Contents

1. Paper Writing Guidelines

2. Writing: The Bridge between Consciousness and Unconsciousness

Please follow these guidelines when writing your papers.

1. Deadlines Submit your papers by the deadlines stated in the syllabus. You have three grace days for all papers except the final paper, for which there are no free extensions. If you have a problem before the final paper, be sure to talk to me by the day before the deadline.

2. Basic Elements

• Mechanics are important. They are the basic tools that make the paper possible.
• a) Descriptive Title. As simple as this is, some people forget.
• b) Introductory Paragraph or Thesis. A thesis paragraph states what you are setting out to show in your paper and how you will do this. An introductory paragraph provides the reader with a clear understanding of what the paper is about. In general it is a good idea to avoid the overuse of the first person voice, since this can interrupt the flow of your prose. Here are some examples to think about:

Effective introductory paragraph that does not use "I":

In Dakota-A Spiritual Geography, Kathleen Norris writes about her life on the Western plains of the United States. She describes it as a kind of monastic world in which she has been able to come in contact with her spiritual roots through the lives of the people there, the land, and the solitude of her own inner life. She does not falsely idealize life on the plains as some kind of paradise away from the urban jungle. In fact, she is critical of the insularity and pettiness of the small towns in which she lives and works. Rather than detracting from the positive sense of her life there, however, her critical perspectives make her work more real and lead the reader to want to get to know her and the plains better.

 

Effective introductory paragraph that uses "I":

In reading Dakota-A Spiritual Geography, I was struck by the beauty of Kathleen Norris' prose and her ability to convey the subtleties and complexities of her life there, of people, place, and time, the relation between work, art, and the spiritual life. At first, I read her work as the account of a woman and a culture vastly different from my own. As I continued to read, however, I became aware that, in some ways, her world mirrored mine. While speaking out of a distinct geographical and cultural landscape, Norris can make us recognize features of our own lives of which we may not have been previously aware.

 

Weak introductory paragraph that uses "I":

In this paper, I will write about Kathleen Norris's book Dakota-A Spiritual Geography. I will discuss her views on the relation between the Dakotas as a geographical location and a spiritual place. I will show that there is a connection between the two. I will use ideas from her work as well as Carol Christ's ideas about nature. I will also show that, while useful in several ways, Christ's ideas are insufficient for understanding Norris' complete view of life in the Dakotas.

• c) Conclusion. The conclusion brings the ideas of your paper back into succinct focus. This may involve some summarizing but should also refocus ideas by reformulating some of your thesis/introductory ideas in a way not possible without having read the body of your paper. You may not answer all questions that you raised or resolve all issues outlined in your introduction. One way to conclude your paper is to raise further questions, showing your awareness of their existence and possibilities for further inquiry. Sometimes, the best questions give rise to even more questions.
• d) Documentation. Whenever you make generalizations or assertions, document your claims with references, either from the readings or the lectures. If you make a statement that seems controversial and you don't cite a reference, then I will not know where your ideas came from. You cannot be too careful on this point.
• e) Format for References. For the final paper, I am going to ask that you all use footnotes or endnotes following the format given in the syllabus and the writing sample. Please note the use of commas and parentheses. For shorter papers, you may use parenthetical notes. (You should follow one of the standard formats for parenthetical use.)
• f) Page numbers. In case the pages come loose, I will be able to read your paper.
• g) Use block quotations for citations four lines or longer. When using block quotations, do not use quotation marks at the beginning and end of the block. Use the margin command rather than the tab command to create block quotations. This will make it much easier for you.
• h) Subheadings. These are not required, but you may find it helpful to insert subheadings as you go along. They can help you to organize your paper as well as to let the reader know that new topics are being addressed.

3. Mechanics

• a) Check your spelling. There should be few errors in this regard.
• b) Run-on and incomplete sentences. Avoid sentences that are too long. Check to make sure that you do not have incomplete sentences.
• c) Punctuation. Punctuation should follow standard guidelines. There is often confusion about commas. There are a few simple rules that will keep you out of trouble. I have summarized them here. Otherwise, consult a writing manual or ask the instructor. "The Elementary Rules of Usage" from William Strunk's The Elements of Style covers most cases of comma usage including those that apply to independent and dependent clauses.
• d) Tenses. Be consistent in your use of past and present tense. If you are writing a thought paper (ideas, philosophy), it is accepted practice to put everything in the present tense. For example, you may write, "The Buddha says, . . . ." or "The Tibetan master Milarepa behaves in unconventional ways." If you are writing a research paper dealing with historical issues, you should put scholarly assertions in the present tense ("I think," "Gregory Schopen states") and historical facts in the past ("Shakyamuni delivered a sermon," "Devadatta turned traitor"). In any case, be consistent.

4. Style

There are a few stylistic matters to note.

