Analyze Herodotus’ views of history. What does Herodotus believe history should be?
It is up to you to narrow the topic down and construct a sophisticated argument from that topic.
Papers should be between 1400 and 1600 words, double-spaced. This works out to about five pages, depending on margins and font.
Writing Guidelines and Thesis
Your paper should include a clear, strong, and sophisticated thesis. The thesis should be clearly stated in the first paragraph of the paper; by the time I finish reading the first paragraph I should be able to answer the question, “This essay argues that _____.” (You can even use that exact phrasing in your introduction if you wish.)
A sophisticated thesis is the most important element needed to produce an excellent paper. Without a good thesis, the paper will simply be a summary–or what you might have called a “report” in high school.
Here are some things to think about when constructing a thesis.
A thesis:
Should NOT be a topic or a question (or simply repeat the assigned topic or question)
Should be arguable
Should provide a unique perspective
Should be supportable—rooted in evidence
Should be narrow and specific
Should NOT be a list
Evidence
After your introductory paragraph, the remainder of the essay should use evidence to prove the thesis. Use specific textual evidence to prove your thesis—not personal opinion or general statements. If you find yourself using statements like, “I think _____,” or “I believe ______,” then you have likely strayed from the historical evidence into opinion. A historical essay is about what you can prove, not what you believe.
For each evidence paragraph, ask yourself the following questions:
How does this paragraph help to support my thesis?
Is there specific evidence from the text in this paragraph?
If there is no specific evidence in the paragraph, then you should think about reorganizing. If your evidence doesn’t support your thesis, or if you haven’t explained to your reader how that evidence supports your thesis, then you need to make some changes.
Unless you have obtained permission well before the due date, the only source you should use for this paper are the portions of the Herodotus text that you were assigned to read for this course.
In addition:
You should only use material from the text itself–you should never include quotes from the editor or translator’s introduction to the text.
You should not use material that you learned in high school or in any other course unless you can support your point with specific evidence from The Histories.
You should not use material obtained on the internet or from any outside sources.
Citations
Here is a link to the edition of the book I am supposed to use: https://www.google.com/search?q=ISBN%3A+9780140449082&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS995US995&oq=ISBN%3A+9780140449082&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i58.1032j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Its okay if you cant find the page numbers, its fine. Just make a mark at the end of the sentence that needs a citation and I will go find the citiation.
Because you are only writing about one text, you can simply cite the page number for any quoted or paraphrased material. Alternatively, you may cite by book and section number. If you are using an edition of the text other than the one assigned for the course, you should cite book and section number.
Examples: (note the position of the punctuation marks as well)
Herodotus provides many details about mummification for the reader (127-128).
Xerxes asked Demaratus, “will the Greeks dare to lift a hand against me?” (448).
Herodotus gave credit to the Athenians for the defeat of the Persians (VII.139).
Information that is common knowledge—that is, found in the textbook or class notes–does not need to be cited. If you are using the assigned edition (Penguin) of Herodotus no bibliography or works cited list is necessary. If you use a different edition, you should include a bibliography. Any format is fine.
Writing
All papers should be well-written and carefully proofread. A poorly written paper cannot receive an excellent grade. Writing is about communication, and if you can’t communicate your ideas clearly then they won’t have much of an impact on the reader.
Rubric
I will use these criteria (rubric) when evaluating your essay. Each one is scored between 1 and 5: 1 = Poor, 2 = Below Average, 3 = Average, 4 = Good, 5 = Excellent.
The paper:
Has a clear, sophisticated, and important thesis.
Uses sufficient, appropriate evidence to prove the thesis.
Demonstrates evidence of historical, analytical thought.
Is well-organized.
Is not plagued by grammatical errors, awkward sentences, or proofreading errors.
Conforms to the Writing Guide
Cites sources appropriately
