Aristotle was the greatest of ancient writers and thinkers who turned a critical lens on the work of Sophocles. In The Poetics, he

would develop a theory of the art of tragedy from his study of Oedipu

The essay must make substantial references to the primary texts, and must use critical materials (secondary sources), directly, for

support. If the topic is comparative, both primary texts must be equally used in an alternating manner. Quotations from the primary texts

must be used to support critical arguments, and proper form must be maintained http://seneca.libguides.com/content.php?

pid=357444&sid=2923501
Do not fill up your paper with quotes that are too long – this will be considered padding. Write analytically, and try not to spend too

much time summarizing or merely reciting information from other texts. Avoid thinking of these as personal essays or emotional

reflections. You must use your resource material to support your thesis.
You must do outside research in order to support your paper. Secondary sources must be quoted and cited properly, following MLA rules.

Each essay question requires the use of at least three scholarly secondary sources. These must come from scholarly books or academic

journal articles. Do not use book reviews! All texts must be cited correctly in MLA style:

Critical texts, in the form of books, periodicals, databases and websites are available on the writers and the concepts. Use Seneca’s

libraries, but do not hesitate to use the public system as well. The Scott Library at York University has excellent resources:

http://www.library.yorku.ca/ccm/jsp/homepage.jsp

You are allowed to use e-books if they are drawn from library collections, but you are not allowed to use those that come from Internet

sources such as Google Books. Google has limited copyright privileges and most of their e-texts are incomplete. I will double check these

types of sources.
The Seneca library system, http://library.senecacollege.ca/ is an extremely valuable resource, which will help you to find traditional and

virtual material. Do not try to rely only on engines such as Google and Yahoo. On the other hand, Google Scholar will allow you to preview

or access a number of scholarly publications and, if they are not available through the search engine, then you can search the titles in

the Seneca library databases.  Do not use commercial sites such as Amazon.com, and do not use Coles Notes or CliffsNotes, nor should you

use SparkNotes. Avoid all “free essay” and “custom essay” sites!
You are not allowed to use course textbooks – those written as secondary sources for teaching purposes – commercial sites or Wikipedia for

your essay. Your Norton Anthology is a primary text, so it is the only textbook that you will be using. Limit your use of encyclopedias,

even scholarly ones. Avoid using more than one critical text by the same author.
But do not rely exclusively on secondary materials to make your argument; instead, you must use these sources only where appropriate. If

you fill your paper with long quotes from secondary sources, I will regard this as padding, and as evidence of inadequate effort. However,

if you show too little evidence of thoughtful and proper use of secondary materials, I will also regard this as evidence of inadequate

effort.
All sources must be cited; otherwise you will run the risk of plagiarism. The College’s policy will be strictly followed in this regard;

therefore, a grade of “0” will be given on the assignment. http://library.senecacollege.ca/Academic_Honesty/index.html And all citations

must be in standard MLA (Modern Language Association) format. While it is good to discuss your essay with others, and even to have them

read or look at portions of it, it is imperative that you do your own work. If someone else “helps” you to write your paper, you might be

verging on plagiarism. I will be punitive if I suspect that your essay is not the fruit of your own labour.

You can bring drafts or outlines to me for review, and you are free to discuss approaches with tutors in the Learning Centre. Try to start

your research as soon as possible, and once you have assembled your information leave enough time for writing and rewriting. Most

important, make sure that your work is your own, and that you take time to proofread and edit carefully.
There are a variety of online writing and grammar guides in the Seneca system, which can be of great help:

http://seneca.libguides.com/content.php?pid=347235&sid=2840578

(Note well: Aristotle’s Poetics and Nietzsche’s The Birth of Tragedy are two of the three required secondary texts for this question. A

third secondary text will be required to support the writing of the essay.)