THE SEARCH FOR VALUES IN THE LIGHT OF WESTERN HISTORY AND RELIGION

HUMANITIES 101-102 REQUIREMENTS FOR THE WRITING PORTFOLIO

2009-2010

A. Writing Portfolio: Purpose, Due Dates and Lengths B. Fundamentals C. Guidelines and Objectives for the Writing Assignments D. Planning Well Ahead E. General Format F. Mechanics and Style G. Citation and Plagiarism H. Sample Title Page

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Because writing and the careful analysis of ideas are among the most important elements of a liberal arts education, your writing assignments should meet the following minimum requirements. Your colloquium leader will clarify additional requirements that he or she may have and will explain the specifics of how your writing assignments will be graded. A. Writing Portfolio 1. The Nature and Purpose of the Writing Portfolio Students are required to maintain a Writing Portfolio across two semesters in order to track the development of their writing skills in SEARCH. Your instructor may ask you to keep a sturdy, physical portfolio with inner pockets or he/she may ask you to keep your papers in a virtual, electronic portfolio. Submit and maintain all writing assignments in the Portfolio folder; each assignment must be pledged in conformity with the Rhodes College Honor Code. The Writing Portfolio is to be maintained through Humanities 201 and students should be sure to retrieve their assignments at the end of the semester or the beginning of the next semester as they become available. The main benefit of a Writing Portfolio is that it enables students to see the growth of their writing in their first year at Rhodes and makes it possible to reflect upon how they can continue to develop as writers. The Writing Portfolio is also an important part of SEARCH because: i) the writing intensive nature of Humanities 102 means that students may be asked to reflect on previous work; ii) students may change instructors and it would help the new instructor to be familiar with your previous work; and iii) the portfolio is a part of decisions regarding recognition of outstanding achievement in the first year of SEARCH. 2. Due Dates, Lengths, and Late Penalties 101 Assignments Assignment One (400-600 words) Due Friday, September 4, in your colloquium. The assignment is in the Reading Guide on page 21. Assignment Two (600-900 words): See the course calendar for the due date for your section.

3 Assignment Three (1200-1500 words): See the course calendar for the due date for your section. 102 Assignments: Due dates, lengths, and topics will be distributed by individual instructors in Humanities 102 (spring semester). Late Penalties: There will be a penalty for assignments turned in late. Your colloquium instructor will explain what the penalties will be in your section.

B. Fundamentals Successful writing is a matter of defining key terms, ideas, and issues, and illustrating them with pertinent examples to clarify their significance and connect them to a thesis. Accuracy and clarity are paramount in this process and require hard work. [Hint: Ask friends to read what youve written aloud to you, being sure to mention the nature of their contribution along with their names in your Acknowledgements section.] This process should lead to insight and sophistication in your writing. Insight indicates ability to see and to evaluate more than what is apparent upon an initial reading. Insightful writing will avoid summary of points or ideas and concentrate on exploring distinctions, deep meanings, and relationships among them. Attention to detail and rhetoric is the basis of insight. In this context, sophistication gives evidence of your learning and also of careful, creative thinking, showing that you can identify main points, draw careful and relevant distinctions, relate points together, foresee plausible consequences, and give proper credit where it is due. Note: Your writing assignments will be graded on the basis of accuracy, insight, and sophistication, and on your ability to organize and structure your ideas, as well as on mastery of the mechanics of writing. For guidance, please consult the Rhodes College publication, A Guide to Effective Paper Writing (one of the required texts for the course). All of your work in SEARCH must conform to the Rhodes College Honor Code (see A Guide to Effective Paper Writing, Section II, Intellectual Honesty).

