IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT EXAMS AND GROUP PROJECTS

DUE DATES

Take-home Midterm: Due by dropbox 8 p.m. Monday Feb 3. If you don't know how to access dropbox, click here.

Group Research Assignment:

Topics: due by dropbox 5 pm March 4th (so I can organize times the following week -- be prepared to either go on Tuesday or Thursday)

In-Class Presentations week 10 (Tuesday March 11 and and Thursday March 13): presentation schedule

3-5 page write-up due by dropbox Friday March 4 by 5:00 pm. MAKE SURE THAT YOU INCLUDE THE NAMES OF ALL YOUR MEMBERS ON THE FIRST PAGE OF THE WRITE-UP!!!

Take-home final: Due Thursday March 20 by dropbox 5:00 p.m by drop box.


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

FORMAT:

For the midterm and final, please provide a TITLE page that includes:

Your name(s) and student id#
East Asian 40 Winter 2014
Midterm, Group Project, OR Final
Date

For group final project, please include at the top of the first page:

Members of your group
Piece you are analyzing

Make sure you insert page numbering for all exams and papers!

For midterm and finals, please identify the number for each essay.


EVALUATION RUBRIC

AN EXCELLENT ESSAY:

1. Will not simply summarize the text being analyzed.

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

3. Will closely analyse the texts, including appropriate quotations (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 numbers, URLs, or dates (for lectures), to support your argument (see "Citation Form" below). If you use readings or other sources from outside of the course, provide a bibliography at the end. Failing to properly cite sources, including class materials, will lower your grade. If you use an outside source and fail to cite it, you could fail that question for plagiarism. CITE YOUR SOURCES.

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 Edward Seidensticker (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), with the character Murasaki in Tale of Genji or with the ominiscient narrator of Tale of Genji (an unnamed lady-in-waiting).

7. 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). And of course, you can also see me or the TA during office hours or by appointment.


CITATION FORM:

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

As Carmen Blacker says in Catalpa Bow , "xxxxx" (p. 120). [direct quotation]

According to Blacker, XYZ is true (p.120). [paraphrase of idea]

When citing or quoting an author who has more than one article or translation used in the course, make sure you distinguish which article you mean:

According to Royall Tyler's introduction to Japanese Tales , XYZ is true (Tyler,
Japanese Tales, p. 12)

According to Royall Tyler's introduction to Nonomiya, XYZ is true (Tyler, Japanese No Dramas," p. 43)

In discussing texts such as Tale of Genji etc. make sure that you distinguish between the translator, scholarly commentator, 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).

In Tale of Heike, Atsumori refuses to reveal his name to Kumagae, saying, "I don't need to give you my name....." (p. 395).

In his introduction to Tale of Genji, Richard Bowring notes that little is known of Murasaki Shikibu's personal life (p. 4).

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

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

When citing the internet, give me the URL; in the case of Wikipedia you can give the subject:

According to the website <The-Noh.com>, Kyogen "apparently first emerged as an independent art form during the Warring States period (1467-1568)" <http://www.the-noh.com/en/world/kyogen.html>.

According to the Wikipedia article on "Kyōgen," "kyōgen is a comical form, and its primary goal is to make its audience laugh."

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE INTERNET: when using the internet as a source, remember that internet sites often treat stories ahistorically, that is, without regard to the period in which the story was written. This course is primarily concerned with how stories change over time in relation to changing historical contexts, and so you need to use the internet cautiously.

 

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!!!

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

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

envious
enviable

feminine
feminism
feminist

exorcise
exercise

Confucian
confusion

aesthetic
ascetic
esoteric

wandering
wondering