How to Compose a College Paper

On the Subject of the Epic and the Epic Hero

Aristotle tells us that every piece of tragedy has a BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END. It is true with college papers. Every paper should have:

I. Introduction (The introduction contains the single, most important sentence in the work: a THESIS, an idea with movement.) The introduction should be deductive in structure, that is, from General to Specific.It should begin with a GENERAL STATEMENT, e.g., "Epics can be found in forms, not just the classical "a long narrative poem...." The next statement is LESS General, e.g., "Both Louise Cowan and Joseph Campbell...." The subsequent sentences become more and more specific until you state, as the last one, your THESIS, WHICH IS AN IDEA WITH MOVEMENT. THE "MOVEMENT" BECOMES THE BLUE PRINT FOR THE REST OF YOUR PAPER.

II Development (The development is the rhetorical heart of the work, and as such, follows the pattern of meaning you are developing.) The present assignment asks you to COMPARE ONE EPIC WITH ANOTHER, USING AS YOUR criteria ideas drawn from Louis Cowan and Joseph Campbell. Once you have selected your criteria, these become CAUSE AND EFFECT, AND STRUCTURE GUIDE THE MEANING OF THE PAPER, THE MOVEMENT. FINALLY, IN ORDER FOR YOUR IDEAS TO HAVE CREDIBILITY, THEY MUST BE illustrated with cogent quotations drawn from the texts and from the film. (In a film you can describe character, note episodes, and even quote memorable lines.) REMEMBER, THIS SECTION ALWAYS FORMS THE HEART OF THE PAPER, AND YOU MUST TAKE YOUR READER THROUGH THE PROGRESSION OF YOUR THOUGHT WITH A STRUCTURE--THE MOVEMENT--AND IN THIS CASE, COMPARISON CRIES OUT FOR SYMMETRY, I.E., WHAT YOU SAY about ONE EPIC, YOU MUST SAY ABOUT THE OTHER ONE! FINALLY, THE USE OF KEY TRANSITIONS AND INTERNAL SUMMARIES MOVES THE READER FROM IDEA TO IDEA EFFORTLESSLY, AND THE COGENCY OF YOUR ARGUMENT BECOMES INTENSIFIED.

III. Conclusion

THE CONCLUSION OFFERS A SYMMETRICAL VIEW OF THE INTRODUCTION, IN THAT IT IS inductive in structure, that is, we go from the specific to the general, We discuss each point we made in the paper, and these points, carefully linked, offer us a conclusion which sounds remarkably like the thesis!