exegetical paper

Exegetical Paper

Each student will write one exegetical paper of approximately 750 words (+/- 50 words). The paper will focus on one reading or section of a reading, and offer a detailed account of the concepts and arguments offered in the text. The idea is to explain the reading accurately and fairly in a way that makes the ideas accessible to a peer of similar educational background who is not already familiar with the text. An ideal exegetical paper will be clear, precise, and accessible. It will make only modest use of quotations from the reading, as the idea is to offer an account in your own words. It will be focused on the main line of reasoning (so one thing you will be demonstrating is your own ability to sort out what is most important in the reading), offering clear definitions of key concepts and terms of art. It will provide an organized and thorough account of the central argument or claim of the text being explained.

A weak exegetical paper will be confused, vague or ambiguous. It will eschew original prose and simply string together quotes. It will attempt to explain every last detail, without focusing-in on what is most significant/important in the text. It will use technical terms (words that may be relatively common, but used in a very specific or peculiar sense) and neologisms (terms coined by the author of the text to capture some novel idea or concept) without defining them for the reader. It will be jumbled or confused in its organization, or omit significant “moves” made in the text.

Papers that approximate the ideal will receive A’s, while papers that exhibit the kinds of weaknesses I have described here will receive a lower grade proportional to the extent and intensity of those weaknesses. You may choose to write your exegetical paper on the same reading for which you are offering a précis (in a sense just greatly expanding the exegetical portion of the précis), or you may chose a different reading.

Since this is only an exegetical exercise, you do not really need and “introduction” or “concluding” paragraph. Your “introduction” should rather be a simple identification of your text followed by a dive right into your explanation, and your “conclusion” will simply be describing the conclusion reached in your chosen text. You may well find that it is prudent to take on only a portion or section of a given text, rather than the whole thing, in which case it will be critical to make that explicit in the opening of your paper. For example: “In this paper I will be explaining the ‘Philosophical Suicide’ section of Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus.” If you do not specify that you are taking on only a portion of a text, I will assume you mean to explain the entire text.

Timeline: 8/26 Inform me of your choice of reading

9/4 (by 5PM) Turn in first draft of paper (400 word minimum) via email as a word document for feedback

9/18 (by 5PM) Turn in final version of paper via dropbox for grading and feedback.

Your final grade for this paper will be based on the quality of the final version given the criteria described above. If you fail to turn in a first draft, there will 25% reduction of your final grade.