Slightly Revised 3-7-16
ENGL 242: World Religions
Professor E. Derek Taylor
Spring 2016
Prompt for Short Essays
Instructions: As noted on the syllabus, students in this class are required to submit five short essays, one for each religion studied. Each essay should use one of the following (as it relates to the religion in question) as a starting point:
However you choose to proceed, be sure to
Requirements: Your personal views and experiences are very much relevant here, but they should not overwhelm your attention to the texts (or religion) in question. Essays need not be long—roughly three pages, double-spaced—but they should be carefully composed and edited, and formatted in MLA, Chicago, or APA style. Outside sources beyond course texts are not required, but any you consult must be cited accordingly.
Submission: A hard copy of each essay is due as follows:
Monday, 2-8: Hinduism
Monday, 2-29: Buddhism
Wednesday, 3-23: Judaism
Monday, 4-11: Christianity
Friday, 4-29: Islam
Grading Rubric:
A: Carefully organized around a clearly stated thesis; thoroughly supported with direct textual quotations; logically organized and developed; cleanly written
B: Falls short on one point.
C: Falls short on two points.
D: Falls short on three points.
F: Falls short on all points.
ENGL 242: World Religions
Professor E. Derek Taylor
Spring 2016
Prompt for Short Essays
Instructions: As noted on the syllabus, students in this class are required to submit five short essays, one for each religion studied. Each essay should use one of the following (as it relates to the religion in question) as a starting point:
- Something you learned that surprised you
- Something about which you wished to know more—and what you learned through your (limited) research
- Something that you still do not understand
- Something that you finally do understand
- Something you have personally experienced that illustrates a central theological concept.
However you choose to proceed, be sure to
- provide an introduction that defines key terms, contextualizes your approach, and builds to a thesis
- build subsequent paragraphs around sharp, clear, thesis-directed topic sentences
- include choice quotations in support of your ideas
- conclude with a bang, not a whimper.
Requirements: Your personal views and experiences are very much relevant here, but they should not overwhelm your attention to the texts (or religion) in question. Essays need not be long—roughly three pages, double-spaced—but they should be carefully composed and edited, and formatted in MLA, Chicago, or APA style. Outside sources beyond course texts are not required, but any you consult must be cited accordingly.
Submission: A hard copy of each essay is due as follows:
Monday, 2-8: Hinduism
Monday, 2-29: Buddhism
Wednesday, 3-23: Judaism
Monday, 4-11: Christianity
Friday, 4-29: Islam
Grading Rubric:
A: Carefully organized around a clearly stated thesis; thoroughly supported with direct textual quotations; logically organized and developed; cleanly written
B: Falls short on one point.
C: Falls short on two points.
D: Falls short on three points.
F: Falls short on all points.