Paper Writing Tips

• Essays
• Citations

Essays for Classical Culture Courses

Every instructor will have specific guidelines for the writing assignments in his or her section of this course and you should consult with your instructor for writing and citation instructions. The tips below are generic and are meant to offer some general guidance to good paper writing in Classics if needed.

1. Thesis: Every essay needs one. Your essay should be directed toward proving a point, revealing some overlooked (or not) aspect of a work, or demonstrating the importance of an idea (explicit or implicit) in a work. You do not need to state your thesis in the first sentence of the paper, but it should appear somewhere in your first paragraph. You should, moreover, be able to explain your thesis to someone in casual conversation. If you have your thesis in mind and can explain it in a couple of sentences, the rest of the essay will go more smoothly.

2. Content: Get down to the basics as soon as possible. Write a short and specific introduction. Do not use filler. Do not ever begin an essay with the trivial. For example, "Since the dawn of time, men have..." is simply not a strong beginning for an essay. It is usually a bad idea to start your paper with a definition pulled from Websters or any other dictionary. Also, avoid gross over-generalizations such as "in the past, people were less civilized than they are today." This kind of generalization cannot be proved and generally does not help your argument at all. You are not writing a history of the world, or even a history of the Greeks; you are trying to demonstrate a particular well-focused point. Likewise it is not necessary to end an essay with "...and so we see that Sophocles was a great writer." In paper writing, less if sometimes more.

3. Structure: Your essay needs a well-defined shape. Every sentence of a carefully written essay takes the reader closer to accepting and believing your thesis. This means that

• introductory material, assumptions, and special definitions should appear early on
• evidence, discussion, and analysis should follow
• conclusions, which can indicate the broader importance or context of what you have found out, should round things off clearly at the end.

A bunch of randomly ordered paragraphs can turn a good idea into a wretched essay. A logical and convincing series of steps helps transform a modest idea into an excellent essay.

4. Research: Start early and be persistent. Follow the guidelines given by your professor. Remember, if you do not cite your sources, you are guilty of plagiarism, a serious academic offense with grave consequences. Researching a topic in Classics is often a time-consuming process so if your professor has assigned a research paper, pick a topic and begin to research it ASAP. The textbooks and reserve readings contain plenty of bibliographical leads, either in footnotes or at the back. Use this. Use primary sources whenever possible. To document your research, use the footnote and bibliographic formats that your instructor has specified. If your instructor doesn't have a preference, you may want to follow Turabian's guide; specific examples using the Turabian system appear below.

5. Grammar and spelling: Proof read. Proof read. Proof read. In fact, proof read your essay both before and after you print it. I find it often helps to read a paper aloud to avoid tragic cutting and pasting errors. If you have a spell checker on your computer, use it. And even if you use the spell checker, you must still read the essay through carefully since spell checkers do not catch the difference between "their" and "there." Every piece of writing you do matters, whether it is a paper for a class that fulfills a Core Requirement or a job application. Pay attention to good grammar and spelling all the time. It is a shame to be graded down because your grammar and spelling are bad. Likewise it is a shame to miss the job/promotion/prize/acceptance to law school you wanted for the
same reason. Your writing is a reflection of you; let it be a good reflection.

6. Audience. Consider your audience to be an educated, interested person familiar with your subject in a general way, but not versed in the specific details you mention. This means that you should provide enough supporting information and documentation to prove your case.

7. Drafts. It is virtually impossible to write a decent paper in one draft. Writing is a process and it takes time -- and more than one draft -- to succeed. After writing a draft of your paper, set it aside for a while and then read it carefully. Or ask someone else to read it. Then ask yourself the following questions before submitting your paper:

• Is my thesis clearly stated at the beginning of the paper?
• Do the passages cited in the footnotes really say what I claim they say?
• Does the paper make a coherent whole -- that is to say, do all the points belong and do they follow in the order that makes my argument strong and convincing?
• Are my spelling and grammar correct?
• Have I followed the format specified for the assignment?
• Do I over-generalize in my paper? Do I include trite statements?
• Does each paragraph have a topic sentence?
• Are there transitions between paragraphs that connect my argument?
• Do I use any contractions in the paper?
• Do I alternate randomly between verb tenses?
• Do I know what every word used in the paper actually means?
• Have I proofread the paper carefully?

