Explain something mentioned in one of the lectures and readings with reference to information in the book or b) explain something mentioned in the book with reference to information from the lectures and readings. The rubric is on the next page. To understand it, know that what you are trying to understand better is the target example and what you are using to understand it is the base example. You should emphasize what is not clearly understood about the target example, and how you will use the base example to fill this gap in our understanding of the target example. So, for example, you might read in Riveted that primarily doctrinal religions take advantage of semantic memory and imagistic religions use episodic memory (the target example). In your essay, you describe in more detail how religious thought is represented differently in episodic versus semantic memory (what you learned in class in this case would be the base example). Or you might read The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and discuss how the description of perception used in the lecture (base example) can help explain a particular perceptual problem described in the book (the target example).
The target example is a concept that you’re interested in and the base example is the information helps you to understand the target example. The target example can come from either the book or the lecture, but the base example has to come from the other source.
Crucially, the base example gives you more information on the target example. Ideally, you should be able to identify a few main ways of how the base example explains the target.
Using the sample essay on Riveted, the target example was temporal discounting from the lecture (“greater value placed on the present when compared to the future”) . The base example was temporal discounting from the book, which provides more information beyond the definition of the concept: 1.) “people do not see the future clearly” 2.) “why people think about the future the way that they do” 3.) “how people see their future selves as different people”. Note that these 3 points are each the main ideas of the subsequent paragraphs.
Your essay must be between 800 and 1200 words long (in Microsoft Word, under “tools” you can find “word count.”) If you cite sources try to use APA style, but because you’re basically pasting your text into Brightspace, don’t worry too much about formatting–but the citations and references are included in your word count. You do not need to cite the lectures nor the book you’re reading, just additional sources. Do not go over the word count. The books are long and complicated. You do not have to summarize the book, only pick one idea from it, and one idea from the lectures to write your essay. You can actually use the terms base example and target example if you wish; in fact, I encourage this. It makes it easier as a TA grading your papers to see that you actually understand what it is you are trying to convey in your paper. It is important that you also clearly emphasize what it is that is not particularly clear about your target example, and how you are going to use the information provided by the base concept to fill this knowledge gap. As you can see from the rubric, you are not dinged massively for grammatical errors etc. That being said, if your writing is riddled with mistakes, it makes it extremely difficult to understand the points you are trying to convey.
Do not assume that a reader will know what you mean if you do not explicitly state it.
(2) Do state and define clearly any term, concept or issue that is important in helping the reader understand your essay.
Note: For this particular essay, we will mark only what we read in your essay. We are grading your understanding and knowledge, based on what you write in your essay. Even if you have fully grasped a concept, we can’t grade what you know if this has not been explicitly stated.
(3) Do have an overall “take home” message(s) that you are trying to communicate in your essay, and plan your essay accordingly. The result of not doing either of these is an essay that tends to ramble aimlessly
(4) Do not include anything that is not important in helping your reader understand your essay, regardless of how impressive sounding it seems. This will be confusing.
(5) Do understand the difference being providing a definition and providing an example. Ask if you have difficulty differentiating between the two.
Note: Generally you are allowed to refer to textbooks and references to provide definitions and concepts. If you use text from another source, use quotation marks and a citation. However, you need to provide the relevant citations and reference. For this particular essay, I suggest not quoting more than one sentence from the same reference. You are encouraged to come up with your own examples. You do not need to formally cite the book or the lectures, just mention them in text and refer to page numbers if you quote from the book. Facts not from either need to be cited. Use APA formatting.
(6) Do keep to word limits (800 to 1200 words for this essay)
(7) Do be attentive of what you are writing; especially if you have not mastered using definitions or concepts, otherwise one of the following is likely to happen
– Words in a sentence will make sense, but not the sentence itself.
– Sentences in a paragraph will make sense, but not the paragraph itself.
(8) Do proofread your work, as many times as needed, but at least once before you press “submit”. There is an obvious difference in quality between an essay that has been checked and one that has not been checked.
(9) We do not require a certain number of paragraphs, or define what you need in each paragraph. What you might have learned in high school (the three-point essay, for example) was a structure to help you become a better writer. Now that you are in university, you need to be able to create your own structure that makes sense.
(10) This is not a “personal” essay. We are training you to do scientific writing. Avoid talking about yourself and your experiences. Stick to the subject matter.
(11) Try not to quote directly. In science we rarely quote people. Rather than quoting, summarize in your own words and cite it.
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