Wartburg College Beowulf An Anglo Saxon Epic Poem Book Report

Question Description

Essay (30 points total). You will write one short essay in this class for extra credit. The essay will be no shorter than THREE and no longer than FIVE double-spaced pages (standard 12-point font, 1-inch margins all around). You will not receive full credit for a short essay. You are responsible for keeping a copy (photocopy or computer disk) of your essay for reference in case the original should become lost. I am happy to read a draft of your essay. The essay is due November 16. The essay questions are below. Do not summarize the book! Give me no more than one to two paragraphs telling me what the book is about. Do not give me long quotations from the book! If you do so, I will deduct a letter grade from your final score. Do not include lengthy quotations from the book. Instead, summarize the material and include a page number indicating where you found the information. You can do this in a footnote, endnote, or a reference citation in the text (for example: Augustine, Confessions, p. 83). Think of the essay as a reaction paper. I am interested in your thoughts on the book and to see how well can express them in written form. If you focus on answering the question, it will be obvious to me that you have read the book. I am happy to answer any questions about the assignment. If you have any concerns about writing, please consider visiting the Learning Center at Rod Library.

Essay Questions:

Procedure: First, choose one book. Second, choose only one question.

Epic of Gilgamesh
1. How do women contribute to Gilgameshs development as a character throughout the story?
2. Is Gilgamesh a heroic figure? In your essay, define the concept of a hero.
3. How does the concept of death contribute to Gilgameshs development as a character in the story?

Plato, Last Days of Socrates

1. Why do Socrates accusers believe that Socrates does not acknowledge the gods?

2. Socratess trial was his last opportunity to teach the Athenians. What do you believe he tried to teach them during his trial?

3. Why does Socrates think that an unexamined life is not worth living?

Augustine, Confessions.
1. What does Augustine want readers to learn from his life story?
2. Discuss how Manichaeism influenced Augustine’s life and thought.

3. Augustine opens the Confessions with a passage from Psalm 145. Read this psalm in the Bible and explain why you believe Augustine chose it as the first sentence of his book. Here is a link to Psalm 145: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+145

Beowulf
1. What does the authors focus on men tell us about his societys treatment of women?
2. What does this book tell us about the type of Christianity practiced by the author and/or the audience of this book?
3. What is the role of Unferth in the story?

Grading Rubric

Grading a written essay is somewhat subjective as I determine whether you have understood the book, communicated your thoughts effectively, and have a good writing style. Nevertheless, I try to be fair by using a basic rubric when I grade your papers. This is the basic rubric I will use to grade your essay. I have given each criteria an approximate numerical value to give you an idea of its importance. I urge you to consider using the resources of the Learning Center at Rod Library to help you in the writing of your paper. I am always happy to discuss with you in class or in person the assignment and my grading standards.

Criteria	Below Standard=D	Adequate=C	Above Average=B	Excellent=A
Organization (Approximately 30 points)	Paper shows lack of organization. No thesis statement, body, and/or conclusion.	Paper is organized but does not adequately answer the question. Some sentences are unclear.	Paper shows clear organization and logical transitions between paragraphs.	Paper displays an outstanding organizational structure that contains original insights in a readable manner.
Content (Approximately 30 points)	Displays no original thought and/or fails to answer the question.	Shows minimal acquaintance with the subject matter.	Paper shows original thinking and does an adequate job answering the question.	Displays above average insights based on relevant examples from the text.
Grammar (Approximately 10 points)	Numerous errors in punctuation, spelling, and/or sentence structure that makes the paper difficult to understand.	Some minor grammatical and/or spelling errors.	Few grammatical and/or spelling errors.	Paper is basically free of any grammatical and/or spelling errors.
Style (Approximately 20 points)	Simplistic style that suggests little time was spent writing the paper. Limited vocabulary and/or repetitive sentence structure.	Appropriate style for a university class that displays a variety in sentence structure and vocabulary.	Appropriate writing style for a university class that shows evidence of sophistication in sentence structure and vocabulary.	Outstanding and engaging writing style demonstrated through variety in sentence structure, vocabulary, and rhetorical devices.
Format (Approximately 10 points)	Fails to follow instructions regarding content, length, and citations. No documentation of sources.	Meets the minimal requirements but the appearance of the paper is marred by excessive and/or incorrect spacing, and/or blurred fonts. Little documentation of sources.	Meets the requirements for the assignment and displays appropriate spacing and margins. Sources are not fully documented.	No obvious errors. All margins and spacings are appropriate. Citations are fully documented.

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