In 10-12 pages construct a strong argumentative research paper. This will be a basic essay with research to support your assertions. You will choose a creation myth and, by using exhaustive research, you will construct an argumentative essay explaining the relevance of the creation myth and its roots—this paper is not necessarily about the myth; it’s about the lessons. One way that you’ll need to look at this assignment is by showing how the creation myth teaches its civilization what to value. Remember that you are not proving or disproving the myth; you are merely telling your reader how the elements of this story constructs the society and, ultimately, teaches the inhabitants how to live by understanding what is important. Sometimes these lessons are explicit while, most often, they are implicit—we often don’t question the belief. To excel in this assignment, you’ll need to expose and analyze the implicit lessons of the creation myth taught through the story
English 101 Research Paper Assignment: Creation Stories/Myths
Task: In 10-12 pages construct a strong argumentative research paper. This will be a basic essay
with research to support your assertions. You will choose a creation myth and, by using exhaustive
research, you will construct an argumentative essay explaining the relevance of the creation myth
and its roots—this paper is not necessarily about the myth; it’s about the lessons. One way that
you’ll need to look at this assignment is by showing how the creation myth teaches its civilization
what to value. Remember that you are not proving or disproving the myth; you are merely telling
your reader how the elements of this story constructs the society and, ultimately, teaches the
inhabitants how to live by understanding what is important. Sometimes these lessons are explicit
while, most often, they are implicit—we often don’t question the belief. To excel in this
assignment, you’ll need to expose and analyze the implicit lessons of the creation myth taught
through the story. Question everything, even the placement of an exclamation mark!
• Judeo-Christian
• Hindu
• Greek
• Egyptian
• Mayan
• Native American
• African
• Baseball
Grading Criteria:
• Works Cited Page
• Sources
• Quality of sources
• Use of sources
• Copies of sources
• Argument / Content
Bibliography
Bulfinch, Thomas. Bulfinch’s Mythology. New York: The Modern Library, 1998.
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton U.P., 1973.
Eliade, Mircea. The Myth of the Eternal Return, or Cosmos and History. Trans. Willard D. Trask.
Princeton: Princeton U.P., 1974.
Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths. London: Penguin Books, 1992.
— — —. The White Goddess. New York: The Noonday Press, 1993.
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. New York: Meridian, 1989.
http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/CS/CSIndex.html
Points Possible: 200
Length: 10-12 pages
Sources: A “C” paper will have at least 6 credible sources. Furthermore, every paper you write this
semester needs a Works Cited page—this page is not included in the length of the
paper total.
Note Copies: Actual copies of the page(s) you are citing in your paper with appropriate notes
concerning the highlighted quote and its use or potential use in your paper and its
argument. (Up to 100 points will be deducted from your final grade if you are missing
these copies)
Source Copies: Actual copies of the page(s) of the sources you are using in your paper. For a book,
this would be the title page and the following page with the publication information.
For an online source, it may be the page of the website or the page where you found
your journal article which possibly includes an abstract. (Up to 100 points will be
deducted if you are missing these copies)
Use of quotes: Follow correct MLA format and remember to explain your quote thoroughly and to
relate it back to your topic sentence and ultimately your thesis statement.
Outline: Include a final outline with the copies of your sources in a file folder with your name on
the outside. (50 points will be deducted if you are missing this outline)The outline
only needs to include just the following:
I. Thesis Statement
II. Topic Sentence
III. Topic Sentence
IV. Topic Sentence
V. Topic Sentence
VI. Topic Sentence
VII.Topic Sentence
VIII.Topic Sentence
IX. Topic Sentence
X. Topic Sentence
XI. Topic Sentence
XII.Concluding Sentence
Questions to ask as you analyze your myth:
Do you have a published story of your creation myth? This will be your primary source. You don’t
need more than one version of the actual myth. Having more than one will make
your paper and argument confusing to you and to your reader.
Who is telling the story?
