Miami University

LISA POIRIER

INTRODUCTION FOR FACULTY TO THIS LONG WRITING ASSIGNMENT

I have always assigned term papers in my 300-level courses.  I believe that writing a research paper is an essential skill for students at that level.  I signed up for the Center for Writing Excellence/CELT Workshop on Improving Student Writing with no intention of removing or modifying that requirement in my REL 360 course, African-American Religions.  To no one’s surprise, I have not removed the requirement that students write a culminating research paper.  However, I have modified the manner in which I will assign that paper.

I have built into my syllabus a series of assignments that contribute to the successful construction of a research paper.  I think of these steps as scaffolding upon which their final papers will be built.  Early in the course, I will require students to come up with three or four research questions.  These questions will be submitted to me.  My comments on these questions will demonstrate the feasibility of turning them into thesis statements that will propose at least partial and tentative answers to the questions posed. After considering my comments, the students will be required to compose a thesis statement on their own.  Their thesis statement will then lead them to assemble a bibliography that will support their research into that question.  While I will guide their bibliographic searches (as I always do, by giving them a list of possible beginning sources and showing them the relevant databases), I will then require them to write brief annotations of each bibliographic entry.  I am tremendously enthusiastic about this new step in the composition of their papers; I believe it will assure careful reading of each and every source.

I have also built into the course a system in which students submit first drafts of their papers, and then review the drafts of their peers.  My innovation here (which may fail), is requiring students to submit two copies of their first draft.  The first draft will be reviewed by a peer for higher-order concerns, such as the presence of a thesis statement, structure and organization.

LISA POIRIER

LONG WRITING ASSIGNMENT FOR STUDENTS

African-American Religions

REL 360Q

Professor Lisa J.M. Poirier

Final paper and its connection to course goals

As mentioned in the course description, one of the goals of this course is in-depth consideration of issues of import in the study of African-American religions. 

Task and format

This assignment requires you to select a topic of interest, and explore this topic in the form of a ten to fifteen page (double spaced, 10 or 12 point font) research paper.  

Role and audience

Your paper should be addressed to peer-scholars, much like the articles you will consult in your research.  Keep in mind, however, that you are still a student in this area of study.  This means that you might compose your paper as if your classmates are your audience.

The process

Research questions due class #12

Compose three or four questions that focus on a particular aspect of one African-American religious tradition.  Make sure you (and others!) will find these questions to be pointed and interesting!

Thesis and annotated bibliography due class #15

Compose a thesis statement that proposes an answer to one of your research questions.  Assemble a bibliography of research materials (including at least one primary source) that contain relevant analyses (or first-hand expressions) of the religious tradition you will be examining.  This bibliography must be annotated.  In this case, this means that after each bibliographic entry, you will write two or three sentences that summarize the content of that source.

First draft due class #21

The first draft of your paper should:

• have an introduction which includes your thesis statement
• contain a succession of paragraphs which explore your topic
• contain strong (attributed!) evidence from books and articles in your bibliography in support of your argument
• be readable (and understandable) by any one of your classmates

Peer reviews due class #22

Peer reviews will consist of thoughtful comments and suggestions regarding the thesis statement, the supporting evidence, and the organization of the paper. Positive comments as well as constructive suggestions for improvement are welcome.  You may choose to write your comments on the paper itself, or on another sheet of paper. Peer reviews are valuable contributions, so please be sure they are legible. Please note: Grammar, syntax and orthography are not of paramount importance yet.  You need not comment on these aspects of the paper, unless there are serious problems (as when the meaning of a sentence is unclear) or shining successes.

Revised paper due last class meeting

Please see the “How To Write A Fabulous Paper” handout for hints on how to rock this paper out and impress the heck out of your readers.  Need another reason to read “How To Write A Fabulous Paper”?   My grading criteria are included in this fascinating document.

HOW TO WRITE A FABULOUS PAPER

• You should begin by thinking about your paper as an answer to (or at least an exploration of) a question.  Here are some of the big questions we are exploring this semester:

1. What are the distinctive aspects of African-American religions? (Are there any?)
2. Are there particularly good explanatory models (African heritage, the legacy of slavery, legislation of the body, racism, various migrations, urbanization, contact and exchange, issues of identity) that can help us to understand particular aspects of African-American religions?  When are certain explanatory models most appropriate? Does one explanatory model ever suffice?
3. Can looking at the experiences of marginalized Americans, such as African-Americans, give us any particular insight into what religions in the Americas are all about?

You might want to think about these big questions, and then try applying them to the particular religious phenomenon in which you are interested.  For example:

1. Is the Nation of Islam in some way a distinctively American religion? What makes it distinctively American?
2. Does employing a contact and exchange model help us to understand slave religion in America? Why or why not?
3. How does the book The Fire Next Time give us insight into a particular theme relevant to the study of African-American religions in the twentieth century?

Keep in mind, you are to choose your own topic, not steal one of these.

