A Thesis Statement and Argument the Epic of the Cid Assignment: Write a paper (1300-1500 words) with a thesis statement and argument backed up with evidence from the primary source you have just finished reading, The Epic of the Cid.
Your paper will be a response to one of the questions provided, with your answer serving as your thesis statement.
Questions:
We typically think about knights in terms of (1) military performance, (2) his relationship with his lord, or (3) his relationship with the women in his life. Focus on one of these three areas. Why is the Cid an ideal knight? That is, what one thing does he do over and over that makes him ideal?
Some have argued that the Cid, Ruy Diaz de Vivar, is a hero of Christian Spain, whose goal is to fight against and win land from Muslims. Why is this argument wrong?
Hint: For either of these prompts, your thesis is started for youóìThe Cid is an ideal knight because or the Cid is not fighting a religious war against Muslims because about you must come up with the why and back it up with evidence from the text.
Citing Evidence: It is important for you to ground your argument in evidence from both primary sources. Incorporate the source material into your own writing by paraphrasing or quoting.
Because your references should be confined to class readings, you may use parenthetical citation, rather than the Chicago style citation historians prefer. That is, cite as follows: (Cid, p. 12). I discourage you from using sources beyond The Cid. Instead, concentrate on writing a good argument.
