Paper Topics Index

PAPER TOPICS AND DUE DATES (Click on # for topic)

Paper #1: Due Thursday October 26th in class

Paper #2: Due Tuesday November 14th in class.

Revision of 1 or 2: Due Thursday December 7th BY MIDNIGHT BY DROP BOX (sooner is better!)
IF YOU SUBMIT BY DROP BOX YOU MUST TURN IN YOUR ORIGINAL PAPER WITH MY COMMENTS IN CLASS ON THURSDAY (A PHOTOCOPY IS FINE). NO EXTENSIONS.

Paper #3: Due Monday December 11 by 5:00 pm by drop box.

NOTE: if you turn a paper in late, you have forfeited your right to revise any paper as outlined below.

REVISION OF ONE PAPER: . You may rewrite one (1) of the first two papers and improve your grade by one grade (eg. C+ to B+). I cannot guarantee that your revision will receive the full grade upward, but I can guarantee you that it won't go down. If you have ESL problems (you are not alone!) I would strongly suggest that you get help at LARC or go over the paper with another student (if you do the latter, make sure that you add that student’s name to your title page as “editor”).

You can also see me during office hours and I will go over your paper with you.

YOU MUST INCLUDE THE ORIGINAL PAPER WITH YOUR REVISION. You must revise your original paper; you cannot simply choose a different topic and write a new paper!

GENERAL POINTS ABOUT PAPERS (READ THIS!!!!)

FORMAT:

For each paper, please provide a title page that includes:

Your name and student id#
EA 170 Spring 2014
Paper Topic # (1, 2, 3), Question #
Date

Make sure you include page numbering!

Give the paper topic and question number (eg.. Paper 1-1 or Paper 1-2) on the first page of the essay. DO NOT PUT YOUR NAME ON THE ESSAY ITSELF. I want to be able to read the essay without knowing who you are. BUT PLEASE NUMBER THE PAGES!

EVALUATION CRITERIA (see also GRADING RUBRIC)

An excellent essay:

1. Will not simply summarize the text being analyzed.

2. Will be organized to make a clear argument..

3. Will include appropriate quotations from the texts to be analyzed (with page numbers). Quotations will be explained to show how they support your argument.

4. Will utilize secondary sources (readings, lectures, any outside sources), with page number, URLs, or dates (for lectures), to support your argument (see "Citation Forms" below). If you use readings or other sources from outside of the course, provide a bibliography at the end. FAILING TO PROPERLY CITE SOURCES WILL LOWER YOUR GRADE. If you are unclear about what constitutes plagiarism, click here.

5. Will not simply quote from secondary sources without explaining those quotations.

6. Will correctly distinguish between the author, translator, narrator, and characters in the story.

For example, do not confuse Royall Tyler (the translator of Tale of Genji) with Murasaki Shikibu (the author of Tale of Genji). And do not confuse Murasaki Shikibu, the author of Tale of Genji and Murasaki Shikibu's Diary, with the character Murasaki in Tale of Genji.)

7. Will follow common grammar rules, will use SPELL CHECK, and will be copy edited for common mistakes like "their/there/they're." Names, including authors of secondary materials, will be spelled correctly. Titles will be appropriately underlined, italicized, or in quotation marks (see "How Titles Should Be Indicated" below).

PROBLEMS WITH GRAMMAR, STRUCTURE OF ARGUMENT, ETC.

If you have ESL problems (you are not alone!) I would strongly suggest that you get help at LARC (Learning and Academic Resource Center). If you go to LARC, make sure that you plan enough time to go to one of their workshops (held nearly every day) so you can then get an individual tutoring session. You can also go over your paper with another student (if you do the latter, make sure that you add that student’s name to your title page as “editor”) before you turn it in. And of course, you can also see me during office hours and I will go over a draft paper or revision with you.

CITATION FORMS:

You need to cite your sources, not only for direct quotations, but also for ideas. YOU MUST CITE ANY SOURCE EVEN IF IT IS FROM THE INTERNET. A bibliography is only needed if you are using materials from outside of the course.

Generally, if you have named the text or article in your sentence, you can just give the page number. But if it is not clear what text you are referring to, please make sure you include enough information to identify the text.