• Your paper should have a clear thesis statement in its introduction.  Your thesis statement should be, in some way, an assertion that provides at least a partial answer to an exploratory question.  Your paper should be, above all else, an argument.  That means that you must give evidence as to why your answer to the question is a good one.  Evidence, in this situation, usually consists of citations from books and articles that address your topic.  These citations should be used in such a way as to support your argument.  It is often a good rule to use citations in each paragraph of your paper (or at least every other paragraph), except the first and last paragraphs, which serve, respectively, as an introduction (stating your argument) and conclusion (summing up and/or demonstrating how you have proved your argument).

• Please remember that I do not have to agree with your argument, I just have to perceive that it is well-argued.  A well-argued paper usually:
• DOES NOT make offensive generalizations, like “African-Americans are completely different from the rest of Americans,” or “African-Americans are more in touch with their religious heritage than European-Americans.”
• DOES NOT use personal examples, like “When reading about the Rastafarians, I remembered this time when I smoked marijuana,”  or “I met this AMEZ preacher once, and he was very political.”  Your argument should not be about you, it should be about the materials you read.  If studying a particular religious tradition makes you think about something else you know, keep it within the realm of scholarship, and de-personalize it, like “Raboteau’s article on African-American Catholics provides insight about the invisibility of African-Americans within the larger American Catholic community.”
•  DOES use outside sources, including at least one primary source. (The documentary sources in the Sernett book are examples of primary source material.)  King library will very likely not have every article or book you will need for your research, and you will very likely need to use interlibrary loan services.  This is why you should be thinking about possible topics well ahead of time.  And one more cautionary note: Websites are sometimes NOT reliable secondary sources.  Try to avoid them.  Exceptions might be websites I have recommended to you, or websites you are using as primary sources. (Example:  Your paper examines constructions of gender and sexuality in Father Divine’s Peace Mission Movement.  In this case, the Peace Mission Movement’s own website might provide valuable source material for you to analyze.)
• DOES employ correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, syntax, and proper citation style.  If you do not already own the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers or another generally accepted style book, GET ONE!  Popular stylebooks include: Diana Hacker, A Writer’s Handbook; Anson, Schwegler and Muth, The Longman Writer’s Companion; and Bazerman and Wiener, Writing Skills Handbook. 
• HAS gone through stages of revision.  In this course, you have written a draft that has been reviewed by a peer for both higher order and lower order concerns.  Your final draft should incorporate your peer’s suggestions, if you have found them helpful.  However, you alone are responsible for your paper’s final form.  Your final draft should be proofread before you turn it in.  Look for grammatical and syntactical errors, and make sure your argument as a whole, as well as each paragraph, flows logically and stylistically.  Then proofread it again. Reading your paper aloud to yourself can often help.  When you cannot stand to look at your paper one more time and all of your words start to blur together, get someone else (preferably an excellent writer, a tutor, or those nice folks at the Center for Writing Excellence) to proofread it for you!  Warning: Spell check and grammar check computer programs MISS things, like homonym confusion (“there” and “their”), and usually will not be a sufficient proofread, although they will give you a good running start.  If you do use a spelling and grammar check program, PAY ATTENTION to the words and phrases that get underlined automatically, AND THEN FIX THEM! 

• Pick a topic that actually INTERESTS you.  There is only one thing worse than writing a paper that bores you to death – and that is reading it.  So have pity on your poor reader and choose to write about something that fascinates you!

Grading criteria

Reseach papers comprise 25% of your grade.  Extensions on any portion of the assignment will not be given except in the case of your own death, and even then, I will insist you provide convincing corroborating evidence.

A: Excellent research paper.  Solid, interesting thesis statement, convincingly and fully argued, using precise and appropriate (attributed!) evidence from relevant primary and secondary sources.  Contains substantive analysis.  Clearly and confidently addresses counterarguments.  Elegantly written, with few or no flaws in grammar, syntax and orthography.

B: Good research paper. Solid thesis statement, convincing argument, although perhaps less persuasive than an A paper.  Uses appropriate evidence from primary and secondary sources.  Analysis not as fully developed as an A paper.  May neglect important counterarguments.  More flaws in grammar, syntax, and/or orthography than an A paper.

C:  Competent research paper.  Main arguments tend to be good, but generally relies more upon description than analysis.  Because this paper is more descriptive than analytical, less evidence is cited in support of arguments.  May ignore counterarguments. Some serious flaws in grammar, syntax, and/or orthography.

D:  Poor research paper.  Relies on description rather than analysis.  Shows a genuine effort to make and support an argument, but argument is flawed because of lack of supporting evidence.  May completely ignore counterarguments. Substantial flaws in grammar, syntax, and/or orthography.

F:  Failure.  Argument absent or hopelessly flawed. Shows no real effort to marshal appropriate evidence in support of an argument.  Abysmal grammar, syntax, and/or orthography.

Pluses and minuses will be earned by authors whose papers fall on the high or low end of each set of letter grading criteria.