4 C. Guidelines and Objectives for the Writing Assignments The writing assignments in the SEARCH program are intended to be venues in which students can learn the skills of close reading (analysis, interpretation, and contextualization) and argument (thesis development, citation of evidence, the dialectic development of themes across points). Indeed, any close reading of a text requires the presence of an arguable point. 1. Fall Semester In the fall semester, students will cultivate the skills of reading by analyzing assigned passages. They ought to be guided by the following types of question: What is going on in the text that we are reading? What is the significance of what is going on? Does whats going on in the text conceal deeper meanings? How might these deeper meanings be indicated in the text, and how can I convince a reader that they are there? What is strange about the text? How can this strangeness be related to the parts of the text that seem clearer? What does the text not say that it seemed to be preparing to say? Why this absence? To deal aptly with questions of this sort will require the cultivation of the following rhetorical skills: 1. Clearly identifying the passage to be considered, accurately citing the passage with a clear locating reference (page number, section number, act number, line number, etc.). 2. Carefully contextualizing that passage, anchoring it in time and space: What? When? Where? Who? How/Why? 3. Examining major terms and themes of the passage including key phrases and concepts, metaphors, similes, and main themes. 4. Exploring issues raised by the passage, problems suggested by what the passage says and does not say. 5. Connecting this passage to the main themes of this course and to your own search for values. 6. Developing a thesis concerning your interpretation of the passage. These writing assignments will require a close re-reading of a single text from our readings, providing an opportunity for you to respond thoughtfully to the text. These assignments are NOT research papers, plot summaries or synopses, or opinion pieces. They do NOT involve secondary sources or web-based materials. They do call on you to reflect systematically and intelligently on the import of a work we have read together, in light of our common study in this course.

2. Spring Semester The problems posed by the spring semesters assignments will require more sophisticated theses and more involved argumentation in support of them. Particularly when tackling a complicated problem, writing will be an essential part of your thinking; you cannot figure out what you need to argue until you start to work through the particular points in some detail. Because the best theses tend to emerge only after extensive writing, rethinking, reorganizing, and revising, you should not try to develop a final thesis before beginning to write. Your ultimate aim in writing and rewriting should be to provide: a concise and specific thesis; specific evidence from the text(s) that supports the thesis; sound reasoning about that textual evidence and the arguments of the texts as a whole; and careful consideration of possible alternative interpretations of the text as a whole and of specific passages. D. Planning Well Ahead Audience: In general, you should write as if you are trying to explain your ideas as clearly as possible in polished English to an intelligent person who is interested in your topic but not especially familiar with it. What do you need to say to convey the significance of your topic and your insights to such a person? Revisions: Allow time for revisions and more revisions. Often the thesis of your writing assignment may not be clear to you until you have come to the end of your first or second draft. Proofread: Always proofread and edit your writing assignment carefully before handing it in. Do not rely solely on a spell-checker since it will not catch every mistake. It is sometimes easier to catch errors on a hard copy than on a computer screen. Read Aloud: Read what youve written aloud or ask a friend to do so with you (acknowledging the friends input as appropriate). Keep Copies: Keep a copy of your writing assignments as originally submitted, both a hard-copy and an electronic copy separate from your computer. If you try to complete or print your assignment at the last minute, computer or printer problems are a real possibility and NO excuse. Avoid late penalties by planning well ahead. The Writing Center: The Writing Center is an invaluable resource to consult for assistance. The Centers hours are available from the English Department or from your colloquium instructor. Make use of the Centers Guide to Effective Paper Writing. Late Penalties: Late assignments will be penalized as noted above on page three.

E. General Format

6 Provide a title page which includes: (1) an effective title near the top of the page. Your title may appear in all upper-case letters if you wish, but this title should not be underlined or italicized or enclosed in quotation marks. (2) your name (3) the name of your colloquium leader (4) the date of submission (5) word count (6) a statement of the Honor Pledge accompanied by (7) your signature to indicate that the writing assignment has been prepared in accordance with the Honor Code of Rhodes College.

Be sure that your writing assignment is: (1) legibly printed using a standard 12 point font (i.e., no fancy fonts), (2) double-spaced throughout, (3) with 1-inch margins (please note that some word-processing programs have different default margins) and (4) page numbers. Attach a Works Cited section (sometimes called a bibliography) that includes sources consulted as well as sources quoted (see examples below). You should also include an Acknowledgements section, to recognize those who have helped you write the assignment, if needed. F. Mechanics and Style Stylistically effective writing: 1. uses proper grammar and sentence structure. 2. avoids summaries of content and long quotations. 3. avoids sweeping generalizations (e.g. throughout history, since the dawn of time, as humans have always wondered, As I have always believed) and vague abstractions (e.g. ancient peoples, religious people, the Church, in ancient times). 4. avoids the passive voice (it is thought, it was decided, the people were struck by). Active verbs express meaning more emphatically and more precisely: Gilgamesh deliberated, Moses decided, the Israelites equivocated.

