University of Toronto at Mississauga Department of Historical Studies Introduction to Buddhist Religious Traditions (RLG 206H5S) Summer 2013 Essay

Guide The essays are due on Thursday August 15, 2013, during class. Please be aware that a penalty will be imposed on late submissions (see the course outline for details). The essay is each worth 40% of the final mark for this course. The essay must be submitted in printed form to the instructor and in electronic format to www.turnitin.com (see the Turnitin.com Guide on the course website). Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays to Turnitin.com for a review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students will allow their essays to be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The terms that apply to the University's use of the Turnitin.com service are described on the Turnitin.com web site. The essay is also subject to an oral review before marks are assigned. Accordingly, students must keep a copy of their essay for their own records, as well as notes and drafts, and be prepared to submit them if requested. Academic Honesty The following is from the UTM 2012-2013 calendar and can be found online at: https://registrar.utm.utoronto.ca/student/calendar/calendar.pl, under General Regulations: Academic Honesty
Honesty and fairness are considered fundamental to the university's mission, and, as a result, all those who violate those principles are dealt with as if they were damaging the integrity of the university itself. When students are suspected of cheating or a similar academic offence, they are typically surprised at how formally and seriously the matter is dealt with -- and how severe the consequences can be if it is determined that cheating did occur. The University of Toronto treats cases of cheating and plagiarism very seriously. Examples of offences for which you will be penalized include (but are not limited to): Using any unauthorized aids on an exam or test (e.g., "cheat sheets") Representing someone else's work or words as your own -- plagiarism Falsifying documents or grades Purchasing an essay Submitting someone else's work as your own Submitting the same essay or report in more than one course (without permission) Looking at someone else's answers during an exam or test Impersonating another person at an exam or test or having someone else impersonate you Making up sources or facts for an essay or report. As a student it is your responsibility to ensure the integrity of your work and to understand what constitutes an academic offence. If you have any concerns that you may be crossing the line, always ask your instructor. Your instructor can explain, for example, the nuances of plagiarism and how to use secondary sources appropriately; he or she will also tell you what

kinds of aids -- calculators, dictionaries, etc. -- are permitted in a test or exam. Ignorance of the rules does not excuse cheating or plagiarism. This information is taken from the brochure, Academic Honesty, part of a series of University of Toronto publications to help students understand the university's rules and decision-making structures. To view this publication online, please go to www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/policies.htm All of the policies and procedures surrounding academic offences are dealt with in one policy: "The Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters." The full text is located in the back of the calendar.

It is incumbent on the part of the student to understand the nature of plagiarism. For further information concerning this issue see: http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using-sources/how-notto-plagiarize

Writing Style and Grammar Since this is an academic setting, it is expected that the essay meet a minimum standard of literacy (i.e., grammar, spelling, writing style). Accordingly, those who are not familiar with writing essays, or those whose native language is other than English, are expected to avail themselves of the various writing skills facilities available on or off campus. For more information about the various resources available to students at the UTM campus, visit the following website: http://www.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3asc/Students/index.htm Of course this is not a course on English grammar. However, the point of an essay is to get across a point as clearly and concisely as possible. Accordingly, if the material is unclear or ambiguous because of ones writing style, grammar, spelling, etc., it cannot but have an effect on the effectiveness of the paper, and so, ultimately, on the mark. Formatting of the Essay The essays must conform to one of the conventional academic formats (i.e., proper citations, formatting of quotations, bibliography, etc.). The preferred format is referred to as, Traditional Endnotes or Footnotes with Superscript Numbers (humanities), as outlined in the following website: http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using-sources/documentation The APA (American Psychological Association) format is not acceptable for this course. NOTE: papers without proper citations for sources will not be accepted. What is Expected from the Essay The point of any essay is not simply to reiterate what one finds in source material on a particular topic. An essay should present ones interpretation/understanding of a topic, or an aspect of a topic, and to articulate that as precisely and coherently as possible. Thus, an academic essay is not simply a list of facts, no matter how good the facts are. Therefore, the essay should have a thesis, or area of focus. This does not necessarily take the form of an argument per se, but it does have to let the reader know what you are trying to get across in the paper. For a guide on essay writing and formulating a thesis, see Essay Writing: Three Modules for the Department of Historical Studies, in the Course Documents section of the course website.

Length of the essay: approximately 8 pages, or 2,000 words in length. Although there is no formal penalty for essays that are too long or too short, since such papers do not fall into the stipulated guidelines, they could be subject to a reduced mark. BE SURE TO INCLUDE A WORD COUNT ON THE TITLE PAGE Citations A major problem faced in writing an essay is the questions of citations. What has to be cited? Generally, historical facts that are found in various sources do not have to be cited (e.g., Siddhrtha Gautamas namethis is general knowledge and any textbook or encyclopaedia article on Buddhism will have the same name). If in doubt, put in the citation. But also keep in mind that a paper that consists of nothing but a series of citations is problematicthen what you have is an essay that is just cut and paste from your sources. But whats wrong with this? The main issue is that anyone can copy a section from an encyclopaedia without understanding what it means, but it really shows that you have understood the material when you can put it into your own words. Resource Material Since this is a research paper it is expected that primary and secondary sources other than the textbook will be used (not sure what is meant by a primary or secondary source? See the following website: http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-typesof-writing/history). Generally, at least five sources are expected to be consulted for an essay of this nature. Textbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc., may be used in addition to those sources but they should be used sparinglya paper that relies heavily on such sources will inevitably be very general in nature as such reference material does not go into the detail needed for an effective paper. Since the textbook, Mitchell, Donald W. Buddhism, Introducing the Buddhist Experience, 2nd edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), is required for this course, it is expected that you will use the book to give you the historical background you may need to put the material in the essay into a proper historical context. Inaccuracies in dates, historical events, etc., will obviously undermine the credibility of your essay, so use your textbook as a reference guide. Websites should be used with discretion. They can provide the most up to date data (as in the case of government statistics, demographic data, etc.), but generally speaking, they are made for a broad readership, and therefore do not provide the detailed analysis necessary for an academic paper. Moreover, it is often difficult to assess the credibility of websites as authorship is usually not provided. Finally, websites are unstable. Just because you found something on a website yesterday doesnt mean that it will be there today it may be revised, or the website may shut down. Whatever the case, if any of these issues arise the integrity of your essay is put into question, and that could have an effect on your mark. Remember, the onus is on the writer to use credible and authoritative resources. So be forewarned. Papers using websites must include a printed copy of the passages from the websites that are cited in the essay. NOTE: this does not apply to journal articles that are provided online as, properly speaking, these are not really websites.

Essay topics for the research paper: (1) Women in the Buddhist tradition (2) Buddhism in Thailand or Sri Lanka (an enquiry into the Theravada tradition as it is practised today) (3) A comparison between the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions (4) Buddhism and the State: a case study of the uneasy relations between Buddhism and the state in Burma/Myanmar, OR, the issue of Chinas relation to Tibet and its Buddhist population (5) Buddhism in Canada (an enquiry into how Buddhism came to, and developed in, Canada) (6) Buddhism in the West (7) Buddhism in Practice (i.e., does Buddhism in practice correspond to what we studied in class? This topic requires the student to visit a local Buddhist temple) (8) An enquiry into the popularity of the present Dalai Lama in the West These topics are purposely very broad to allow you to pursue any aspect of the topic that might interest you. Keep in mind that you will have to narrow down the scope of these topics because they are rather general, and it is not possible to do an effective survey paper (e.g., the entire topic of Women in The Buddhist Tradition) in 8 pages. NOTE: Topics other than those listed above may be chosen, but they must first be approved by the instructor.