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The Odyssey Study Guide
Background Information
What are the characteristics of an EPIC POEM?
What are the characteristics of an EPIC HERO?
How were EPIC POEMS told? By whom? What
What spiritual/religious beliefs guided the ancient
“memory tricks” did these people use?
Greeks?
Describe the role of family, especially wives, homes
Other notes/observations:
and children, in ancient Greek culture.
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Characters to Know & Doodle
Character
Doodle
Odysseus
Fought in the Trojan War and has been trying
to get home to his wife and son for 20 years.
Cyclops
A giant one eyed monster who lives in a cave
with his sheep & rams on an island. He is the
son of Posiedon.
Circe
A goddess and witch who never lets men leave
her island.
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Antinous
The leader of the suitors back home. The
suitors are all trying to convince Penelope to
marry them.
Penelope
Odysseus’s wife who has been waiting for him
for almost 20 years. She’s been fending off
suitors with a variety of clever schemes.
Telemachus
Odysseus’s son who has never seen his father.
He is just now becoming a man.
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Comprehension Questions
BOOK I: INVOCATION (p 895 in the Orange Book)
1. Who does Homer say he is relying on to help him tell the story of The Odyssey?
2. Odysseus could not save his men by _____________________ or by _______________________.
3. What SPECIFIC reckless behavior killed the last of his men? Which god was responsible for their death?
4. Who held Odysseus captive for seven years?
REFLECT
After reading this short section on your own, how well do you feel you understand the reading?
 I understood it perfectly. I could take a quiz on this tomorrow and pass with flying colors.
 I could find the answers to the questions, but that doesn’t mean I understood it!
 I couldn’t even begin to answer the questions, and I’d never understand it in a million years without some
additional help.
IX: NEW COASTS & POSIEDON’S SON (p 896 in the Orange Book)
5.
What was the effect of the Lotus plant?
6.
How heavy is the door of the Cyclops’ cave (be as specific as the book is)?
7.
What is the first dangerous thing the Cyclops does?
8.
Why doesn’t Odysseus kill the Cyclops when he has the chance?
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9.
What does Odysseus give the Cyclops as a gift?
10.
What gift does the Cyclops give in return?
11. What does Odysseus tell the Cyclops that his name is?
12. How do Odysseus and his men sneak out of the Cyclops’ cave? Give ALL
the details.
13. What foolish thing does Odysseus do once they’ve escaped from the cave?
14. What did a soothsayer/wizard once predict would happen to the Cyclops? Be specific.
15. What does the Cyclops ask his father Poseidon to do for him?
OR
REFLECT
After having this longer section read aloud in class with pictures—answer the following questions:
How well did you understand the reading?
 I understood it perfectly. I could take a quiz on this tomorrow and pass with flying colors.
 I could find the answers to the questions, but that doesn’t mean I understood it!
 I couldn’t even begin to answer the questions, and nothing we did in class helped me at all.
 I was absent so much that I’m feeling lost right now.
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BOOK X: GRACE OF THE WITCH (p 916 in the Orange Book)
16. Who is the god of wind?
17. What favor does he do for Odysseus and his men?
18. What stupid mistake do some of the men make on the ship?
19. How do even more men die after the bag accident?
20. What does Circe do to some of Odysseus’s men?
21. How does Odysseus get her to release his men?
22. When Odysseus asks Circe to send them home, what does she tell him he must do first?
BOOK XII: SEA PERILS & DEFEAT (p 928 in the Orange Book)
23. Why should Odysseus be wary of the Sirens?
24. What should he and his men do to keep safe from the Sirens?
25. Describe Scylla—use all the details the book does!
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26. What will Charybdis do if Odysseus’s ship gets too close?
27. What does Odysseus keep secret from his men?
28. After Scylla and Charbydis, how do the rest of Odysseus’s shipmates die? Is it Odysseus’s fault?
BOOK XXI: THE TEST OF THE BOW (p 944 in the Orange Book)
29. Penelope says she will choose the suitor who is able to do what?
30. Which two people get upset when they bring Odysseus’s old bow to the suitors?
31. Whose death does Homer foreshadow (p 946)?
32. Whom does Odysseus trust to help him defeat the suitors?
33. How does Odysseus prove his identity to them?
34. What specific plan does Odysseus lay out for them to help him? Hint: it has three main parts.
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35. Why don’t the men want Odysseus to try and string the bow?
