Guidelines for Short Papers: Sacred Scriptures

The paper should represent the result of a short research project on one tradition's sacred scriptures. By short I mean more comprehensive than you can find on online encyclopedias but less thorough than a semester-long research project. I expect that you will find at least two print sources.

The written sacred scriptures in each tradition are:

Hinduism: The Vedas

Buddhism: The Three Baskets, the Mahayana sutras

Judaism: The Hebrew Bible (Torah, Nevi'im, Ketubim)

Christianity: The Christian Bible (Old and New Testaments)

Islam: The Qur'an

You will write a paper on one aspect of one tradition's sacred scriptures. Some possibilities include:

• Uses within the religious community: Who uses them? When? Are there rituals surrounding their use? Do ordinary people have familiarity with the scriptures or are they the province of religious specialists? What part do the scriptures play in religious rituals? You may wish to focus on one particular ritual, such as a festival, devotional ritual, or "life-cycle" event such as an initiation or wedding.
  
  
• Preservation and transmission of scriptures: How are the scriptures preserved? Are they chanted, hand-copied, printed? Are there traditions surrounding their preservation and transmission? What language are they written in? Is it possible for these scriptures to be translated? Why or why not? Are translated versions used differently from the originals? If so, why?
  
  
• Literary aspects: Scriptures usually exist as a collection. Choose one aspect of the collection, such as the Prophets in Judaism, or the Gospels in Christianity, or one of the Three Baskets in Buddhism, or the Upanishads in Hinduism. What kind of literary genre is it? Who is/are the author(s)? How does this section fit into the scriptures as a whole?
  
  
• Uses for individuals within the community: What personal relationships do ordinary members have with parts of the scriptures? Are there short verses that everyone learns or uses? (Examples: The Gayatri in Hinduism, the mezuzah with scripture verses in Judaism)
  
  
• Contrasting scriptural views within a tradition: There are often striking differences in the ways different groups within the same tradition use the scriptures. For example, Mahayana Buddhists have added sutras not valued by Theravadins; Catholic and Protestant Bibles are different. Write about the differences in scriptures among members of the same tradition.

What Constitutes a Good Short Research Paper?

Although a research paper depends upon accurate explanations of information you read in books, a short research paper is neither a book report nor an encyclopedia entry. A research paper does not simply reproduce information you read somewhere else. Rather, it fits information into a coherent coherent thematic framework. For example, let's say you decide to research the development of the Christian New Testament. You learn how the various gospels were written and transmitted and eventually became the New Testament books used today. Your research paper would not just reproduce this information like an entry in the Encyclopedia Britannica. Instead, ask yourself, is there a framework into which these facts fit? This framework will become your theme and the 3 or 4 points you will use to explain the theme. You do not have to invent your own theme; you may find one of the themes presented in your research persuasive. However, you also incorporate other information and test the theme against competing viewpoints and information. The result is your own work, explaining but not exactly reproducing the works you read. In the example above, you may decide to use as your theme the theory that different gospels represented different (and sometimes competing) Christian communities. However, there are arguments both for and against this theory and your essay would take at least one other viewpoint into account. Why is this the best framework? What makes it persuasive? This theme should be presented in your first paragraph so that the reader knows your particular framework and the path you are going to follow to explain it.

A research paper, even a short one, takes some time to formulate. First you have to assemble facts, then you have to think hard about what those facts mean. You must be careful to cite the sources of your information throughout (not just direct quotes). The reader should be able to check your information easily from your citations. The general rule is that any information that is not widely known must be cited. For example, it is generally known that the four gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. However, it is not generally known that some scholars believe that Matthew and Luke relied upon Mark as a source for their own gospels. The reader should be able to find out who postulated that theory. If you take notes as you read, citation is much easier.

Format

1. Your essay should contain: an introductory paragraph with thesis statement outlining the three or four points you intend to make; the body of the paper with explanation of these major points; and a concluding paragraph summarizing your points. Refer to The Ten Commandments of Essay Writing.

2. You are absolutely limited to 5 pages maximum (and 4 is better)! You get no extra points for length. It is up to you to limit your topic so that it can be covered adequately in four pages.

3. You must provide a cover sheet with your name, tradition, and title.

4. You must provide an annotated bibliography. An annotated bibliography lists your two print sources and also provides a short (one paragraph) evaluation of them. "This seems like reliable information" is not satisfactory. You must evaluate your sources by:

a) comparing information in them with the Encyclopedia of Religion, Encyclopedia Judaica, Catholic Encyclopedia Online, or Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Web sources are ok as a supplement or preliminary search tool but should not be your main sources.

b) find out about the author(s) - do they have an academic or a religious background? Check the date published. Be suspicious of materials published before the 1980s. Can you find a more recent source?

c) check information by comparing your two sources. Do they agree with each other?

d) find out if the book has been reviewed (reference librarians can help with this)

Dates to remember

October 3 : Short paragraph explaining which tradition and topic you will research

October 6 - 10: Meetings with professor to firm up topic, discuss sources

October 17 : Paper bibliographies due

October 31 : Paper due in class