Does the storyteller gain anything by telling the story?
Who is this story being told to?
What sort of language does the storyteller use? (English, Latin, Greek…; or masculine, colonial,
imperialistic)
What lessons are being taught through the story?
What are the intrinsic values of the myth?
Is the story being told through an interpreter?
How have scholars analyzed, interpreted, and/or criticized the myth or the culture that is created
through the lessons of the myth?
Task: In 10-12 pages construct a strong argumentative research paper. This will be a basic essay
with research to support your assertions. You will choose a creation myth and, by using exhaustive
research, you will construct an argumentative essay explaining the relevance of the creation myth
and its roots—this paper is not necessarily about the myth; it’s about the lessons. One way that
you’ll need to look at this assignment is by showing how the creation myth teaches its civilization
what to value. Remember that you are not proving or disproving the myth; you are merely telling
your reader how the elements of this story constructs the society and, ultimately, teaches the
inhabitants how to live by understanding what is important. Sometimes these lessons are explicit
while, most often, they are implicit—we often don’t question the belief. To excel in this
assignment, you’ll need to expose and analyze the implicit lessons of the creation myth taught
through the story. Question everything, even the placement of an exclamation mark!
• Judeo-Christian
• Hindu
• Greek
• Egyptian
• Mayan
• Native American
• African
• Baseball
Grading Criteria:
• Works Cited Page
• Sources
• Quality of sources
• Use of sources
• Copies of sources
• Argument / Content
Bibliography
Bulfinch, Thomas. Bulfinch’s Mythology. New York: The Modern Library, 1998.
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton: Princeton U.P., 1973.
Eliade, Mircea. The Myth of the Eternal Return, or Cosmos and History. Trans. Willard D. Trask.
Princeton: Princeton U.P., 1974.
Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths. London: Penguin Books, 1992.
— — —. The White Goddess. New York: The Noonday Press, 1993.
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes. New York: Meridian, 1989.
http://www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/CS/CSIndex.html
Points Possible: 200
Length: 10-12 pages
Sources: A “C” paper will have at least 6 credible sources. Furthermore, every paper you write this
semester needs a Works Cited page—this page is not included in the length of the
paper total.
Note Copies: Actual copies of the page(s) you are citing in your paper with appropriate notes
concerning the highlighted quote and its use or potential use in your paper and its
argument. (Up to 100 points will be deducted from your final grade if you are missing
these copies)
Source Copies: Actual copies of the page(s) of the sources you are using in your paper. For a book,
this would be the title page and the following page with the publication information.
For an online source, it may be the page of the website or the page where you found
your journal article which possibly includes an abstract. (Up to 100 points will be
deducted if you are missing these copies)
Use of quotes: Follow correct MLA format and remember to explain your quote thoroughly and to
relate it back to your topic sentence and ultimately your thesis statement.
Outline: Include a final outline with the copies of your sources in a file folder with your name on
the outside. (50 points will be deducted if you are missing this outline)The outline
only needs to include just the following:
I. Thesis Statement
II. Topic Sentence
III. Topic Sentence
IV. Topic Sentence
V. Topic Sentence
VI. Topic Sentence
VII.Topic Sentence
VIII.Topic Sentence
IX. Topic Sentence
X. Topic Sentence
XI. Topic Sentence
XII.Concluding Sentence
Questions to ask as you analyze your myth:
Do you have a published story of your creation myth? This will be your primary source. You don’t
need more than one version of the actual myth. Having more than one will make
your paper and argument confusing to you and to your reader.
Who is telling the story?
Does the storyteller gain anything by telling the story?
Who is this story being told to?
What sort of language does the storyteller use? (English, Latin, Greek…; or masculine, colonial,
imperialistic)
What lessons are being taught through the story?
What are the intrinsic values of the myth?
Is the story being told through an interpreter?
How have scholars analyzed, interpreted, and/or criticized the myth or the culture that is created
through the lessons of the myth?