ESSAY TOPICS
Write an essay of no more than 2000 words on ONE of the topics below.
1. Discuss the extent to which myths told by the Romans reflected aspects of Greek and Roman culture including religion.
OR
2. To what extent is a myth a ‘traditional sacred story…of archetypal or universal significance’ (Cupitt). Illustrate your answer with examples from Greek, Near Eastern and Biblical creation myths.
OR
3. Discuss the extent to which the myths from Egypt reflect different aspects of Egyptian culture.
How to submit your essay
– Your essay is to be submitted electronically through the TURNITIN submission link.
– You must submit your essay on or before 5pm on the Friday of week 11.
– Label your work when you submit it in the following way:
o Number of Question.Surname.Student ID number (eg 4.Smith.9458767)
Essay Topics Guidelines
Make sure you have listened to the lectures relevant to the topic you have chosen and have read the ancient evidence for that topic.
Your essay must be based on both the ancient evidence and modern scholarship. In addition to the suggested readings given in the Study Guide, you are strongly advised to pursue further research. You may browse the Library’s catalogue for relevant items and search the Library’s databases (eg. JSTOR, Project Muse) for relevant journal articles. Click on ‘Databases’ on the Library Homepage (http://www.lib.mq.edu.au), and then ‘Ancient History’ for further information. Do not use general or encyclopedic style websites as sources. By ‘modern scholarship’ we mean work published in academic journals or monographs. Do not copy text from an online source: you must write your own essay.
Note carefully that Turnitin will detect text copied from an online source or from an essay previously submitted.
Your essay must reference the ancient evidence and secondary literature thoroughly. Please refer to the Department of Ancient History’s guide to referencing and essay presentation, available in the unit’s website. You are also required to include a bibliography of all ancient and modern items consulted.
The Ancient History Grade Descriptors. When you are preparing your essay, writing your essay and after you have drafted your essay, take some time to review it with reference to the Grade Descriptors. Try grading it yourself. If necessary, redraft your essay to improve the way it addresses the factors we will be looking for when grading the essay.
