<Return to Contents>                                                                                                  <Return to Syllabus>

 


York University

Programme in Classical Studies

History 3131

Rome and Empire

 

Paul Swarney

244 Vanier College

416 736 5123  pswarney@yorku.ca

 

 Essay 2

 

Due:          Thursday 25 September

 

Length:     2 double spaced typewritten pages

 

Topic:        The significance of the least important of five events in Roman History

 

Explain carefully the significance of the event that you selected as the least important of five events in your first essay.  You may wish to consider such issues as how the event contributes to your understanding of issues in Roman History such as social structure, economy, or other topics that are of interest to you.

 

You are expected to pay careful attention to establishing a clearly defined position (thesis) in your essay and to making sure that your paragraphs are quite directly related to this position.   A helpful hint is that your thesis may, in fact, be the very last item that you will define in drafts of your essay even though you will place it at the beginning of your final version.  

 

Another Ahelpful hint@ is to make sure that each of your paragraphs is constructed around a single, well defined topic.  

 

Evaluation:   

 

20% of this term=s essay mark

 


You must attach a copy of your first essay

To this second essay!

 

GUIDE FOR ESSAY 2

 

1.     Title:

 

Have you included your name and the name of the course at the head of the first page of your essay?

Have you formulated a title for your essay that clearly relates to the main topic of your paper?

 

2.       Introduction:

 

Does your first paragraph begin with a clear statement about the position which you have taken in your essay?

Do the remaining sentences in your first paragraph let the reader know what to expect in the rest of your essay?

Do these sentences let the reader know how you have argued your position in the rest of your essay?

 

3.        Exposition:

 

Does each of your subsequent paragraphs focus clearly on a topic mentioned in your introduction?

Does each sentence in this paragraph focus on the topic of the paragraph?

Are the sentences in each paragraph made to relate to each other or are they merely a series of unrelated observations?

Is each sentence a complete sentence?

 

4.        Conclusion:

 

Does your conclusion follow from the evidence on which you based your exposition?

Is it what you advertised in your introduction?

 

5.        Syntax and style:

 

Are you certain that you have noticed the difference between singulars and plurals?

Are most of your verbs active?

Have you used your dictionary, even for looking up ordinary words?

 

6.        Special reminder:

 

This essay is about an event selected by you not about the “truth” in Roman History. Please make sure that you use 12pt. type throughout your essay.

(Be kind and respectful to the aging faculties of Faculty!)

 

Do not separate your subjects from their verbs with commas!

 


<Return to Contents>                                                                                                  <Return to Syllabus>