36. Why does Eurymachus “curse this day?”
37. What big, major Greek cultural law does Antinous break?
38. What is the dramatic irony in Queen Penelope’s speech to Antinous (p. 950)?
39. How does Telemachus accidentally break the tension in the room?
40. Odysseus strings the bow just like a __________________ strings a ________________.
41. Zeus gives a sign at the moment Odysseus strings the bow. What is it?
42. What does Odysseus prove about his abilities when he shoots the arrow through the axeheads? Why is that
important in this situation? Note: he hasn’t specifically proven his identity yet.
BOOK XXII: DEATH IN THE GREAT HALL (p 955 in the Orange Book)
43. Whom does Odysseus kill first? How? Why?
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44. How does Eurymachus plead his case with Odysseus?
45. How does Odysseus respond to Eurymachus?
46. How does Amphinomus die?
47. What does Telemachus do for his father when it seems hopeless?
48. After Odysseus and Telemachus have proved their valor, who finally helps them to win the battle with the
suitors?
49. At that point in the battle, Odysseus and his men are compared to what?
BOOK XXIII: THE TRUNK OF THE OLIVE TREE (p 961 in the Orange Book)
50. At first, Penelope doesn’t recognize Odysseus. Describe ALL of the specific changes that Athena makes to
Odysseus’s appearance to help.
51. At the end of Odysseus’s makeover, Homer uses another one of those epic similes. The comparison is that
Athena makes Odysseus beautiful just like a
________________________ makes a _____________________________ beautiful by infusing
________________________________ onto it.
52. How does Penelope test Odysseus? Why does she test him?
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53. Penelope is says the gods have denied her what two things?
54. Book 23 closes with an EPIC epic simile. Odysseus has been longing for his wife just like what? Be as
specific as possible—use the details the book uses.
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QUOTE COLLECTING
As we read excerpts from The Odyssey, keep track of quotes from
the book that indicate what kind of person Odysseus is—is he a
mighty hero? Or is he just a big arrogant jerk?
or Jerk?
Hero?
Hero Quotes
Book & Line #
Jerk Quotes
Book & Line #
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Hero?
WRITING A THESIS STATEMENT
or Jerk?
Now you need to decide: Is Odysseus a hero? Or a jerk? Then, everyone gets to write an academic
defense of their opinion. We are all working on the same understanding: I want to make sure you
understand that opinions about literature can and must be supported by evidence from the text.
But, not everyone is ready for the same kind of evidence. Some folks are concrete thinkers—they need to
use a specific event from the book to prove their opinion. Other folks are really abstract thinkers—they
need room to use ideas from the book to prove their opinion.
Each of these different approaches is described below. As you explore your options, let me offer some
boundaries for you:
1. There is no shame here. We’re all learning. The goal is growth. Pick the approach that is the
best fit for you, and you’ll have a good shot at actually improving your writing skills during this
process!
2. No one may choose Concrete 1 without my approval. If it looks like the thesis you would
choose, check in with me first.
3. If you choose an approach that is not a good match for what I know about you after two
trimesters, I will have a conversation with you.
4. English 9 Honors Students WHO ALSO PLAN TO TAKE 10H should choose Abstract 1 or
Abstract 2. Your first papers in English 10 Honors will likely ask you to do this type of
thinking—without as much support.
CONCRETE 1: USING ONE PLOT EVENT
Check the thesis statement you would like to use (only one). Then fill in the blank with something
Odysseus does. For example you might write “sleeps with Circe” or “encourages his men when they are
scared.”
 Because Odysseus ________________, he’s a true hero.
 Because Odysseus ________________, he’s not a true hero.
CONCRETE 2: USING THREE PLOT EVENTS
Check the thesis statement you would like to use (only one). Then fill in the blanks with three things
Odysseus does. For example, you might write he “sleeps with Circe,” he “boasts to the Cyclops” and he
“hides the truth from his men.”
 Because Odysseus ________________, _________________ and
__________________, he’s a true hero.
 Because Odysseus ________________, _________________ and
__________________, he’s not a true hero.
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INTERMEDIATE: USING CHARACTERISTICS
Choose a thesis and fill in the blanks with descriptive words that you think are the most important. By
descriptive words, I mean things like “arrogant” or “encouraging.”
