This assignment is worth 30 points and is due MONDAY of Module 1.
Minimum word count: 500
This assignment involves analyzing some of the ways in which you observe an assigned course category in our assigned readings. Module 1 requires students to use the category identity.
Your analysis must be based on the assigned chapters in Deane for Module 1. You will be reading and watching for at least one example from the textbook/s of how identity operated in those time periods and situations. Questions to ask as you read: What were the characteristics (identity) of accused heretics? How was the “heretic” identity constructed, maintained, and or resisted? Find at least one rich example that leaps out at you and analyze it. Be specific and provide details.
Identity is your lens for analyzing your example/s.
Structure
Required Elements
Minimum word count: 500 (does not include the heading, title, or reference list)
No maximum word count (you likely will have to write more than the minimum)
1″ margins + standard 12pt font
Double-spaced sentences.
Vertical heading in the upper left-hand corner containing your name, your instructor’s name (spell it right), the course (REL 374 or HST 361) and the date.
Centered title: Identity
Use paragraphs to organize your ideas. Paragraphs are one requirement of effective writing and an important part of coherence and flow.
Start each analysis with a thesis paragraph that introduces the assigned category, your topic and argument, and that locates your topics in time and place. Be specific.
Your first sentence must contain some version of the assigned category (e.g. identity, identities, identified, etc.)
Use bold print to highlight every use of the assigned category. Example: identity
Start all subsequent paragraphs with a thesis sentence.
Write a conclusion.
Somewhere in your analysis include one and only one quote from Deane. The quote must be at least one full sentence and must be carefully chosen. Integrate this quote skilfully so that it illuminates something compelling about how concerns about HERESY and HERETICS operated in the lives of the human beings we are studying in the example/s you chose to write about. Quote may not be more than 10% of your word total. Cite Deane using a parenthetical in-text citation at the end of the quote as shown here: (Deane 2010, ##) where the hashtag represents the pages number/s. Add Deane to your list of References.
Anytime you are asked to provide evidence from assigned materials and or other resources,whether you are quoting or paraphrasing, you must cite your source/s! Any word-for-word copying from any source must be inside quotation marks. This assignment requires parenthetical citations for all ideas not your own (including the required quote) and a reference list, all in Chicago or Turabian format (must contain a citation for Deane and nothing else). I urge students to consider signing up for the free 30-day membership so that they can check the format of any resource.
https://press-booksweb.uchicago.edu/MOSSSF/FreeTrial.aspx (Links to an external site.)
Extra Requirements
Craft your observations and insights into a formal analysis/essay. No bullet points.
Think deeply. Provide details to add nuance to your essay.
Be specific and give examples–avoid vague, general statements.
Example of what to avoid: “Identity is really important. Everybody has one.” Be specific and get to the point.
Omit reflections about your reading process. (Example: I do not want to read things like, “While I was reading the chapters in Deane this week, I thought…”
Make your analysis relevant and substantive.
Produce college-level writing. See https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-writing/chapter/introduction-to-college-level-writing/ (Links to an external site.) for one guide to the definition of “college-level writing.” Even though it is obviously short, you should approach this assignment as you would a formal writing assignment. It should be well thought out, articulate. This is an academic conversation about our subjects. Write in complete, coherent sentences. At the end of the day, you may have answered all of the questions and fulfilled all other requirements, but if your answers aren’t coherent your grade will reflect that lack of coherence.
Make sure it makes sense. We often speak coherently but find it difficult to coherently express our ideas in writing. Record and listen to yourself read your work if you need to.Coherence also includes things like spelling, grammar, paragraphing, and the flow and integration of ideas, including the required quote. Coherence credit is evaluated and assigned in relation to the total points available for each assignment.
Check for and eliminate spelling and grammatical errors. Given the technology available to us,there is no excuse for sloppy work, including multiple spelling errors. There is a penalty for spelling errors that are easily avoided.
Omit personal opinions. See the syllabus and contact me if you have questions about this requirement.
Omit personal experiences: This assignment is about the reading you have done. You must write about that material, not your own personal experience.
Omit theological statements that take a position on a religion or a religious idea or practice. Omit questions of any sort.
Check your word count, minus the heading, and reference list! As with college-level writing, wordcount deficiencies will lower your grade on a percentage basis. Don’t go low.
Save a copy of your work on your computer.