Aristophanes Clouds Thesis Statement Analysis Paper
Analytical Thesis Paper
Sources: See below for the only sources allowed; please do not use any other sources!
*Source files are attached to the order
Primary: Henderson, Jeffery, ed., Aristophanes: Clouds, Wasps, Peace (LCL 488; Harvard, 1998).
Supporting only: Denova, Rebecca I. Greek and Roman Religions. Wiley-Blackwell, 2019.
Instructions: Please develop your thesis into an analytical paper that is at least 1,000 words.
*Please bold the thesis.
Your rhetorical style and tone should be appropriate for an academic setting. A further note about rhetorical style: this does not mean that you are required to write in ‘academese.’ For instance, if you want to write “My argument is …” instead of “this paper will argue …,” do that.
Title: Your title should not only refer to your central question but also at least hint at your answer. Feel free to use a title and a subtitle, separated by a colon.
Analysis and evidence: Your analysis or argument should be viable in the academic study of classical literature, that is, it should be open to debate, not obvious, and it should be based on evidence from the text, namely passages from Aristophanes; it should not be based on religious or irreligious truth claims (such as: ‘God exists // God does not exist, therefore ). Do not use unapproved online sources: no Wikipedia, Google, etc. The purpose of the assignment is for you to rely on your own critical reading and thinking skills to make your own analysis or argument.
If you want to get into the present-day implications of your topic, what’s at stake, for whom, and so on, you definitely can, but be sure to hold that until the concluding paragraph or two; don’t lead with that.
Organization: You should have a deliberate introduction, body, and conclusion. Each should consist of however many paragraphs are fitting. At the macro level, there should be a conscious sequence of elements, and this sequence should be intuitive to the reader. At the micro level, there should sign-posts to guide the reader (such as first/topic/bridge sentences, key terms and phrases, transitional terms and phrases, pointing words).