Posted: April 17th, 2015

Homer Odyssey

QA Assignment
MIDTERM ESSAY JUMPSTART

Week 3
DUE: POST IN Week 3 DROPBOX
NOTE: Since this is your only assignment this week, TRY TO POST WEDNESDAY. There is no penalty if not done before NORMAL SATURDAY DEADLINE, but doing so will give you more time to begin your rough draft, which needs to go to the Writing Lab by early Week 4!!! Next weekend is your time to write your rough draft.
WHY DO THIS AS YOUR QA? With this jumpstart OUTLINE, you’ll be ready to flesh out your rough draft during Week 4 to send to the Writing Lab as instructed. You’ll save time by doing it right the first time. After you’ve created this outline, FIND the SAMPLE ESSAY and craft your rough draft from this outline modeling that essay for structure.
NO EXCUSES! It’s all here. If you do this correctly, you’ll find writing your essay MUCH EASIER. If you don’t get this right, it means you aren’t remembering the class motto to Read Everything Slowly and Carefully:

INSTRUCTIONS

Have you read the full Midterm Essay assignment and Lecture?

If not, do so now, before going any further (See the Midterm Essay Assignment-Read Carefully, directly above/before this assignment in this folder.)

Do not try to do this or the rough draft without using the:

•Works Cited Quick Guide

•Sample Essay

•Essay Checklist

They, along with this QA Jumpstart, are all my attempts to help you succeed. But if you don’t use them, you can’t and I’ll have worked hard for you for nothing. And you don’t want that, for either of us.

This week, we are doing a very short QA, just one question to be answered that will quickly create an outline for your essay.
1) You’ll create the simple thesis statement for your Odyssey Essay.

2) You’ll list 3 episodes and quotes that can help prove your statement.

3) You practice creating a Works Cited Page.

And VOILA! You have a jumpstart for your essay.
Have you read the Midterm Essay assignment?
Again, have you read the Midterm Essay Lecture? You will need that information to help you choose the “3 words to characterize” in your chosen sentence. It’s in this folder. Go read it.
After you’ve chosen your characteristics, and your thesis statement below, you’ll be ready to go hunt for your episodes and quotes to back it up.
THEN do this QA essay jumpstart.
HERE’S YOUR QUESTION:
From your study, which of the following statements do you believe is most true, and what 3 episodes plus direct quotes would you use to prove it?

YOUR ANSWER HAS TWO PARTS:

PART #1: Which thesis statement is most true (or most interesting) to you?
Choose one and fill in the blanks to create your thesis sentence:
1) Odysseus is a hero, because he [enter 3 words to characterize him here] as his actions in the following adventures prove.

2) Odysseus is NOT a hero, because [enter 3 words to characterize him here] as his actions in the following adventures prove.

3) Athena is the true reason that Odysseus succeeds, because she [enter 3 words to characterize her interaction with Odysseus here] as her actions prove.

4) The “Odyssey’s” women [CHOOSE 3 of these: Athena, Circe, Calypso, Penelope, the Princess] are the reason that Odysseus succeeds in his quest, because they are [enter 1 (one) word apiece to characterize each woman], as their actions prove.

This is your practice thesis sentence for your essay.

• BE sure it is ONLY ONE SENTENCE. (Save any longer explanations for your essay’s 3 paragraphs with quotes.)
• BE SURE THAT YOUR SENTENCE HAS 3 DISTINCT ONE-WORD DESCRIPTIONS–one for each of your points. (Or in the case of #4, one for each chosen woman.)

• WHAT WORDS? There’s a list in the Midterm Essay Assignment page you’ll see when you review it. But you can come up with your own, words such as: brave, wily, proud, humble, strong, conniving, powerful, smart, resourceful, trustworthy, loyal, loving, protective, reckless, honorable, practical, bold, irresponsible, etc. You can make these verbs, too, such as “protected” for “protective”–for example.

