User:ProfGray/REL312/Benchmark and Final essay

Baseline exercise and Final paper
→ The baseline exercise was described fully in a handout to students.

→ The final essay is described below in general terms, but the actionable version will be another handout to students.

Draft description
Goal: Demonstrate your current ability to write a brief argumentative essay that analyzes primary sources.

Topic: Write an argumentative essay about two of the best known document collections in contemporary Western society: the Hebrew Bible and Wikipedia.

Baseline exercise: Write 1 page only, double-spaced, excluding endnotes. No longer! Final paper: Write 4 pages only, double-spaced, excluding endnotes. No longer! •	You may refer to any Biblical or Wikipedia texts, including those mentioned in prior assignments. •	Ideas from other people should be attributed, where feasible, though the main idea or claim should be your own. •	The writing should be polished and peer-reviewed.
 * No research needed! You can use your common knowledge of the material.
 * Refer to at least one Biblical text (e.g., book, chapter, passage, phrase, or verse).
 * Keep in mind that the Hebrew Bible does not include the New Testament.
 * The writing should be polished.

Readers: Assume that the readers of your essay are college graduates who have taken several courses in comparative religion, including Hebrew Bible, and who help edit Wikipedia. So, do not put basic background in the essay on the Bible, Wikipedia, or concepts in religious studies. To give background information, add endnotes or an addendum.
 * Bulleted list item
 * For the final paper, identify your audience in the heading. Assume your readers are familiar with your selected texts or themes, or define any subset of academic scholars as your reading audience.

Grading rubric. Baseline is graded for completion, not content: This exercise will serve as a baseline to help you and faculty assess your progress toward the course’s final essay. It is anticipated that benchmark essays will be weaker than the final essay! Accordingly, the baseline will be graded only for completion: 3 points
 * Rubric details provided in class

Plagiarism and academic dishonesty will be disciplined per Miami University policies. See the Student Handbook, our syllabus, or speak with the instructor if you ever have questions about academic integrity.
 * No unattributed texts or ideas in the essay.
 * “Use quotation marks” as needed.

Baseline details
Enjoy this exercise and stay relaxed! Express your creative and analytical thinking about the two collections. Further details provided in class.

Final essay details
Topic: Write an argumentative essay that analyzes or explains any aspect(s) of the religions of the Hebrew Bible (or that time period) and Wikipedia. Papers are expected to be 4 pages of polished writing. No longer!


 * Further details provided in class.

Outline and presentation due: t/b/d
In advance, submit an outline of your argument, including a thorough claim or hypothesis. Prepare to discuss at least one pivotal analysis of a Biblical passage.

Grading rubric
For this essay, the key is a well-chosen question/problem and claim (20%); in-depth use of reasoning, evidence from primary sources, and reliable academic sources (20%); critical distance and NPOV (20%); substantive understanding of the religious and historical context (20%); and polished writing and attribution (20%).

Citation and originality guidelines
Ideally, students will formulate their own overarching claim for the paper and support it with their own analytical insights. Nonetheless, papers may rely upon other people’s ideas and findings. So, be sure to distinguish between other opinions and your own. Never present other people’s ideas and writing as your own:


 * “Quotations” must be marked.
 * Paraphrases must be cited.
 * Do not surf the web about this paper. Any website used must be cited – and include the URL. Do not copy something from a website (or elsewhere), change a few words, and fail to cite it!
 * Include a works cited list or bibliography, which does not count as part of the length of the paper.
 * Formal writing: Paper grades may take into account proper grammar, spelling, syntax, etc.


 * Please use the Chicago Manual of Style to format your citations. Chicago style requires a brief citation in a footnote when you cite a source in your text and a full citation for your references in a bibliography at the end of your document. For more information on how to format both a note and a bibliography entry see part three of the Chicago Manual of Style Online:  http://www.lib.muohio.edu/indexes/redirect/962.
 * * You may add background explanatory information in foot- or end-notes.
 * * All sources that you consult must be cited, even if the assignment does not permit outside sources.

Specific format guidelines. Further details provided in class.