Because Odysseus is _______________, __________________ and ___________________, he’s a true
hero.
Because Odysseus is _______________, __________________, and ___________________,
he’s a not a true hero.
ABSTRACT 1: USING AUTHORIAL INTENTION & AN ABSTRACT SO-WHAT
Choose one of the thesis statements below. These contain slightly more sophisticated “what”
arguments that focus on what the author (Homer) is accomplishing in the text. The “so what” is also
more complex, and requires some outside thinking based on the cultural values we’ve discussed in class
or your own understanding of literature.
 By creating a hero like Odysseus, Homer suggests that even admirable characters have
flaws.
 By creating a hero like Odysseus, Homer demonstrates the values of ancient Greek
society.
ABSTRACT 2: USING AUTHORIAL INTENTION & AN ABSTRACT SO-WHAT
Write a thesis statement of your own. Like the best thesis statements, your statement needs to have a
what and a so what.
A what identifies WHAT you’re arguing.
A so what explains HOW or WHY your what is important.


Think of your WHAT as describing WHAT you notice about a character or text.
Think of your SO WHAT as describing WHY that observation MATTERS in how we
understand the character or book. Often this relates to literature in general, to themes or thematic
values in a text or to background/complementary knowledge about a text.
The “so what” can be difficult to nail down, especially in the academic register. Take a peek at the
examples under Advanced 1 above. Or, try looking at the sample below:
WHAT
SO WHAT
THESIS
Penelope is a brave woman who uses her brain to stand up to the suitors.
Homer suggests that even the women in Odysseus’s life are heroic individuals worthy of
admiration.
The way Penelope bravely defies the suitors mirrors and further glorifies Odysseus by
suggesting that even the women in his life are worth admiring.
For this essay, your what is pretty easy. You need to choose a side. Is Odysseus a jerk? Or a hero? The
question is, what is your so what?
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Essay Organizer for CONCRETE 1 or 2
THESIS STATEMENT
Plot Event
EVIDENCE (passage or quote)
Explanation of why that plot
plot event
thesis statement.
from the book that describes that
event proves the opinion in your
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Essay Organizer for INTERMEDIATE
THESIS STATEMENT
Characteristic
EVIDENCE (quote or passage)
Explanation of HOW or WHY
the paragraph)
& will help prove your thesis
your thesis
(main point of
Odysseus has that characteristic
the evidence you gave proves
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Essay Organizer for ABSTRACT 1 or 2
THESIS STATEMENT
IDEA (main
EVIDENCE (passage or quote)
Explanation of HOW or WHY
paragraph)
that IDEA & proves thesis
your thesis
point of the
from the book that demonstrates
the evidence you gave proves
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Body Paragraphs Step-by-Step
Let’s imagine my thesis is about Penelope instead of Odysseus. My thesis says: Because
Penelope tricks the suitors, she brings honor to Odysseus.
And this is the first row of my Essay Organizer:
MAIN POINT
EVIDENCE (quote or passage)
She tricks the suitors
by unweaving the cloth
at night when they’re
sleeping.
“She wove the threads by day, unweaving
them by night. None but her maids were by
to tell the suitors of the day’s work undone
in the secret dark” (bk 3 ln 394).
Box 1
Explain How the EVIDENCE Proves
the main point and the thesis
By saying she’ll marry one of the suitors
when the funeral cloth is complete and
then unweaving it each night, Penelope
convinces the suitors to wait. This is a lot
like the way Odysseus’ tricks the Cyclops.
The fact that she uses her brains to outwit
her captors makes her a as honorable as
Odysseus. Her clever scheme also points
out that Odysseus is honorable in another
way: he chose his life partner wisely.
Box 2
Box 3
How do I turn this into a body paragraph?
1. Write a TOPIC SENTENCE that introduces the main idea of the paragraph, based on
box 1.
2. Write a sentence that introduces the CONTEXT of the passage from the story. This is
the only part that’s NOT already in your organizer.
3. Write a phrase or sentence that weaves the EVIDENCE into your own sentence. Make
sure to include evidence with a citation (from box 2).