7 5. avoids jargon, wordiness, and unnecessary repetition. 6. Avoids inappropriately exclusive language, such as variants of the term man (including men, mankind, family of man, brotherhood, and compounds such as chairman, clergyman, etc.) as generic identifiers, using instead inclusive terms (e.g. human beings, humanity, humankind, people, minister, etc.) to designate both individuals and groups. Note: Direct quotations should reproduce the quoted text, inclusive or not, exactly as in the original.

G. Citation and Plagiarism Citing ones sources is an absolute necessity for good writing and a matter of intellectual honesty. Proper citation involves two considerations: when to cite and how to cite. Writers must always acknowledge each of their debts to the authors of the words or ideas they have used. Thorough and precise acknowledgement of any such debt is required by the Honor Code, and failure to do so is a form of plagiarism. For further guidance, see A Guide to Effective Paper Writing, Section II, Intellectual Honesty. Citations should allow the reader to trace the sources of your thoughts, and the connections between your evidence and your arguments. Proper citation, therefore, directs the reader as precisely as possible to the passage in question. The specific information in the citation will be different for different works. In many cases, the citation will be to the author and a page number: (Rousseau 25). When citing a play, however, you will achieve greater accuracy by citing the act, scene, and line numbers. Other works are broken up into books, sections, cantos, chapters, verses, etc. And in some cases (for example, Plato and Aristotle) there are special numbering systems used for all translations of that work. You should always use the most universal form of citation. Specific examples are provided below. In all cases, however, the citation must be keyed to the bibliographical information in the Works Cited page. For example, the abbreviated reference in this citation--(Rousseau 25)requires that the Works Cited entry for this work begin with Rousseau, as in Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Below are some examples of parenthetical documentation, the type of citation you will use in these writing assignments. Each example employs a different manner of referring to a text (short quotation, offset quotations, paraphrase) and the proper way to format and punctuate each. Each parenthetical citation is followed by the appropriate form of bibliographical citation for a Works Cited section. 1. NON-BIBLICAL EXAMPLES:

EXAMPLE OF CITING THE SEARCH READING GUIDE As the reading guide indicates, the Tower of Babel should be compared to the ziggurat temples of the ancient Mesopotamians (Baldwin et al. 36). Baldwin, Christopher et al. The Search for Values in the Light of Western History and Religion: Reading Guide. 24th ed. Memphis, TN: Rhodes College, 2008. EXAMPLE OF CITING PLATO OR ARISTOTLE OR SENECA OR AQUINAS Socrates then poses the following question to the young and overconfident Euthyphro: Is the pious loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods? (Plato 10a). Plato. Four Texts on Socrates. Trans. and Ed. Thomas G. West/Grace Starry West. Rev. ed. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University, 1998. Aristotle opens the Nicomachean Ethics with the observation that Every craft and every line of inquiry, and likewise every action and decision, seems to seek some good... (1094a1). Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Trans. M. Ostwald. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1962. M. Porcius Cato, sometimes called Cato the Younger, is Senecas best example of a republican hero who

9 chose to die rather than to live under tyranny (Seneca, On Providence 2). Seneca. 1958. Aquinas always first reviews the standing opinions and subsequently provides his own response: I answer that the existence of God can be proved in five ways (Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I-I, qu. 2). Aquinas, Thomas. On Politics and Ethics. Trans. and Ed. Paul E. Sigmund. New York: W.W. Norton, 1988. The Stoic Philosophy of Seneca. Trans.

and Ed. Moses Hadas. New York: W. W. Norton,

EXAMPLE OF LONG QUOTATIONS THAT ARE INDENTED In a clear allusion to mystery religions, Plato, through the character of Diotima, characterizes the study of love as follows: Even you, Socrates, could probably come to be initiated into these rites of love. But as for the purpose of these rites when they are done correctlythat is the final and highest mystery, and I dont know if you are capable of it. I myself will tell you, she said, and I wont stint any effort. And you must try to follow if you can (210A).

