World Religions Essay

Writing Assignment 1 Parameters and Standards
Summary: Most religions have “rites of passage” or “life-cycle rituals” associated with the various stages in the
human life. These rituals are most commonly associated with birth, adolescence, adulthood, marriage, and death
(or some variation of these). For this essay, explore one religious life-cycle ritual as expressed in three different
religions studied in the first half of this course: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism,
Shintoism, or a specific Indigenous Religion. There is more information about all of this below, so be sure to
pay attention to all of the details in this document.
Quick View Checklist (all of this is discussed in greater depth in the Parameters section that follows):
□ Select 1 (and only 1) specific religious life-cycle ritual.
□ Select 3 (and only 3) different religions from the first half of the course for the analysis of your life-cycle
ritual: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, or a specific Indigenous Religion.
□ The life-cycle ritual is discussed in terms of activities, events, observances, and beliefs for each religion.
□ Research sources are academic, scholarly, or primary sources (scriptures or doctrines of the religion).
□ Include an MLA formatted bibliography of at least 3 sources.
□ The structure is that of a standard college essay.
□ Submission is at least 600 words (bibliographies are not a part of the word count).
□ Contains appropriate sentence and paragraph formats, proper grammar, and correct spelling and punctuation.
□ Demonstrates original writing skills.
□ Quotes are limited to primary source materials only and are no more than 10% of the paper content.
□ Upload completed essay in the Writing Assignment 1 dropbox by the due date posted in the Time Schedule.
Parameters: Here are the complete parameters of this research assignment:
LIFE-CYCLE RITUALS – You will discuss one life-cycle ritual. The most prominent examples to choose
from include birth rituals, coming-of-age rituals, weddings, and funerals. The choice is yours; just make sure
it is a life-cycle ritual and not another type of religious ritual. Remember, life-cycle rituals are associated
with the transitional periods of the human life.
RELIGIONS – The life-cycle ritual chosen will be discussed in the context of three different religions studied
in the first half of the course: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, or a specific
Indigenous Religion. For example, you could present the birth rituals of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Shinto;
or perhaps the coming-of-age rituals of the Lakota, Yoruba, and Shinto. The point here is that your selected
life-cycle ritual is discussed in the context of three of the religions from the first half of the course. The
choice of these religions is yours, but make sure the religions you choose actually participate in that lifecycle ritual. For example, Confucianism and Daoism have very few life-cycle rituals that are separate from
Buddhism. Allow your research to guide you to your choice of religions for this analysis.
CONTENT – For your analysis, you should describe the various activities, events, observances, and beliefs
associated with the life-cycle ritual for each of your three chosen religions. For example, are there specific
activities, props, and/or dietary aspects associated with the event? Does the person receive anything as a part
of the ritual? Is there anything done to the physical body as a sign of the ritual? To what extent does the
religious community participate? Have the events secularized in modern times? Are the celebrations
publically observed or isolated in the religious communities? Are there variations of activities, events,
observances, and beliefs based on geographical or divisional/denominational differences? You will find in
your research that there are a variety of different practices associated with life-cycle rituals that will be
geographically or divisionally specific. In other words, what they do in India is different from what they do
in Japan; or the practices of Mahayana Buddhists differ from that of Theravada Buddhists. In these situations,
you should isolate your conversation to one specific group (identifying in your essay the group you are
focusing on for each religion). Not everything above applies in all situations; these are just some ideas of
what to consider as you prepare to write this essay. Deductions of up to 30 points will be made for errors
related to the Life-Cycle Rituals, Religions, and Content categories (outlined above).
STRUCTURE – This paper should be done in a traditional essay format that includes: an introductory paragraph
that discusses the religious concept of life-cycle rituals and what you intend to explore (the life-cycle ritual
you have chosen and the religions you intend to explore); two or three paragraphs presenting what is
outlined in the “Content” category above (I suggest 1 paragraph for each of your religions); a conclusion
paragraph summarizing the content and/or noting the primary similarities and difference among the
religions explored; and then a bibliography of sources consulted (see below).
RESEARCH – You are expected to do academic research for this assignment. This is not an opinion paper, it
is a research paper. To that end, consult and cite multiple sources (at least 3, but you really should have
more) to illustrate depth of research. These academic or scholarly sources should be peer-reviewed journal
articles or books (library resources), primary sources (sacred literature and official religious documents), or
authorized publications of recognized religious organizations. The research sources consulted should be
provided in a Bibliography conforming to the MLA (Modern Language Association) format. For more
information about the MLA format visit: spcollege.libguides.com/content.php?pid=98920&sid=742314. For
useful research information, see: spcollege.libguides.com/world_religions. There will be deductions of up to
10 points for errors in this category.
ACADEMIC WRITING – Your submission is expected to conform to academic writing standards (i.e.,
demonstrate the use of proper sentence and paragraph formats, proper grammar, and correct spelling and
punctuation). Up to 15 points can be deducted for writing errors based upon their frequency and severity.
WORD COUNT – Your submission is required to be a minimum of 600 words, but no more than 1200 words
(Bibliographies do not count as a part of the word count). Submissions larger than 1200 words or fewer than
600 words will receive no points. A college paper needs to demonstrate the skill of being thorough, yet
concise.
QUOTING – Quotes are limited to primary source materials only (such as a verse from sacred literature) and
should constitute no more than 10% of the paper content. In other words, quotes can only come from religious
scriptures or documents, and should be used sparingly. You need to develop the ability to take the information
that you would quote and express it in your own words as this is how to demonstrate understanding. Any
quotes will need to have internal documentation done according to Modern Language Association (MLA)
standards: owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/. Deductions will be assessed based upon the severity
of the errors, with the points coming out of the “subject and content” section above.
ORIGINAL WRITING – Your paper is to demonstrate original writing (see this conversation in the Syllabus).
In short, do not use the words of another as this can be considered plagiarism and may result in a failing
grade and possible honor code disciplinary action. It is also unacceptable to submit your own work from
another class or a previous attempt of this class. For more information, visit
https://www.spcollege.edu/current-students/student-affairs/student-right-to-know.
DUE – The essay is due by the date posted in the calendar. Any assignment submitted late for any reason is
subject to a 5 point per business day late deduction, up to an assignment maximum of 30 points deducted.
After the paper has been graded based on the categories above, the late points will be deducted.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS – Students are required to submit the paper electronically to the “Writing
Assignment 2” dropbox in MyCourses. Submissions to this dropbox are subject to an originality check
through TurnItIn, a website that scans papers for signs of plagiarism and issues a report to the student and
instructor. Please note that the allowed file types are: MS Word, WordPerfect, Postscript, Acrobat PDF,
HTML, RTF and plain text. No other file types are accepted. I will grade and provide a response to you within
seven to ten days of the assignment due date.