The Iliad Mini-Research/Narrative Paper

Due Date

World Literature

The Iliad Mini-Research/Narrative Paper

Assignment: The ancient Greeks were considered “polytheistic” in their religious beliefs, meaning they believed in and worshiped various gods. In Greek mythology, the gods and goddesses represented different forms of nature. The most powerful Greek gods were known as the Olympians. The occupants of Mount Olympus represent an attempt by the ancient Greeks to explain the chaos of the universe through human nature.As we have seen in the Iliad, the gods and goddesses are greatly involved in the epic in that they intervene with the “mortals” and each play important roles in the story.

You will be assigned a specific god or goddess in which you will write a three-part paper incorporating that god or goddess.

Dates: Workshop in Computer Lab T 1/30, W 1/31, Th 2/1, and T 2/6 in class. Your final writing assignment will be due to turnitin.com by Friday 2/9 at 11:59 pm; hard copy due in class Monday 2/12. You must complete each of these steps to earn full credit.

Part I: Research

The first part of your assignment includes conducting research on certain aspects of your god or goddess. You will be answering the following questions in an extended, well-rounded paragraph. Do not follow “question-answer” format but rather write a mini-research essay on your assigned god or goddess.

➢Topics to Research:

What are the powers and character traits associated with your god or goddess? Do they have a type of weapon?

What is your god or goddess mostly known for?

What is an overarching symbol or animal associated with your god or goddess?

How is your god or goddess related to others?

What is another myth your god or goddess can be found in?

Are there any other interesting facts you found?

Part II. Narrative

Using the information you found when researching your god or goddess and notes from the narrative writing lesson, you are going to type a 2-3 page narrative incorporating your god/goddess in a creative way. Consider traits, powers, and associations with your god/goddess when brainstorming your narrative. You can either a) keep the god/goddess in context (Greek mythology such as the Iliad or Odyssey) or b) write a modern tale set in today’s society incorporating your god/goddess.

Part III. Synthesis (Rationale)

In one paragraph, describe the connections between the research you conducted and the narrative you created. Why did you create the plot and characters you did? How did your god/goddess fit into the story based on what you found in your research?

➢Citations/ MLA formatting:

Entire paper should be typed in 12 pt. Times New Roman font with double spacing. Each page should have appropriate page numbers. In the research part of your paper, you will need to have appropriate in-text citations if using direct quotations and an MLA works cited page at the end of the paper. Please see sample paper for formatting guidance and utilize PurdueOWL as a formatting resource:

Scoring Guide

Criteria / Exemplary / Proficient / Emerging / Incomplete
Research: Ideas/Structure
_____/20 / -communicates findings and evidence clearly, concisely, and logically
-uses well-researched, accurate, and relevant facts, details, and examples
-demonstrates a deep understanding of the subject.
-fully developed paragraph that addresses each of the topics / -communicates findings and evidence
-uses mostly accurate and relevant facts details, and examples
-demonstrates an adequate understanding of the subject.
-mostly developed paragraph that addresses most of the topics / -communicates insufficient findings and evidence
-uses inaccurate, irrelevant, or insufficient facts, details, and examples
-demonstrates lack of understanding of the subject.
-slightly developed paragraph that addresses some of the topics / -communicates insufficient findings and/or no evidence
-uses few or no facts, details, and examples
-demonstrates lack of understanding of the subject.
-paragraph is not developed and does not address appropriate topics
Narrative: Ideas
_____/20 / -engages the reader through interesting lead-in and details
-uses narrative techniques (dialogue, pacing, description) to develop experiences and characters
-provides a conclusion that resolves issues and draws the story to a close / -describes an incident and orients the reader to the story
-uses narrative techniques effectively to develop characters and experiences
-provides a clear conclusion to the story / - lacks essential details to orient the reader to the story
-includes few narrative techniques to develop characters
-provides an unsatisfying conclusion that does not resolve the story / -does not contain essential details to orient the reader
-does not effectively use narrative techniques to develop the story
-does not provide a conclusion
Narrative: Structure
_____/20 / -follows the structure of the genre with well-sequenced events
-clearly orients the reader and uses effective transitions to link ideas and events
-demonstrates a consistent point of view / -follows the structure of the genre and includes a sequence of events
-orients the reader and uses transitions to create a coherent whole
-uses a mostly consistent point of view / -may follow only parts of the structure of the genre
-presents disconnected events and limited coherence
-contains a point of view that is not appropriate for the focus of the narrative / -does not follow the structure of the genre
-includes few if any events and no coherence
-contains inconsistent and confusing points of view
Synthesis/
Rationale
_____/20 / Paragraph shows direct connections between the research conducted on god/goddess’ traits, actions, and powers, etc. and the created narrative. / Paragraph mostly shows connections between the research conducted on god/goddess’ traits, actions, and powers, etc. and the created narrative. / Paragraph shows some connections between the research conducted on god/goddess’ traits, actions, and powers, etc. and the created narrative. / Paragraph does not make any connections between research conducted on god/goddess’ traits, actions, and powers, etc. and the created narrative.
Language
_____/10 / -purposefully uses descriptive language, telling details, and vivid imagery
-uses meaningful dialogue when appropriate to advance the narrative
-demonstrates error-free spelling and use of standard English conventions / -uses descriptive language and telling details
-uses direct and/or indirect dialogue when appropriate
-demonstrates general command of conventions and spelling; minor errors do not interfere with meaning / -uses limited descriptive language or details
-contains little or no dialogue
-demonstrates limited command of conventions and spelling; errors interfere with meaning / -uses no descriptive language or details
-contains no effective use of dialogue
contains numerous errors in grammar and conventions that interfere with meaning
Formatting
_____/10 / -MLA formatting is correct (header, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, page number, etc.)
-Works Cited page is correct (complete citations, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, etc.) / -MLA formatting is mostly correct (header, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, page number, etc.)
-Works Cited page is mostly correct (attempted citations, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, etc.) / -MLA formatting s attempted (header, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, page number, etc.)
-Works Cited page is attempted citations, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, etc.) / -MLA formatting is incorrect (header, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, page number, etc not present.)
-Works Cited page is non-existent ( citations, 12 pt. Times New Roman font, etc.)