4. EXPLAIN how the passage proves your thesis (from the top of Box 3).
When I put all of that together, my paragraph looks great (we’ll highlight this together):
Penelope first tricks the suitors by weaving and unweaving the funeral cloth. When the
suitors try to marry her by force, she tells them she will choose a husband after she has finished
weaving Odysseus' funeral cloth. Then while the suitors watched, "she wove the threads by day,"
turning around and "unweaving them by night" when the suitors can not see (Bk 3, Ln 394). By
saying she’ll marry one of the suitors when the funeral cloth is complete and then unweaving it
each night, Penelope convinces the suitors to wait—indefinitely. This is a lot like the way
Odysseus’ tricks the Cyclops. The fact that she uses her brains to outwit her captors brings honor
to Odysseus because he chose such a clever woman to be his wife. It also brings honor to
Odysseus because she is working hard to be faithful to him.
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Notes about Writing Strong Body Paragraphs
1. You may not say “This shows...” or “this quote proves...” or “in this quote.” In fact, you may not
use the word QUOTE in your paper at all. You may say things like this,
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
“In this moment...”
“This incident shows...”
“This event demonstrates...”
“This conversation proves...”
“By [action or comment], Odysseus shows…”
2. Make sure to use transitional words and phrases. These are words and phrases that connect your
paragraphs to each other. See Transitions in Short Essays (in this packet) for help.
3. A literary analysis paper is in the ACADEMIC VOICE. This means
a. Using third person pronouns (he, she, they) and no personal pronouns (I, you, we)
b. No exclamation points, abbreviations, slang or contractions.
c. Use parentheses ONLY for citations.
d. Correct spelling, grammar and other conventions are VERY important
e. Use the present tense only.
It's hardest to stay in the present tense when you are using quotes because your quote is in the
past tense. You have two choices: (1) Use only the necessary parts of your quotes OR (2)
indicate the quote with a present tense use of "says" or “explains.” See examples below:
Quote
Quote inserted in paper
But as I sent them on toward Scylla, I told them
nothing, as they could do nothing.
After describing how they got past the deathly rocks,
Odysseus explains: “As I sent them on toward Scylla, I
told them nothing, as they could do nothing.”
OR
After they get past the deathly rocks, Odyssesus sends
“them on toward Scylla,” but he tells them “nothing”
about what’s ahead since “they could do nothing” about
it anyhow.
“Being a man, I could not help consenting.”
When Odysseus describes Circe inviting him to live with
her, he says, “being a man, I could not help consenting.”
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Including Evidence in Body Paragraphs
Method 1: Attributions & Paraphrase
An attribution & paraphrase is when you do what the author does—you tell your reader who is saying it
and include a dialogue tag like says (or screams or explains, etc.), but then explain the actions in your
own words.
Example
Early in the story, Connie argues with her father about whether or not she will take her
grandmother to church. When she refuses and reaches for the car keys, her dad says no
and takes away the keys (109). Their conversation implies an argument, and her father’s
power play drives their conflict forward even further because he does it before he verbally
disagrees with Connie.
Method 2: Snippets
Snippets are when you chop up the passage into little pieces and then weave those little pieces into your
own sentence so that the words read seamlessly.
Example
Early in the story, Connie tells her father there is “no way” she is going to take her grandmother
to church until her dad, “pocketing” the keys and “grinning” at her, insists there is “no way” she
will get to drive the car unless she does (108-109). Their conversation implies an argument, and
her father’s power play drives the conflict forward even further because he does it before he
verbally disagrees with Connie.
Method 3: Block quotations
Block quotations are when you use four or more lines from a passage and you introduce it with a colon.
Example
Atticus’s sense of equality is evident through his treatment of Calpurnia. Atticus treats her like a person, not simply a servant:
Atticus’s voice was even: “Alexandra, Calpurnia’s not leaving this house until she wants to. You may think otherwise,
but I couldn’t have got along without her all these years. She’s a faithful member of this family and you’ll simply have
to accept things the way they are. Besides sister, I don’t want you working your head off for us—you’ve no reason to
do that. We still need Cal as much as we ever did.” (12)
By calling Calpurnia a “faithful member of the family,” Atticus shows that Calpurnia’s relationship to the Finches is not hindered
by racial difference. Atticus wants his children to see that the relationship between whites and blacks should be a mutually
respectful one.
