, or the Internet) or unpublished. If you do not know how to cite a particular source consult The MLA Handbook For Writers of Research Papers (LB 2369 .G53 1999) in your