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Want SAMPLES?

Let’s use a made-up piece of literature called “Wanderer” with a hero I’ll call Joe:

Sample: “The Wandering’s” women, Josephine, Stella, and Jezebel are the reason that Joe succeeds in his quest, because, Josephine is devious, Stella loves Joe, and Jezebel is clever, as their actions in their adventures prove.

Sample: Joe is not a hero in the epic poem “The Wanderer” because he’s lazy, shiftless, and stinks, as his actions in his adventures prove.

Use this sentence structure for your single thesis statement and you can’t go wrong.

Get it?
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PART #2: What 3 episodes/book to use and quote to prove it?

We are using your required reading books/episodes listed in Week 2 Required Readings. Here is the list. I’ve placed it here as well as there to make sure you don’t goof.

• ONLY use these sections for your 3 main points/quotes to prove your thesis. Don’t wander outside our reading selections.
Another big reminder: The Trojan War was in “The Iliad”–written before “The Odyssey.” Using an episode from it will signal to me that you have not done the required readings: Stick with the chosen required episode/books listed above for everything.

Main Episodes (these are only ones you’ll be quoting from for weekly work and essay):

Books V-VIII (5-8 Odysseus, Calypso, and the Phaiakians)
Books IX-XII (9-12 Odysseus’ wanderings and adventures)
Books XIII-XVI (13-16 Athena and Eumaios’ hut)
Books XVII-XX (17-20 the beggar at the palace) [the ending]
Books XXI-XXIV (21-24 revenge and reunion) [the ending]

Pay special attention to:
The Odyssey, Book V-VI
The Odyssey, Book IX especially lines 110-593
The Odyssey, Book X especially lines 143-620

You may use any quotes from those sections above, but to save time, here are the specific places you’ll find the characters for best quoting:

The Odyssey, Book V (Calypso)

The Odyssey, Book VI (The Princess)

The Odyssey, Book IX (lines 110-593)

The Odyssey, Book X (lines 143-620)

The Odyssey, Book XI (Circe)

The Odyssey, Book XIII (Athena)

The Odyssey, Books XVII-XX (the beggar at the palace)
The Odyssey, Books XXI-XXIV (revenge and reunion)

• NOTE #1: You can use the same episode for 2 of your points/quotes, but not for all 3. Use at least 2 different episodes/books.

• NOTE #2: Make sure you have 3 quotes from the above sections. After that, if you’d like to quote or refer to other places in The Odyssey beyond our chosen book/episodes, you may, if done correctly. But to pass, you must have 3 from the list above. I suggest, however, since this is a very short essay, and you need to focus on the above, please try to stay within the above. Better not to stray, for your own sake.

• NOTE #3: [NO BLOCK QUOTES. Essay is TOO SHORT. No quote over 3-4 lines long. See Works Cited QUICK GUIDE for explanation.]

PART #3:

Create a “bare bones” outline for your essay that looks like this:

Week 3 QA Essay Jumpstart

Odysseus was a hero because he is courageous, intelligent, and clever as his actions prove.

1) Odysseus shows his cleverness in Book VI.

List 1 direct quote with text citation here: SAMPLE: Odysseus show his cleverness in Book VI. As he says himself as he vanquishes Cyclops, “I’m Nobody, you stupid monster! Try telling that around and see what happens” (Homer 235).

2) Odysseus shows his courage in Book V.

List 1 direct quote with text citation here. “Boy, am I courageous” (Homer 235).

3) Odysseus shows his intelligence in Book 1V.

List 1 direct quote with text citation here. “Boy, am I intelligent” (Homer 235).

[REMEMBER TO USE PAGE NUMBER NOT LINE NUMBER:

YOU ARE USING PAGE NUMBERS OF TEXTBOOK in your citations, NOT lines, to prove you are doing your own work and using textbook.]