Plato. Symposium. Trans. and Ed. A. Nehamas and P. Woodruff. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1989.

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According to Thucydides account of his funeral oration, Pericles offered the following bitter consolation to the parents of Athenians who died in battle early in the Peloponnesian War: You know your lives teem with all sorts of calamities, and that it is good fortune for anyone to draw a glorious end for his lot, as these men have done. While your lot was grief, theirs was a life that was happy as long as it lasted. I know it is a hard matter to dissuade you from sorrow, when you will often be reminded by the good fortune of others of the joys you once had; for sorrow is not for the want of a good never tasted, but for the loss of a good we have been used to having. Yet those of you who are of an age to have children may bear this loss in the hope of having more (ii.44; Woodruff 45).

Thucydides. On Justice, Power, and Human Nature: Selections from The History of the Peloponnesian War. Trans. and Ed. Paul Woodruff. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co., 1993. EXAMPLE OF ALTERED SYNTAX IN QUOTED MATERIALS AND OF DOCUMENTATION FOR AN UNKNOWN AUTHOR OF A TABLET INSCRIPTION: The tavern-keeper advises the wanderer to let [his] clothes be clean, let [his] head be washed (Gilgamesh Sippar tablet 3.10-11).

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Anon. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Trans. A. George. New York: Penguin, 1999. EXAMPLE OF MULTIPLE CITATIONS FOR A WORK DIVIDED INTO BOOKS AND LINE NUMBERS: The list of names and armies in book two reflects better the political situation of the thirteenth century BCE. 683). Homer. Iliad. Trans. Stanley Lombardo. Thus, Mycenae and Pylos are designated as major powers (Iliad 2.631-652, 2.672-

Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 1997. EXAMPLE OF POETRY, OF A PLAY WITH LINE NUMBERS, AND OF A WORK PUBLISHED AS PART OF A COLLECTION: Sophocles shows Haemon rebutting his fathers questions forcefully yet logically: There is no city | possessed by one man only (Antigone 798-9). Sophocles. Antigone. Sophocles I. Trans. D. Grene. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1991.

EXAMPLE OF A WORK DIVIDED INTO BOOKS AND LINE NUMBERS: The Virgilian underworld is a realm of gods of the world below and of silent shades (Aeneid 6.330). Virgil. Aeneid. Trans. S. Lombardo. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett, 2005.

12 EXAMPLE OF SYNTACTIC ADJUSTMENT IN CITING A WORK DIVIDED INTO BOOKS WITH SECTIONS: Augustine exhibits a keen grasp of both human existence and overarching abstractions when he asserts that he was not yet in love, but [that he] was enamored with the idea of love... (Confessions 3.1). Augustine. The Confessions. Trans. M. Boulding. Hyde Park, NY: New City, 1997.

2. BIBLICAL EXAMPLES:

CHAPTER AND VERSE CITATIONS: The psalmist depicts humans as a little lower than God and crowned...with glory and honor (Psalm 8.5, NRSV).

SCHOLARLY NOTES, INTRODUCTIONS, ESSAYS, MAPS: Some scholars interpret Gods attempt to kill Moses as addressing the need for adherence to the covenant of Abraham and its obligations (NOAB, HB 89, note to verses 24-26). The Introduction states that the different parts of Genesis are united by a set of toledot (descendants) headings that guide the readers approach to the material (NOAB, HB 9). When Jesus asks, Are you a teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? (John

13 3.10), he may be discrediting the religious aristocracy represented by Nicodemus (NOAB, NT 152, note to verse 10). The essayist argues that most biblical interpretation in the New Testament serves a polemical or apologetic purpose (The New Testament Interprets the Jewish Scriptures NOAB, Essays 474). Modern reconstructions of the exodus route graphically attest its circuitous nature (e.g., NOAB, Map 2).

Coogan, Michael D., et al., eds. The New Oxford Annotated Bible. 3rd rev. ed. New York: Oxford, 2007.

14 H. Sample Title Page

Mixed Motives: The Quest for Immortality in Gilgamesh

E. N. Kidu

Humanities 101 Prof. Loquax September 4, 2009 Word Count: 551

I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment, nor have I witnessed any such violation of the Honor Code.

_______________ (your signature)