Purpose. This study of ancient rhetoric asks you to develop an argument about some aspect of ancient rhetoric that interests you based off of our discussions and readings in Lipson and Binkley. You might study one of the traditions we read about in greater detail or from a different angle (i.e, Egyptian rhetoric or Chinese rhetoric), or you might trace a topic across cultures (following Swearingen's or Watts) to examine a genre or move you observe (i.e., the rhetorical use of narrative or women's ancient poetry), or look at a different culture's historical rhetorical practices than those we've studied (i.e., ancient Irish rhetoric or Indian rhetoric, or Mayan rhetoric), or a figure's rhetorical practices (i.e., Gilgamesh or Enheduanna). If you hope to become a teacher, you might do a study of pedagogical approaches to teaching nonwestern ancient rhetorics. In other words, you may take up this a study of ancient rhetorics in a myriad of ways, though you'll need to develop a narrow focus for your study.
Audience. Consider your audience students and scholars of rhetoric.
Resources & methods. Consider our course texts a site for resources but also a starting point for finding additional resources.
Formatting. When you write in Google docs, it's entirely appropriate to single space and use a break between paragraphs (rather than an indent) to signal a new paragraph. Use MLA style documentation. Your paper should be a sustained, focused study, and that should determine length rather than an arbitrary page length.
Evalulative Criteria. I will comment on your success doing the following:
Demonstrate specific knowledge and understanding of your focused area of study;
Craft a specific, non-obvious, and coherent purpose;
Develop a focused discussion/analysis using sufficient evidence and examples;
Make an organized argument;
Engage and persuade readers of the value of your purpose;
Compose a well-edited text, reasonably free of errors
Follow MLA style or the style of your choice in language approaches and citation usage.