Antigone writing assignment

1. Antigone writing assignment

2. Your task: • Develop a claim that traces common characteristics of Creon from the play Antigone and Ozymandias from the poem “Ozymandias” • Support that claim using textual evidence from both works—in the form of direct quotations • The outcome will be a minimum 4 paragraph essay

3. Writing the essay Be sure to review your notes on essay writing, including the guidelines for the introduction, body paragraphs (formatted paragraph model), and conclusion. What follows is an explanation of how to embed the quotations into your body paragraphs.

4. ICE…3-step quoting Introduce…Lead into using the quotation by explaining the surrounding circumstances of the quotation; set up the context so it is logical. Control & Cite…Insert the quotation within your own sentence, making sure it is grammatically correct. Explain…Write at least two sentences that explain how the quotation supports the point you are trying to prove—in other words, how it is relevant to your claim or thesis statement.

5. Example ICE What follows is an example of an “ICE”d quotation. For the example, we will consider the following claim as the one being supported by the quotation: In the play, Antigone willingly accepts punishment because she values moral law over civil law.

6. Introduce: Early in the play, Antigone speaks with Ismene, announcing her intention to bury Polynices. Control & cite: Regarding the burial, Antigone tells Ismene she will accept the punishment of death for her action, and, “[…] --if it’s a crime,/ Then it’s a crime that God commands” (Sophocles 4). Explain: This shows how Antigone distinguishes between the laws of man and the laws of God. Through her actions, she makes it clear that the laws of God, or moral laws, warrant obedience over the law of Creon, or civil law.

7. You may notice that the guidelines for writing a formatted paragraph are basically at work when “ICE”ing a quotation: the quotation itself serves as a CD, while the explanation serves as the CMs. Notice, as well, that the ratio of CDs to CMs remains the same: at least two (2) CMs for each CD. Each body paragraph needs to include two (2) CDs, (for this assignment that would be two quotations), and two CMs for each CD.

8. Reminders when ICEing quotations: • Choose quotations that are brief (keep them to approximately 10 – 15 words). • Your own explanation and analysis needs to make up most of the ICE; the quotation is only necessary as textual evidence for support of your ideas. • Be sure to cite quotations correctly: for the play, use the author’s last name and page number (Sophocles 4); for the poem, use the poet’s last name and the line numbers (Shelley 4 – 5). • To show line breaks, use a slash (as in the example on the earlier slide). • Use an ellipsis in brackets […] if omitting any of the quotation as in the example on the earlier slide).

9. Guidelines for essay writing: • Maintain literary present tense when analyzing literature. • Use transitions between ideas within paragraphs and between paragraphs. • Do not use first- or second-person pronouns (e.g. avoid “I,” “me,” “you,” “your”). • Try to use newly acquired vocabulary, but be sure you are using it correctly. • Proofread carefully to avoid errors in grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

10. Be sure to refer to the handout on developing an evidence-based claim and the rubric for evidence-based claim writing. Happy Writing! 