ANCIENT GREEK RELIGION

UC Berkeley's Tebtunis Papyrus 693: fragment of Sophocles 'Inachus'

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CLASSICS 121: PAPER

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Here are details of the paper which is a requirement of this course.

PLEASE READ THROUGH THIS CAREFULLY...

we do not apply mechanical or formulaic criteria when assessing papers - but we do expect your paper to be written to the high standards appropriate for students attending UC Berkeley

1. The Rubric

Write a paper around eight pages in length, on a topic of your choice (to be discussed with myself and/or David or Maria), the subject to be one of central interest and significance for the study and understanding of Greek Religion.

The paper should be written in good English, should show good knowledge of the relevant primary texts and, as appropriate, the secondary sources, and should demonstrate good, independent critical thinking.

We are not applying mechanical formulae to our grading of papers or exams - we are looking for content, comprehension and independence of thought, along with a true sense of discussion.

2. Length

 

8 pages is a suggested length, not an exact prescription or requirement. If you aim at 8 pages, with normal double-spacing and font-size, you will probably find you have enough room to present your discussion. You will not be penalised just for writing a paper with fewer or more pages. Please bear in mind, though, that in our experience papers of 6 pages or less will probaby be rather thin, since 6 pages is not much room to make a presentation and mount a real discussion; conversely, if you really need more than 8 pages then take them: but for practical reasons (we have a lot of papers to read!) we encourage you to stay within sight of 8 to 10 pages.

3. Choosing your topic

Please think carefully about what you want to write on. Your topic should come from your own reading and thinking, and should be on a subject that you really want to write on; it should come from a passion, or interest, or concern that you develop in the course of studying Greek Religion. Your topic may be broad or specific, and it may draw on any area of knowledge, expertise or interest that you have (history, literature, philosophy, art, science, language etc. etc.) so long as the focus of the paper itself is clearly ancient Greek Religion.

I will not be handing out a set list of topics to choose from, but that does not mean your choice of topic is not very important to us: everyone is required to check in with myself and/or David or Maria to report the topic they have chosen and to discuss it with us. We will give you guidance and advice as needed. If you have difficulty choosing or deciding on a topic, please come and see one of us to discuss things. On no account put off (let alone omit) writing the paper: we must have a satisfactory, completed paper on record in order to assign a Final Grade for the course at the end of term.

4. Formal requirements

There are no uniform requirements for style, form etc. for this paper, i.e. no set minimum number of references or footnotes, or minimum number of bibliographical references or citations - also no specified stylistic system to follow, or uniform document formatting requirements (margins, font size, single or double spacing etc.). However, you are expected to use your common sense and present a paper which is written to a high standard of English (including grammar, syntax, spelling, and general style), is clearly formatted and presented, is internally consistent, and which uses citation, footnotes and bibliographical referencing as appropriate to the topic. If you wish to adopt one specific convention (the Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA etc.) you may do so.

Please do not use any 'tricks' to make your paper appear more substantial, or longer, than it actually is! (I.e. no extra-double-spacing, super-wide margins, extra-large fonts etc....) If you want to include maps, photos, drawings, diagrams etc., please do so - but please do not use them to bulk out your text!

5. Due dates

Your TA will keep a sign-up list, so please give some thought as to when you would like to write your paper, taking account of your overall class schedule and workload for the term (when papers and assignments are due for other classes etc.). The due dates are:

Early Bird: Thursday 5 November
Late Fall: Tuesday 24 November
Last Call: Wednesday 9 December

6. Plagiarism, citation etc.

Plagiarism and cheating are serious offences and will not be tolerated in this course. The penalties are severe and include an automatic F grade for the piece of work containing plagiarism and notification of the incident to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs (which keeps records of all such incidents). In the case of a plagiarising paper an F may also be given as the final grade for the course.

You might be interested to know that in recent years several students were suspended at the University of Virginia, and at Harvard several students expelled for plagiarism.

What is plagiarism? Here is how the College of Letters and Science defines it:

"All written work submitted for a course, except for acknowledged quotations, must be expressed in the student's own words. It must also be constructed upon a plan of the student's own devising. Work copied without acknowledgement from a book, from another student's paper, from the internet, or from any other source is plagiarized. Plagiarism can range from wholesale copying of passages from another's work to using the views, opinions, and insights of another without acknowledgement, to paraphrasing another person's original phrases without acknowledgement."

Here is the relevant paragraph from the General Catalog:

"Cheating or Plagiarism. Achievement and proficiency in subject matter include your realization that neither is to be achieved by cheating. An instructor has the right to give you an F on a single assignment produced by cheating without determining whether you have a passing knowledge of the relevant factual material. That is an appropriate academic evaluation for a failure to understand or abide by the basic rules of academic study and inquiry. An instructor has the right to assign a final grade of F for the course if you plagiarized a paper for a portion of the course, even if you have successfully and, presumably, honestly passed the remaining portion of the course. It must be understood that any student who knowingly aids in plagiarism or other cheating, e.g., allowing another student to copy a paper or examination question, is as guilty as the cheating student."

If you are uncertain exactly what constitutes plagiarism, or how you should go about citing and referring to other people's work in your own papers and exams, please consult any or all of us (Professor and TAs).

If you have any questions about anything - ask!