Paper Q&A
When will the questions be available?
Questions for the midterm and final exams are already available! Please see below:
Choose one question only. You may not answer the same question twice. Questions are as follows:
What is the necessity of proper order?
How does East Asian law differ from Western law?
Explain moral markets.
Fully explain Confucian moral theory and practice.
Explain the significance of the family and the importance of ritual.
Why is Confucius important?
For both the midterm and the final exams, you must answer the question using both lectures and Yao.
How will the essays be graded?
Your graders will be looking for three things:
Does the essay present an argument that answers the question chosen by the student?
Are there references to the book and lectures to support the essay’s argument?
Is the text well-structured and in compliance with formatting requirements?
If your essay satisfies the three criteria above, you will do well regardless of which specific argument you use. Any citation of the course material that serves to support an argument that answers your question will be accepted as a valid source.
How do I submit my essay?
You have two options:
Through Canvas: go to the course Canvas page and click Assignments > Midterm Exam.
Through Turnitin: log into turnitin.com with your UCSD email address and click POLI 113A > Midterm Exam.
Either option will work the same, and will not affect the grading process in any way.
How long should the essay be?
6-8 pages, not including the citations page.
What formatting should I use?
Times New Roman, 12pt font, double-spaced, one inch margins.
Do I need to cite both lectures and readings?
Yes. You should cite both the lectures and readings in your papers.
How should I distribute my citations between lectures and readings?
We are not looking for any particular ratio. It is ok to rely more on one source than the other, or to cite equally from them.
Can I use outside sources?
You may not use outside sources (i.e. a book that’s not assigned in the syllabus).
How do I cite a lecture?
You need to provide date of the lecture when you cite the lectures. We don’t particularly care about the format of your citation (i.e. APA, etc.). It can simply be something like “POLI 113A Lecture, September 27, 2021”.
Can I cite lectures from a previous year?
No. Please only cite lectures given during the Fall 2021 quarter.
I am enrolled in Section [A00], can I cite lectures from [B00]? What’s my enrolled section?
You can check which section you are enrolled in on WebReg. In general, the [A00] lectures should be very close to the [B00] lectures. We highly encourage you to follow your enrolled section only, and cite the lectures accordingly.
How many citations do I need?
Around at least 3-5 citations per page.
When citing the book and lectures, do we have to paraphrase them? Or is it ok if we include quotes?
It is ok to include quotes, but they should be short and few. Ideally no more than 3 short quotes in the whole paper. You should prioritize using your own words to answer the question. For clarification on citations, paraphrases, and quotes, please read this class announcement: https://canvas.ucsd.edu/courses/30513/discussion_topics/370432
When are the deadlines?
Midterm: November 12 at 4pm.
Final: December 10 at 4pm.
Do you accept late submissions? I have documented excuse to submit a late paper. Where should I send the document to?
We accept late assignments with a late penalty of 5% per day. This penalty applies even you have a documented excuse. If you need to submit an assignment late, you can simply submit it on Canvas, and Canvas will accept your submission and automatically deduct the late penalty. You do not need to send your documented excuse (i.e. doctor’s note) to us, since the late penalty applies anyway. Please understand that the reason for this policy is that the midterm and final prompts have been available to you since week 1!
Is the “proper order” question about why proper order is necessary? Or is it asking what it takes to achieve proper order?
We will accept either approach, and you can also write about both if you prefer. All that matters is that you succeed in answering the question as you interpret it.
What files do you accept through Canvas submissions?
We only accept PDFs. Please convert your Word document (.doc) into a PDF file (.pdf) before you submit on Canvas.
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