When you finish Antigone , you’ll write an essay analyzing the causes and/or effects of an issue, situation, or event in your journal. Your textbook explains the assignment this way: “…you’ll help readers understand an event or situation by explaining Why did it happen? (its causes) or What are the results? (its effects).”
You can choose any issue, situation, or event that catches your interest. Try to choose something that you have some strong feelings about because your passion will come across in your essay and lend emotion to your writing, and it will help you keep your interest level up as you do the pre-writing and then complete the final essay. Your textbook offers some general possibilities for topics on page 752. If you decide to start with one of those generalities, be sure to narrow your topic down to a specific idea.
Another idea that your textbook suggests on page 753 is a literary question such as: Why is Antigone, written more than two thousand years ago, still popular today? That type of question is entirely appropriate for this exercise, so go ahead with any idea you have in that vein if you choose.
You may want to put feelers out in several directions before settling on a particular topic; for example, your brainstorming might start with generating broad categories like current events, literature, hometown politics, or animal rights. Then you can brainstorm within those categories to find a topic. You should list at least five possible topics.
That's an interesting assignment. Have fun with it!
To generate possible topics for your essay analyzing the causes and/or effects of an issue, situation, or event, you can follow these steps:
1. Start by brainstorming broad categories that interest you. These can include current events, literature, politics, social issues, science, technology, environment, education, or any other area that catches your attention.
2. Once you have some broad categories, brainstorm within each category to come up with more specific ideas. For example, if you choose literature as a category, you can think about specific books, authors, or literary themes that you feel strongly about.
3. Consider your personal interests and experiences. Think about issues or situations that you have strong feelings about and that you can write passionately about. Your personal connection to the topic will help you engage readers and make your essay more compelling.
4. Consider the impact and relevance of the topic. Choose something that has significance or relevance in the present day or has had a lasting impact over time. This will help you explore meaningful causes or effects in your essay.
5. Once you have brainstormed within each category, select at least five possible topics. These can be general ideas or more specific questions within your chosen category. Make sure to narrow down your topic to a specific idea or question to provide a focused analysis in your essay.
Remember that you can also explore a literary question, such as why a specific literary work like Antigone is still popular today. This can be an interesting angle to analyze and understand the causes and effects of its continued popularity.
Overall, the key is to choose a topic that you feel strongly about, that is relevant and impactful, and that you can provide a focused analysis on.