Classics 95 Emperor and Slave

Written Assignments:

All writing must be turned in on paper in class the day it is due. It will not be accepted any other way, except by prior arrangement.

There are three sorts of writing in this class:

1. Daily comments:
   
• Daily Comments are to be handed in by every class member every day on which there is nothing else due from that class member. They should be a sentence or more in length. They can be about anything class-related. You must hand them in in person, you may only hand in one per class, and you must stay for the entire class in order for the comment to count. I will use them to silently learn your names at the beginning and end of class, to take the pulse of the class, and as attendance. Although I will not always read all of them immediately, I will read them all eventually. You will not get any of them back. At the end of the semester, I will count how many you handed in, and that will count toward your grade (see grading).
2. Letters (500 words minimum)
• Letters are to be written to two classmates and me, so bring three copies to class when they are due: give two to classmates of your choosing and one to me. Letters should be mainly about issues met in our reading. Students will be divided into 2 groups. Letters will be due from one group on Mondays, one group on Thursdays.
  
• You must put the date on each letter as well as the number of the letter.
  
• I will not grade every letter you hand in: I will probably grade every other letter you hand in.
  
3. A paper (to be discussed more later)
• Ideally based in some way on letters already written.
• Close to but not more than 2000 words.
• It must be obvious that more effort was required to keep it below 2000 words than to bring it close to 2000 words.
  

Revising:
If you are ever dissatisfied with what you write, you may rewrite it and the new grade will entirely replace the old grade, but you must 1) clearly label it as a revision, 2) include a copy of the original with my comments (if I made any comments), and 3) hand it in before the end of the month in which it was due. For example, all assignments written in September may only be revised in September.

Important Elements of Writing I: the contents

• Unity
• There should be a clear topic, and it should be clearly stated right off the bat.
• There should also be a clear purpose expressed: what does the letter accomplish?
• There should also be a clear structure to the letter: in what order will subtopics be treated (and perhaps also why in that order)?
  
• Each paragraph should clearly identify how it fits into the overall structure and contribute to the overall topic and purpose.
• Each sentence should clearly contribute and be clearly related to the sentence before it and after it.
• There should be a clear sense that the letter is finished and its purpose has been accomplished at the end. A concluding sentence might help, but the sense of completeness and being finished comes more from the fulfillment of the purpose and completion of the structure, both of which should have been clear from the start.
  
• Accuracy
• These letters are about the reading: as such, what is said needs to accurately reflect what is found in the reading.
• Argumentation
• The points made should have logical coherence with each other.
• There should be a clear reason why one point is made after rather than before the others (it should not read like a grocery list but rather like a recipe).
  
• Obvious objections should be considered and adequately addressed.
• Interest and Importance
• The letter should be of interest to Prof. Bailly (this is hard to explain, but I know when I'm interested).
• Most of the time, I am interested in whether, how, and what you are learning, but in the best writing, I am also interested in what you are saying independently of the fact that this is a writing assignment that I have to grade.
  
• The topic should be about something important.
• Carefulness and Attention to nuance and detail
• Topics should be addressed with care and attention to detail.
• Vagueness and generalities should be avoided.
  

Important Elements of Writing II: Writing Mechanics

• Punctuation
• Spelling
• Grammar
• Word choice
• Efficiency
• Professor Bailly's biggest soapbox about writing has to do with efficiency: you should strive to use fewer words to say more and say it more precisely and carefully.
• Pointless repetition is undesirable.
  

Possible ways to approach letters:

• Explain a concept
• Argue against an idea
• Take a seemingly problematic idea from the reading and justify it
• Research an aspect of the reading and report results: historical, philosophical, etc.

In Order to Write Well

1. Revise
2. Proofread

• Repeat 1 and 2 as many times as you can. The first revision(s) should involve a major overhaul. The last revision should be mostly proofreading.
• Good writing does not simply come forth: it is carefully constructed by an iterative process.