Citation Information —Turabian Format

Remember, your instructor may require that you use a different format for both modern sources and ancient literature. Consult with him or her for specific instructions.

The following provides some general guidance, but you are responsible for properly formatting your notes and bibliography. The full Turabian manual is available in the reference section of the library. For footnotes or endnotes, follow the guidelines next to N. For bibliography, follow the guidelines next to B. Remember to alphabetize your bibliography entries.

Single author book

N 1. Leonard Woolf, Beginning Again (London: Hogarth Press, 1964), p. 185.

B Woolf, Leonard. Beginning Again. London: Hogarth Press, 1964.

Article in Journal

N 1. Barbara K. Varley, ASocialization in Social Work Education," Social Work, VIII (July, 1963), 105.

B Varley, Barbara K. ASocialization in Social Work Education." Social Work, VIII (July, 1963), 103-9.

[Note that most journals in classics/classical archaeology do not include the month.]

Article in Dictionary or Encyclopedia

If you are citing a common reference work, like the Encyclopedia Britannica, only cite it in the note, not the bibliography. Cite a specific reference work like the Oxford Classical Dictionary in the bibliography also.

N 1. J. W. Comyns-Carr, "Blake, William," Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., IV, 36-38.

B Hornblower, Simon ="Mausollos." Oxford Classical Dictionary. 4th ed.

Ancient Sources

If you are referring to the original text (not a translation or a specific version of the text), give only an in-text citation, not a bibliographic entry. If you refer to a translation, you must cite it in your bibliography, giving credit to the translator. The in-text citation should use the abbreviation and form provided in the front of the Oxford Classical Dictionary; abbreviations for more obscure texts can be found at the front of the big Greek or Latin lexica. If you quote a translation, you must cite the quote in a footnote or endnote.

N (in-text) ...in the final battle between Hector and Achilles (Il. 22.344).

N 1. Homer, The Iliad, trans. by Robert Fagles (New York: Penguin Books USA INC.), p. 553.

B Homer. The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fagles. New York: Penguin Books USA INC., 1990.

Internet Site

Because the internet is changing so rapidly, there are conflicting versions for correct Turabian internet citations. The UGA library web site suggests this style, which seems to be one of the more recent versions. It is important that you include the date accessed since web sites disappear so rapidly.

N 1. Federal Election Commission, "Receipts of 1996 Presidential Pre-Nomination Campaigns"; available from http://www.fec.gov/pres96/pres1b.jpg; Internet; accessed 13 May 1996.

B Federal Election Commission. "Receipts of 1996 Presidential Pre-Nomination Campaigns." Available from http://www.fec.gov/pres96/pres1b.jpg. Internet; accessed 13 May 1996.

If you are citing a translation of an ancient source from the internet, make sure you provide information about the translation. On the Perseus Project web site, for example, you can find this information by clicking the "author information" tab, located on the same page as the text.

N (in-text) See Ancient Sources

N 1. Aristotle, Economics, trans. by G. C. Armstrong (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1935); available from http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/text?lookup=aristot.+econ.+1343a; Internet; accessed 17 October 1999.

B Aristotle. Economics. Translated by G. C. Armstrong. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1935. Available from http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/text?lookup=aristot.+econ.+1343a; Internet; accessed 17 October 1999.

Format for Additional Note References

When you are citing a source for the second time in your paper, do not provide all the same information in the second note. If you are citing the exact same source and page number as the previous note, use this format:

2. Ibid.

"Ibid." is short for "ibidem," which means "in the same place." If you are citing the same source but a different page number, use this format:

3. Ibid., 68.

If a different source has been cited since the most recent citation of the source you are using, use this shortened form. Include the author's name, an abbreviated version of the book or article title, and a page number.

12. Woolf, Beginning, 425.

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