he Weekly Reading Essays (WREs) are designed to (1) aid in the comprehension and retention of key concepts and theories as well as essential historical background for understanding the contemporary issues covered in the overall course , including the class sessions . They are also meant to (2) help develop critical thinking and writing skills foundational to you r college experience and longer – term career – life goals . Along with these general guidelines which pertain to all WREs , s pecific guidelines are given in the syllabus for each weekly essay in direct relation to the required readings for that week. In order to achieve the highest possible grade, you should carefully follow both the specific guidelines for each week and these general guidelines when writing each weekly essay. Generally, all essays are 400 – 450 words in length (though the Week 9 essay i s 500 – 550 words) . This is the absolute minimum requirement. If you go over 450 words, y ou should not exceed 600 words maximum . ( In the case of WK 9, if you go over 550, 700 is the maximum limit ) . A ll your essays should be written in a strictly factual, enc yclopedic manner. Use the D ictionary of Sociology article on “Globalization” fr om the Week 1 required readings as a model for style ( not word count). All material in your essay must be taken from the specified (required) course readings for that week , no outside sources are permitted. The essay s should be written, however, in your own words . You can quote small, key phrases of approximately 3 – 5 words (with quot ation marks always clearly placed around them), but do not quote entire sentences . T he number of quote d phrases in any one essay should not exceed five . Also, d o not simply change a few words in the origin al . You should instead recast the material from the readings in your own words , according to your understanding . It should be your essay, even though it is based directly on the readings. Do not use ‘fluff & filler’ or unnecessary phrases such as ‘I think/feel/believe that…’. T he following sentence is an example of what I consider mostly ‘fluff & filler’ and unnecessary phras ing : “I think it is important to realize that Vanhaute makes a reall y huge point when he says on page 54 that Western triumphalism influenced the writing of universalist history. This is an amazing fact which really deserves our attention because of all its profound implications . ” The only part of this statement which will be considered ‘factual’ and ‘encyclopedic’ for grading is “Western triumphalism influenced the writing of universalist history.” Everything else is unnecessary and will not be given credit when grading. ( Note th at I have only used quotation marks in this example to highlight the statement ; it is not a di
rect quote from a reading . ) Also, avoid opinion statements /value judgment s , such as: “This is a great tragedy,” or “this kind of racist attitude should not be tol erated in our society.” T hese kinds of statements will also be considered unnecessary ‘fluff & filler’. You should, however, feel free to critically engage an author and/or a viewpoint . In such cases, you should again not use phrases such as ‘I think/feel/ believe…’. Instead, simply state your viewpoint , together with your supporting reasons/evidence, as an assumed fact in contrast to the author or viewpoint . For example: “Among the three views he presents on ‘the rise of the West’ and ‘the Great Departure’, Vanhaute holds the third view , but the second view seems more reasonable because…” You can also critically engage various viewpoints presented in the readings in a similar way, without attributing them to the author in such cases . For example: “Among the three views on ‘the rise of the West’ and ‘the Great Departure’ which Vanhaute discusses, the third view seems the best option because…” You will need to be careful to distinguish when the author is simply discussing various viewpoi nts versus expressing their own. Demonstrating this kind of critical engagement with the readings will strengthen your grade . There are minimum reference/citation requirements in the specific guidelines for each week . References should be cited in parenthe ses at the end of the sentence(s) from which you t ake specific idea(s) or facts . Your reference/citation should be according to the following example: (Vanhaute 2013:72 – 73). In this reference/citation, “2013” refers to the year that Vanhaute’s book was published and “72 – 73” refers to the page numbers from which you took the specific idea(s) or fact(s) . Grading of the e ssays will, again, be according these general guidelines in conjunction with the specific guidelines for each week’s essay. Feel free to ask questions before or after class, during office hours, or by email, if you are not clear about something. Also, if y ou wish me to look over your essay before you submit it for grading, I am happy to do that. However, I am unable to do it by email. You will need to come in during office hours to sit down with me and go over your essay together. These essays will be one o f the most challenging parts of the course. They will take time and effort on your part. The first few essays will be the most difficult. You should pay special attention to these general guidelines when doing the first two or three. But once you get ‘the hang of them’, I am confident they will prove richly rewarding in terms of deepening your understanding of ourselves and our world as well as developing crucial life – lo