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Other Evidence Guidelines
1. You need to use quotation marks to indicate the author’s words.
2. Every time you quote from a source, include a citation INSIDE the main punctuation
of the sentence (punctuation highlighted in gray). A citation usually contains the
author’s name and page number "like this" (Smith, 27). But in the case of The Odyssey,
it will include the Book and Line numbers "like this" (Bk 9, Ln 247).
Notice that the PERIOD goes AFTER the citation.
3. You man use ellipses (…) to indicate portions of a quotation that you’ve left out.
4. If you have dialogue inside the evidence, you need two sets of quotation marks. The
first set is double (to indicate the author’s words), and the second set is single, to indicate
the voices of the characters. For example (note the punctuation highlighted in gray):
Although Calpurnia is a domestic servant, her role in the Finch family transcends racial
boundaries. As Atticus tells Aunt Alexandra, "'I don’t think the children’ve suffered one bit from
her having brought them up. If anything, she’s been harder on them in some ways than mother
would have been…' I thought long and hard about his words" (139). Atticus affirms Cal’s ability
to raise the kids not only as a mother would, but also with a sense of right and wrong.
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Transitions in Short Essays
Think of your essay like a road: Driving down a road should be smooth—big breaks and potholes in the
intersections doesn’t make for a good ride. Reading an essay should also be smooth—no big breaks or clunky
connections between paragraphs. Transitions are the way you make sure that your essay is a smooth read.
Beginner
Everyone, at a minimum needs to use transition words to connect paragraphs together. This could be as simple as
words ate the beginning of each paragraph:
Introduction, blah blah blah. Thesis.
First, blah blah blah blah blah paragraph
Second, blah blah blah blah paragraph
Third, blah, blah blah blah paragraph
Clearly, blah blah blah restate thesis and go into conclusion
Intermediate
The next level of transitions in short essays involves using transition words inside your paragraphs.
In example A below, you can see that my paragraph starts with “first” but later in the paragraph I use “in addition”
Sophisticated
The most sophisticated use of transitions in short essays happens when a writer can make transitions without only
relying on transition words. These transitions are built into the paragraph. They might repeat language from earlier
in the paragraph or may use demonstrative pronouns (this, that, these, those) to connect ideas to one another.
In example A below, notice that I talk about the “moment of suspense” being painful. Later I repeat that phrase with
a demonstrative pronoun: “Ultimately, this moment of suspense.” The repetition and the demonstrative pronoun tie
the ideas together, even though there aren’t any so-called transition words involved.
In example B below, notice that I talk about “terrifying” and “exciting” in the first two sentences. Later I say use
those ideas to say “that terror and excitement.” Again, this transition connects the two ideas with repeated language
and a demonstrative pronoun.
Example A
First, Richard Connell uses suspense to draw readers into the story. When Rainsford and Zaroff have lunch
together during their second day on the island, Zaroff gets a fire in his eyes when he suggests, “tonight, we
will hunt.” The moment of suspense is almost painful. The reader does not know if Zaroff means that he
and Rainsford will hunt together for one of Zaroff’s “pupils” or if Rainsford himself will become the
hunted creature. In addition, the general is so polite, that it’s nearly impossible to believe he will actually
do what we fear him doing. Ultimately this moment of suspense appeals to teen readers because it leaves
enough space for the reader to figure it out or make a guess before revealing the truth. Teenagers, like
many adults, enjoy solving the riddle just a little bit before the author explains it.
Example B
A game is fun. A dangerous game sounds terrifying—and exciting at the same time. Richard Connell
plays with that terror and excitement in his short story, “The Most Dangerous Game.” From deathdefying battles with the ocean to creepy dinners with creepier hosts, Connell delivers excitement, suspense
and terror, making “The Most Dangerous Game” the perfect story for teen readers.
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Writing Introductions
To write a successful introduction, you need to do these things:
 Write a reasonably interesting opening line. For this paper, it might have
something to do with being a hero.
 Write a sentence that makes a bridge from your opening line to the specific book
you will be exploring. It helps to mention the title and the author at this point so
that you don’t have to squeeze them into your thesis.
 Write a sentence that connects the book to your specific topic. In this case,
heroism.
 Write your thesis sentence. An easy way to organize the paper is for your thesis
to be at the end of the introduction.
