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1. Letters: Every third week, you will write one letter and bring 3 copies of it to class: give one copy apiece to 2 classmates and to me. The letter should be 2-3 pages long and should be highly relevant to the material we are discussing in class. Once the first letters have been written, a subsequent letter should in part react to previous letters. A letter should be correct in all the mechanical aspects of writing such as spelling, punctuation, writing, word choice, structure, etc. There are no particular requirements in terms of topics for these letters. One goal of this exercise is to get to know your classmates in an academic setting and to forge a community conversation.
GRADING NOTES THAT APPLY (SEE BELOW): A, C

2. A document for use next time I teach the class (i.e. include whatever you think is most important and interesting for students of Greco-Roman political thought). The format may be outline, essay, or whatever you would find most appropriate and helpful as a student (no powerpoint presentations, however): length may vary depending on the format you choose (a 5-6 page essay is what I have in mind, so aim for the equivalent of that). Use of secondary sources is optional, but recommended. There is no need to go beyond what we read and what was presented in class, however.
Topics: any of the material from class which we read in UNIT ONE (see schedule).
Due the 6th of OCTOBER.
GRADING NOTES THAT APPLY (SEE BELOW): A, B

3. Essays: For the midterm and final, you will write 2 short essays (3 pages) on assigned topics. The topics will be announced beforehand, and you will bring the COMPLETED typed essays with you to the midterm and final and hand them in with the midterm and final.
GRADING NOTES THAT APPLY (SEE BELOW): A, B

4. Final Paper: One final paper 5-10 pages in length. The paper will ideally incorporate revised portions of your essays, summary and letters. In other words, it should grow out of your other writing for the class.

Late papers will not be accepted and the recorded grade will be 0%. It is to be on a topic of your choosing. The parameters are:
   •     You should choose a topic before Thanksgiving break. I am happy to help you with choosing a topic or I can suggest one.
   •     You should identify your primary ancient sources as well as several modern secondary sources before Thanksgiving break.
   •     Explanation of Primary Ancient Sources must be central to your paper.
   •     It is to be a research paper, which means that it will use scholarly secondary sources in a significant way.
   •     At least once while writing it you must use the writing center OR some other qualified person as a reader (be aware that tutors are not proofreaders: they will help with other aspects). The reader's signed summary of your activities should be handed in with the paper. Be aware that it is very difficult to get a walk-in session with a writing tutor at the end of the semester. Plan ahead.

A. Must be in good English suitable for college-level writing assignments (i.e. VERY FEW mistakes in writing mechanics: less than 2 per typed page). If they are not at that level, you will be docked a grade for poor quality product. You may rewrite the assignment to redeem yourself, provided there is time to do so (i.e. the deadline for all rewrites is the last day of classes).

B. Must be a well thought out and well-structured effort that center around a central topic and reach some significant conclusion about it. In other words, your first draft will probably not be sufficient to pass. This should be formal writing: they should not be informal in any way (i.e. write it as if it were to be published in a newspaper: no chatty speech or slang). I place particular value on being concise, precise, and careful. This assignment will be graded in the traditional manner as a piece of formal prose.

C. The letters may be exploratory and tentative: in other words, the content will not be graded with an eye towards assessing mastery. They will be graded with an eye toward encouraging intelligent exploration of ideas, however inchoate. A certain degree of relaxation, familiarity, and incompleteness of thought is to be expected in these letters. They will be graded with less stringency, in other words. But remember that you must still proofread and polish them so that the mechanics are correct.