CLAS 55: Simple 2-p.writing exercise on Iliad 9.307-431, due 8/31

You are to write 1 1/2 to 2 pages in which you describe and summarize the argument of the great speech of Achilles at Iliad 9.307-431. You do not need to analyze or discuss the speech, and may even have to resist a strong urge you may have to turn this into a "paper" with your own ideas instead of a simple writing assignment. Just find a way to tell your reader what the basic argument and the most important points are. This is just "expository" writing. There will basically be two tasks. First, you need to decide what the basic argument is, and what points need to be mentioned. Second, you need to make sure that you write well: that you have effective and smooth sentences and paragraphs, that you have polished the paper enough to remove any rough sentences, and that you have proofread to make sure you have not accidentally introduced any problems with the writing or spelling. You will want to check the spelling carefully of both names (use the form in your text for any Greek names for which different spelling exist), and any words in quotations.

Please type the papers, double spaced, with reasonable margins on all sides, and number your pages (by hand if necessary). For quotations: if you refer to a passage in Homer without quoting it, put the book and line numbers in parentheses after the reference, but before the final punctuation; in the middle of a sentence, put the numbers before the comma (Iliad 3.452-55), and at the end of the sentence, put them before the period (Il. 1.787). If your paper is about the Iliad, you do not have to say this every time you quote a passage; if you switch back and forth between different authors or works, use abbreviations to distinguish one (Il. 7.42-47) from the other (Od. 4.122-27). If you make repeated references to passages with the same book, you may omit the book reference (122-49). Avoid saying "lines" or "ll" or "verses" or "vv." When quoting a phrase or up to two verses, put the words in the text, in quotation marks, using parentheses or commas where necessary, and a slash ( / ) between verses: "Always be the best, my boy, the bravest, / and hold your head up high above the others" (Il. 6.xx-xx). When you quote three or more verses, indent them, single-space, with double-space before and after, and no underlining, and no quotation marks:

Always be the best, my boy, the bravest,

and hold your head up high above the others.

Never disgrace the generation of your fathers.

(Iliad 6.xx-xx, Fagles trans.)

Similarly, if you quote extensively from something in prose--which you will not be doing in this assignment--you indent and single-space, with no quotation marks:

This portrayal of Hector and his wife shows and tells us that the greatest Trojan fighter, as well as all the other fighters, wish to return home to their wives and quit the endless torments of this war, just as many Argives would like to return to their homes.

Again, remember to rewrite and proofread carefully, both for style and for errors.

(Note: these are not the kind of papers we read aloud.)