Writing Conclusions
To write a successful conclusion, you need to do these things:
 Write a sentence that restates the title and the name of the author near the
beginning of the conclusion.
 Write a sentence that restates the thesis—DO NOT USE the exact words as in the
introduction.
 Write a sentence that summarizes each of your main points. If your conclusion is
not developed enough, try summarizing each of your main points in a sentence.
That automatically gives you three sentences.
OR
 Write a short explanation of how your paragraphs work together to prove your
thesis or how they specifically connect to your so-what if that needs it’s own
space.
 Write a closing/tidying line at the end. One successful way to do this is to refer to
your opening line again in your closing. This technique is called framing (see
below).
Framing Example
If I started my paper like this:
Bruno is one of the stupidest characters ever written.
Then I might end my paper like this:
Luckily, not many characters in literature are as stupid as Bruno.
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Style Guide Formatting Instructions
1. Use Times New Roman as your font for the entire paper.
2. Use a size 12 font for the entire paper.
3. Double Space the entire paper.
4. Use 1” margins. This means you must CHANGE the margins on the school computers,
which default to 1.25 inches.
5. Do not bold, underline or change the font of your title.
6. Use both forms of MLA headers (see example below). The longer one goes in the paper
itself. The other goes in a “header.” Do NOT manually type the page number in. Use
“insert” and “page number” to get the number in the header.
7. Include a Works Cited Page as the last page of the paper (see next page for an example).
Student last name and page number in header. Do not manually type the page
number. Use “insert” and “page number”


In the body of
paper:
Student Name 
Smith 1
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut
Teacher Name 
Class 
Date in MLA 
format
No extra spaces or
fancy fonts in the
title.
The whole paper is
double spaced.
Each paragraph is
indented
Smith 2
Jane Smith
Mrs. Borger-Germann
labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco
English 9
laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in
5 March 2012
voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat
Assignment Title (Task 2)
non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor
sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore
incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud
magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut
exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in
aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla
occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.
pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut
mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do
labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco
eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis
laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla
pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt
mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do
eiusmod
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Smith 3
Works Cited
Homer. The Odyssey. The Language of Literature (Brown Level). Ed. Arthur N. Applebee, et
al. Evanston, Illinois: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
3 More Things BEFORE You hand in your paper...
1.
Do the Final Revisions Checks below.
*******************************************
Proofread by reading your work aloud.
If it doesn't make sense read out loud, it doesn't make sense, period.
*******************************************
Organization
 Strong opening in intro paragraph, author and title (underlined or in italics), thesis at end of intro
 Transitions in topic sentences to connect ideas to each other and to the thesis.
 Three body paragraphs
 Powerful closing line
Content




All body paragraphs begin with topic sentences that relate to the thesis
Evidence (a specific quote or passage) from the text in every body paragraph.
Evidence is always followed by analysis of how the evidence proves the thesis
The conclusion summarizes the main points in the essay OR explains how the paragraphs work together to
prove the so-what of the thesis.
Style



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Format
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No I, me, us, we, or you; third person only
No contractions
All quotations are included as a part of a sentence; they’re not by themselves in the paragraph.
The writer never refers to evidence as “this quote” or “the quote.”
Essay is typed and follows formatting guidelines EXACTLY according to directions (p 24)
Final page of essay is a Works Cited page, also formatted EXACTLY according to directions (p 25)
All evidence includes book and line numbers “like this” (Book 9, Ln 121-124)
Proofreading
 No spelling or grammatical errors
 Verbs stay in the present tense (ex: Odysseus sees, Calypso defends, Penelope realizes)
 Frequently confused words are correct (accept/except, to/too) – see Style Guide for extra help
 No sentence fragments or run-ons – See Style Guide for extra help
 All sentences are correctly punctuated
2.
Run your paper through www.paperrater.com. The website will give you detailed analysis about your word
choice, transitions, vocabulary and syntax. Print out TWO COPIES of the report. If there are errors that
you understand and can fix on your own, go for it. Otherwise we’ll talk about it in class later.
3.
Print your paper. Staple it on top of ONE of your Paper Rater Reports and turn it in. Keep the OTHER
PaperRater report for yourself.
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