Possible concepts from Gorgias through St. Augustine This course is naturally di

Possible concepts from Gorgias through St. Augustine
This course is naturally divided into three segments. For each of these segments, you will be required to write a 4-5 page double spaced paper. There are a few options for how approach this.
The Conversations Paper – Take two of the major theorists and compare and contrast their ideas. Ask yourself, for example, “What would Aristotle have to say about Cicero’s notion of the perfect orator?” A question like that could define the whole paper. For this, you can approach each author equally, or you could, as this example question would lead to, view one author through the lens of another. In other words, you could use the ideas of one author to critique the other author’s idea(s).
A Dialectic between Great Minds – You could write two or more authors engaged in a dialectic regarding a major rhetorical concept, much like Plato’s Phaedrus. This is not a simple play, however. You are to represent each author’s thoughts and character as well as you are able to and in detail. Since this takes a different format from a traditional paper, the word count will be the same as a 4-5 page paper, even if it runs a bit longer (or shorter, if you single space each author’s words). For reference, 4-5 pages is 1000-1250 words.
A Criticism – You may find a current piece of rhetoric (say, the discourse surrounding Coronavirus, or a Presidential speech), and apply the major rhetorical concepts and ideas of one of the authors to that piece of rhetoric to critique it. What would Plato say about Obama’s speech on race, for example? An option with this paper is to do it in the voice of the author – you may address Trump as Plato OR you can opt to just use Plato’s ideas to critique the piece of rhetoric.
What I will be looking for and grading you on: These papers are to demonstrate your grasp of the material that we read and to show that you can adequately apply the material to itself and/or to other pieces of rhetoric. As such, I will be looking for you to demonstrate a strong understanding of the material. How well do you express the ideas of the author(s) in your own words? I will also be looking for how you apply these ideas. Is your application accurate? Are your arguments regarding that application sound?
Also, I will of course be looking to see that your paper is mechanically sound. Is it well organized? Do you have a clear thesis statement that is your argument? Do you back it up with several main ideas that you adequately support with examples from the text and elsewhere, if you use outside sources? Is the paper grammatically sound?
In several cases, we do not read the entirety of a major author’s work(s). You will VERY likely have to go beyond what you are required to read for class to do well on the paper. A “B” paper rehashes what we’ve done for class and does a moderately decent job of that. What separates an “A” paper from a “B” paper is that extra effort above and beyond what’s already been required for class.