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Ima Mustang
Mrs. Hughes
English I – 5
02 May 2011
Odyssey Analytical Synthesis Essay
Your next major writing assignment will be to evaluate Odysseus’s leadership (or lack
thereof) within the Odyssey. In his article, “Mandela: His 8 Lessons of Leadership,” Richard
Stengel outlines eight important teachings from one of the world’s most renowned leaders.
Using these “leadership lessons,” evaluate a Odysseus as a leader. In other words, illustrate
whether or not he is a strong leader using textual evidence and THREE of Mandela’s leadership
lessons as your proof. In writing your essay, it will be necessary to rely heavily on the epic, as
you will be required to provide textual support for every point that you make.
Your essay must be a minimum of five paragraphs – introduction, three body paragraphs,
and a conclusion. You are, of course, encouraged to have more body paragraphs, but three is all
that is required. The introduction must end with a thesis statement that directly states whether or
not Odysseus is effective and why. Each subsequent body paragraph should then begin with a
topic sentence that directly relates back to the thesis statement. The easiest method of
organization will be to make each body paragraph about how Odysseus does or does not fulfill
one of the three standards of leadership you have chosen. From there, the entire body paragraph
must work to prove the topic sentence. Each body paragraph must also have a minimum of two
(2) concrete details in the form of blended quotations from the epic with appropriate internal
citations. Remember that the appropriate format for an internal citation contains the MLA
abbreviation for the Odyssey followed by a period, a space, the book number, a period, and the
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line number. The citation will look like this: (Od. 9.174). For each concrete detail, you must
have a minimum of two sentences of commentary/analysis. This analysis should NOT
summarize the quote, paraphrase the quote, or deviate from the topic of the paragraph.
Commentary and analysis must analyze the quote in relation to the topic sentence. Analysis, at
its heart, seeks to answer how and why. Your commentary/analysis must also focus on the quote
specifically before making any generalizations. Finally, be sure to end each body paragraph with
a concluding sentence and the essay as a whole with a concluding paragraph that echoes your
thesis idea and brings your paper effectively to a close.
As always, your essay must adhere to MLA guidelines, or heavy point deductions will
result. The essay must be uniformly double-spaced with 1” margins and typed in 12-point Times
New Roman font. Be sure to include a proper MLA heading and a header with your last name
and the pagination. The header should be 1” from the right edge of the page and ½” from the top
edge of the page. Finally, be sure that your essay has both an original title and a Works Cited
page that cites the novel.
In-class work on the essay will occur during the week of April 18-20. The typed rough
draft of the essay will be due for a quiz grade and in-class editing on Monday, April 25, 2011.
The final draft will be due in class for a summative grade on Monday, May 2, 2011. In
addition, you will be responsible for submitting your essay to www.turnitin.com by the
beginning of the class period on the due date. Essays that are not submitted to turnitin will not
be graded and will be recorded as a zero in the grade book. Rules regarding plagiarism and
cheating will be strictly enforced.
This is a high-level thinking and writing assignment that I know you are well-capable of,
and I will be happy to help you throughout the process. No question is too big or too small, so
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be sure to ask for assistance at any time you need it. I want your essays to be great, and I know
that you’re all capable of it!
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Body Paragraph Structure: A HELPFUL REMINDER
Topic Sentence
Concrete Detail #1 (Blended quotation with citation)
Commentary/Analysis Sentence #1
Commentary/Analysis Sentence #2
Concrete Detail #2 (Blended quotation with citation)
Commentary/Analysis Sentence #1
Commentary/Analysis Sentence #2
Concluding Sentence