Bibliography
Submit an annotated bibliography of at least five scholarly sources of information you will use for your final project. Review the assignment description to get an idea of the type of research that will help you formulate your paper. The sources must be formatted – you can use any citation style.
Research Paper
The Final Project Paper is a minimum five-page analytical research-based paper related to a unique religious community within one of the World Religions, takes a comparative approach, or analyzes a symbol of set of symbols. The paper must go beyond a descriptive narrative and demonstrate a scholarly analysis of the community using what you have learned in this course.
Analysis is the process of producing new information based on research and observation. The thesis in this research paper should represent new information (your ideas) based on your research. For example, a paper simply describing ‘Hebrew Israelites’ is not analytical, but a thesis paper stating ‘Hebew Israelites is a liberation theology that reflects a long history of ancient Jewish struggles, the Civil Rights movement in the United States and emancipation from racial persecution’ is an analytical statement that provides new information about the Hebrew Israelite community that will be supported by upcoming paragraphs in your paper. This makes it important to conduct research first, organize your data, and then create a thesis statement you can support with your researched data.
Steps to Produce a Successful Research Paper
Conduct research and collect data about the community.
Organize data into topics and consider the main theme for your paper. Your paper will not address everything you have researched about your community. You need to develop a theme.
Review your data and develop a declarative thesis statement about your community.
Organize the body of paper to support the thesis statement using terms and concepts from this course
Write introduction and conclusion last. See next section.
Paper Structure
The paper must be organized into an Introduction, Body (divided into subcategories) Conclusion, and References. Subheadings play an important role in organizing the paper during the writing process as well as for the reader.
Introductory Paragraph:
This paragraph provides an overview of the paper and must include a thesis statement, which is a declarative statement about the country that is based on the research and data presented in the body. The thesis statement should tell the reader what the paper is about and be grounded in at least three points presented in the paper. For example, The ‘Golden Rule’ is a religious archetype representing an ethic of reciprocity in Christianity (Sermon on the Mount, point 1), Hinduism (Mahabharata 5:1517, point 2), and Buddhism ( Udana-Varga 5:18, point 3). Since the introduction and conclusion are based on the body, they should be written last.
(The Body of paper elaborates on research and data tied to the points in the thesis statement. The data should have intext citations linking the information to the bibliography. The data should be presented using terms and concepts presented in the lessons, lectures, and readings. End the paragraph with a transition sentence that leads to the next paragraph (ie. ‘In addition to point one, point two.’) or use subtitles for each paragraph.)
Body Paragraph One:
This paragraph elaborates on the history or theory that is the foundation of the these. If you are situating a community in its social and historical context in the thesis, you should provide a brief historical synopsis. If you are referencing a theoretical framework, such as the archetype theory used in the example above, then you should define and describe it. Cite in text as needed.
Body Paragraph Two:
This paragraph elaborates on research and data tied to a point in the thesis statement. For example, a paragraph describing the ‘Do unto others’ meaning in the Sermon on the Mount in the Christian gospels, Mark and Luke, supports point one in the thesis example above. Cite in text as needed.
Body Paragraph Three:
This paragraph elaborates on research and data tied to the next point in the thesis statement. For example, a paragraph describing the ‘Sum of Dharma’ in Brahmanism supports point two in the thesis example above. Cite in text as needed.
(continue with body paragraphs as needed)
Conclusion Paragraph:
This paragraph closes the paper by reiterating the thesis statement with elaborations using terms and concepts from the readings. The final sentence should also point the reader in a direction such as: the need for more research in this area; in light of this, then that; research presented here seriously calls to question..; etc.
References/Bibliography
The Bibliography is a properly formatted reference page listing ALL of the sources used in your research and should be tied into in-text referencing within the body of your paper. There should be at least five scholarly sources formatted (any style) and cited in text. Note the syllabus and assignment description state failure to cite data is an automatic ‘0.’ See annotated bibliography lesson for more information. (Wikipedia is NOT scholarly.)
Formatting: minimum five pages (it is OK to go over), Times New Roman, 12 point font, one-inch margins, no extra spaces between paragraphs, name date and title in header, title page is not required and does not count toward five page minimum, references should be on a separate page and it does not count toward five page minimum.
For useful tips about writing, research and scholarly citations, visit the Final Project Research & Resources page in Canvas.
Grading
The paper will be graded according to:
grammar, structure and writing style,
use of material (terms & concepts) presented in the course,
content
formatting, academic references in bibliography and in-text
For Discussion: Create an outline for your research paper and submit it to Canvas for peer review. Using criteria described in this lesson and in the Paper Outline page in Canvas, critique at least two other student outlines and provide recommendations on how they can improve. (Must provide constructive criticism to receive credit.)
For Peer Review: When you complete the outline, write your paper and bring it to the SF Writing lab (make an appt. first) or submit it to Smarthinking (see left toolbar in Canvas) or Grammarly. After it has been edited, submit a finished version for peer review in the Canvas Peer Review Discussion. (The paper must be complete to review.) Use the assignment criteria explained above to constructively criticize at least three other student papers.
Are there at least five scholarly and formatted references that are cited in text?
Is the topic related to a unique religious community or is it s generalization of a world religion?
Content: Can you find the thesis statement in the first paragraph?
Content: Do the body paragraphs provide data that supports the thesis statement
Terms & Concepts: Does the paper employ terms and concepts introduced in the class?
Are there excessive spelling and grammatical errors?
Does it meet formatting criteria in the assignment description?
