Write a comparative essay between the poem “Theogony” by Hesiod and the “Genesis” Chapter of the bible based on the theme of creation.
1. In your introductory paragraph, you should justify your bringing together the texts. Note what they have in common generally, even despite some apparent differences. Your goal is to convince the reader that the linking of the two texts is not far-fetched or forced. A reasonable person would agree with your bringing the texts together.
a. Avoid exaggerated or bombastic claims, such as sentences like, “Since time immemorial men have asked the question”
b. Conclude the introductory paragraph with your thesis statement. The thesis statement is a single, complex sentence that embraces the several insights you have gained through your comparative analysis. It includes a subordinate clause, which expresses a secondary finding, and a main clause, which expresses the main insight gained. The thesis needs to be original and well-defined. It should not be so general that it could be applied to other texts, and it should reflect your original interpretation of the texts.
2. After the thesis is articulated, in the succeeding paragraphs, you develop parts of the thesis, that is, separate, smaller ideas that support your larger idea expressed in the thesis. Each paragraph should have a “controlling idea,” one under which the discussion is organized.
3. In each paragraph the controlling idea is demonstrated with proof, or evidence. Evidence can be constituted by a combination of logical argumentation and evidence from the text in the form of quotations. There should be some textual evidence in most paragraphs.
4. Be careful that in providing evidence that you do not let quotations dominate your argument. Quotations should be short — a sentence or two (no more than three lines of text) — and incorporated logically into the argument. Weak paragraphs are characterized by the dominance of quotations over logical argumentation.
6. Your last paragraph should feature your strongest point in support of your thesis.