Correct: (Homer 235)

Incorrect: (Odyssey 235)

Incorrect: (Lines 1235)

Incorrect: (1.2.345)

WORKS CITED

Homer. “The Odyssey.” Trans. Stanley Lombardo. The Norton Anthology World Literature, Shorter Third Edition. Ed. Martin Pucher et al. Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Norton, 2013. 178-466. Print. 2 vols.

[Put full textbook citation I gave you in Works Cited Quick Guide here. I’m putting one here, but be sure to check that it’s correct with the one in the Works Cited Quick Guide.

• FRIENDLY WARNING: If you do not get the Works Cited Page full textbook citation at end of your Odyssey essay correct–exact MLA Format given you–you will lose a letter grade. That’s why I’ve GIVEN it to you. BE SURE TO ITALICIZE THE TITLE. This is easy. The good grade awaits those who work on the details. No worries–just use the Guide. That’s why I created it.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Want a SAMPLE?

Wk 3 QA ESSAY JUMPSTART SAMPLE.

IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE THIS:

Good Student

Prof. L. Stephenson

World Lit 2030W

31 January 2015

Week 3 QA Essay Jumpstart

Odysseus in not a hero, because he is narcissistic, reckless, and thoughtless as his actions in the following adventures proves.

1) Odysseus shows his narcissistic ways in book XII. Instead of giving some credit to his men who have been with him the entire journey he says.

“This can’t be worse than when the Cyclops with his brute strength Had us penned in his cave. We got out By my courage and fast thinking” (Homer 317).

2) Odysseus shows how he is reckless in book IX. Instead of fleeing when he had the chance he chose to stay and seek revenge on the Cyclops.

“And I was left there, brooding on how I might make him pay and win glory from Athena” (Homer 277).

3) Odysseus shows his recklessness in book XXII. Instead of reclaiming his house and allowing some of the suitors to leave he decides to kill them all.

“Eurymachus, not even if all of you Gave me your entire family fortunes, All that you have and ever will have, Would I stay my hands from killing” (Homer 434).

Works Cited

Homer. “The Odyssey.” Trans. Stanley Lombardo. The Norton Anthology World Literature,

Shorter Third Edition. Ed. Martin Pucher et al. Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Norton, 2013.

178-466. Print. 2 vols.

• SEE “BARE BONES OUTLINE-Use with Wk 3 QA” following this assignment for more on how to structure.

• USE SAMPLE ESSAY and THE WORKS CITED QUICK GUIDE–if you do, you can’t go wrong.

• YOUR PROF CREATED ALL OF THESE TO HELP YOU DO WELL FROM THE FIRST.

USE THEM AND YOU WILL. DON’T AND YOU’LL MAKE YOUR PROF VERY SAD.

Okay!

That’s your full QA assignment this week.

You do NOT have to flesh out your ROUGH DRAFT for this Wk 3 QA assignment. I am only asking for the Outlined Plan as above.

You will have the entire week to create your rough draft and send it off to the Writing Lab during Week 4.

Just put a normal QA heading at the top of the page-AS SEEN IN THE SAMPLE ABOVE–and submit it once you’re done inside Dropbox: Week 3 QA folder.

Remember, you are turning in your Odyssey Essay SATURDAY, end of Week 5.

That does not give you any time to slack. Keep chugging.

It’s all here; the Writing Lab is there for you. You’ll do fine if you don’t procrastinate.

ONE LAST THING:

I am making this part of your weekly work points as your Week 3 QA combined with your Week 2 QA for grading. But I will not be reviewing these as part of your essay or respond before you do your rough draft since this is not a composition course.

I’m just going the extra mile in making you do essay prep by making it a required QA to help you do well, knowing we only have a short time and you need to do it right the first time. So pay attention. Do it as explained, compare to samples, and you will.

For those who have concerns about essay writing skills, that’s what the required use of the Writing Lab is for. I’ve given you time to send it through twice for two different tutors for best effect, if you go ahead do this on time.