In his introduction to Tale of Genji, the translator Royall Tyler notes "nothing indicateswhen Murasaki Shikibu began her tale or when she finished it" (p. x).

But

Royall Tyler notes, "nothing indicates when Murasaki began her tale or when she finished it" (Tyler, Introduction, Tale of Genji, p. x).

If we have only read one thing by the author, the name is good enough:

For a direction quotation:

As Hitomi Tonomura explains in her article, "xxxxx" (Tonomura, p. 120).

For a paraphrase of an idea:

According to Tonomura, XYZ is true (Tonomura, p.120).

When citing or quoting an author who has more than one article or book used in the course, make sure you distinguish which article/translation you mean. It is okay to shorten the title, as long as it is clear what text you are referring to:

According to the translator Royall Tyler, XYZ is true (R. Tyler, , Introduction, The Tale of Genji, p. x)

According to the translator Royall Tyler, ABC is true (R. Tyler, Introduction, "Nonomiya," p. 45)

_________________

According to Murasaki Shikibu, a woman should follow a middle course: not flaunting her knowledge, but not completely hiding it either (Murasaki Shikibu Diary, p. 123).

In chapter two's "rainy night discussion," because the conversation among the young men ranges so naturally back and forth, it is not always easy to tell what the author, Murasaki Shikibu, really believes about Heian period normative ideals for women (Tale of Genji, pp. 22-24).

In discussing texts such as Tale of Genji make sure that you distinguish between the translator, the author, and the narrator or characters in the story:

In Tale of Genji, the narrator comments, "Genji's glowing beauty was incomparably appealing" (p. 37).

When Genji was in exile, he started an affair with the daughter of a former provincial governor living in Akashi, but he worried that Murasaki, who had continued to provide material support in the form of clothing and emotional support in the form of letters would find out and be hurt (Tale of Genji, p. 272).

The translator Royall Tyler notes "nothing indicates when Murasaki Shikibu began her tale or when she finished it" (Tyler, Introduction, Tale of Genji, p. x).

NOTE: if you are reading a translation of Tale of Genji that is different than the one assigned for class YOU MUST indicate the translator by name, and whether you are using the full or abbreviated version!! And if you are reading a modern Japanese version, please supply the Japanese so that I can check your translation.

When citing a class lecture, simply give the date of the lecture:

As noted in lecture (4/12/10), marriage in the Heian period was often highly politicized.....

When citing the internet, give the URL and the date accessed (if the URL is too long, provide it in a bibliography and give a shortened version in the citation)

HOW TITLES SHOULD BE INDICATED:

Titles of books:

Tale of Genji or Tale of Genji (choose ONE and be consistent!)

Titles of articles:

“Marriage Institutions”

Titles of short stories and plays:

Tadanori or “Tadanori” (choose ONE and be consistent!)

SOME WORDS THAT PEOPLE CONFUSE OFTEN-- if you’re not sure what the difference is, look them up before you use them!!!

aesthetic
ascetic
esoteric

Confucian
confusion

court
courtier
courtesan (remember that a courtesan is NOT the same as a geisha)

economic, economics
economical (in American English this means something is cheap)

envious
enviable

exorcise
exercise

feminine
feminism
feminist

gender
genetic
genre

ideal
idyllic
idealistic (this means you have high ideals)
idealism (this is the practice of having high ideals)
idealized (this means you are considered ideal)

NOTE: realistic and idealistic are not parallel terms. The parallel terms are realistic (X is considered to be just like something real) and idealized (X is considered or made to be ideal).

marital
martial

wandering
wondering

EDITING:

awk. = awkward phrasing

w.w. = wrong word

sp = spelling

circle around word = indicates spelling error or problem with word choice/usage/grammar

wavy underline = sentence doesn't makes sense, problems with grammar, word choice, or missing words

Numbered comments:

1. Synopsis/summary of plot/article rather than analysis.

2. Not clearly organized to answer the question; argument difficult to follow.

3. Didn't support answer with details from the reading.

4. Failed to cite properly.

5. Cited secondary sources, but did not explain those quotations.

6. Confused author/narrator/character.

7. Significant grammar, syntactic, and spelling problems that interfered with clarity of argument.

7a. Did not follow basic rules for italicizing titles.

8. Simply failed to answer the question.