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Essay Questions

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Hi all!

 

I'm currently halfway through my BA majoring in Ancient History and before I graduate and move on (fingers crossed) to a Masters degree I'd love to improve my essay writing skills. So, I was hoping for some question ideas to base some practice essays around. I must say, Late Republican Rome is my favourite period of Roman history at the moment so something surrounding that would be great.

 

Thanks in advance,

A historian in training!

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Well you could write a small biography of a less well known ancient roman, for example one of the not so famous consuls from the 1st century, for example : Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus

 

You will have some research (there are at least two inscriptions, one in greek and one in latin, and also at least 10 citations in ancient greek litterature).

 

Your essay would be between 5 and 10 pages long, give a short (1 page max) presentation of the time in which he lived, then you'd go through each known step of his carreer (a bit like Broughton's Magistrates, but more developped if you can) and provide more informations on events in which he is known to have participated. Of course you won't forget to give some details on his family, both parents, wife and children.

 

Give yourself about three weeks to wrap this around, so that it stays limited.

 

(this was the kind of exercice I got in my 1st year at the University, I just had a different senator who was from the second punic war)

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Well you could write a small biography of a less well known ancient roman, for example one of the not so famous consuls from the 1st century, for example : Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus

 

You will have some research (there are at least two inscriptions, one in greek and one in latin, and also at least 10 citations in ancient greek litterature).

 

Your essay would be between 5 and 10 pages long, give a short (1 page max) presentation of the time in which he lived, then you'd go through each known step of his carreer (a bit like Broughton's Magistrates, but more developped if you can) and provide more informations on events in which he is known to have participated. Of course you won't forget to give some details on his family, both parents, wife and children.

 

Give yourself about three weeks to wrap this around, so that it stays limited.

 

(this was the kind of exercice I got in my 1st year at the University, I just had a different senator who was from the second punic war)

 

 

That's a great idea. Thanks!

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Was he the "Lucullus dines with Lucullus" Lucullus?

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Here's one I set a class recently

 

'Was the assassination of Julius Caesar justified?'

 

and another

 

'What were the four most crucial turning points in the development of Rome as a city?'

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