• a) Use natural English. There is no need to fill your paper with technical vocabulary or difficult terms. If you do use them, they will have a greater effect when you write for the most part in clear, straightforward English.
• b) Avoid using too many conjunctions and qualifiers, such as "however," "then," and "given that." Usually, the reader will know how one sentence relates to the next without the use of these terms, and the resulting paper will be easier to read. Use your own good judgement as to when they are necessary. As a rule of thumb, use sparingly.
• c) Gendered pronouns. It is now widely considered that the exclusive use of male pronouns to refer to both sexes is unacceptable. There are a number of strategies that can be used to negotiate this matter. You may use i) male and female pronouns alternately, ii) neutral pronouns such as "one" and "they"; however, avoid mixing these two pronouns in the same sentence, iii) both (When a person finds him or herself in this situation . . .), or iv) "s/he". There are, however, possible exceptions. If you have any questions about this, please see me.

Don't use "one" and "they" as pronouns for the same referent (This confusion arises because of the use of "they" instead of "his" or "her.") Be careful when you use humans or human beings to replace "men." "Human beings" is often more appropriate than "humans," and sometimes "people" is a better choice.

5. Common Errors

• a) "Different from." "Different from" is the correct usage, not "different than."  
• b) "Complementary" versus "Complimentary." Be sure to know the difference between these two words. Yin and yang are complementary. Words of praise are complimentary.
• c) "Affect" versus "effect." One can measure the economic effects of having too much inventory, but one cannot easily affect nationwide economic trends that may decrease consumer demand.
• d) A "novel" is a work of fiction. Memoirs, journals, biographies, and autobiographies are nonfiction works. Do not refer to them as "novels."
  

6. Types of Papers

There are generally three types of papers, thought papers, research papers, and creative papers. There are commonly elements of all three present, but papers largely fall into one of the three categories. The focus on REL 303 is the thought paper; no outside research is required. The focus on REL 407 in the shorter papers is the thought paper; no outside research is required. The focus on REL 407 in the final paper may be either a thought paper, which requires no outside research, or a research paper involving use of outside sources.

• a) Thought papers may make use of materials beyond the required reading but need not do so. Rather, the focus is on careful study, analysis, and elaboration of ideas presented within a limited context, such as a single article or book with some support from assigned secondary readings. It is often helpful to focus on one or two ideas, passages, or paragraphs and consider the ramifications thereof.
• b) Research papers deal with a careful study of objective evidence available to support and refute arguments. You are not required to go to outside material, but it is often helpful to obtain supporting evidence beyond what is found in the required texts to back up your assertions.
• c) Creative papers may include forms such as fictional narrative, personal narrative, poetry, and illustrations as part or all of the finished product. It is important to work closely with the instructor if you wish to do a more creative project.
• d) You may write on one of the suggested topics, or you may formulate your own topic; in the latter case you need to write out a paragraph-length topic and submit it by email to the instructor for approval.
• e) Sometimes it may happen that a more personal narrative style will be incorporated into your writing, one that includes personal experiences, fictional narrative, or reflections about the writing process. Some of the suggested paper topics will elicit different styles or genres of writing. However, it can be more challenging to adopt alternative styles and genres. If you would like to pursue different avenues of writing but are unsure about how to do this, samples are available for your perusal.

7. Drafts

Peer review drafts will be required for some papers. Guidelines for peer review will be made available separately.

8. Grading Criteria

Although grading is an imprecise art, it is possible to attain a considerable degree of consistency. In general, the key points are: Represent ideas fairly and accurately, raise critical questions and doubts, explore theses questions and doubts to provide a sophisticated account of the ideas and issues under consideration, and write clearly. I look for the following when reading papers:

• a) Writing. If you write clearly and grammatically, you will think clearly and in an organized fashion. If you think clearly, this will be reflected in your writing.
• b) Accuracy. Have you represented the relevant ideas fairly? Did you document your ideas with direct quotations and/or page references?
• c) Focus and coverage-a balance of the two. On the one hand, have you covered the main ideas relevant to your topic? On the other, are you focused enough? A sense of the larger picture should be present, but pursuing too many themes or ideas results in confusion. There should also be a degree of analytical reach to your examination of the topic that covers more than a bare-bones, one-dimensional reading of the topic or text.
• d) Sophistication and depth. Have you taken into account various facets of a problem or idea? You can be accurate at a general level ("The Buddha was a seeker of truth."), or you can be accurate at a sophisticated level ("The Buddha was a seeker of truth who formulated his understanding in terms of the four noble truths."). Have possible questions and objections been taken into account?
• e) Creativity. Are you open to unexpected insights and a sense of adventure?
• f) Grade Scale: A+: 97-100, A: 94-96, A-: 90-93, B+: 87-89, B: 84-86, B-: 80-83, C+: 77-79, C: 74-76, C-: 70-73, D+ to D-: 60-69, F 59 and below.

• If you cover criteria a) through c), you should get a B. Provided you have gone that far, you can add further dimensions to your paper. If you have any questions about comments I have made on your paper or your grade, please come and see me. It is important for me to know of any doubts or problems.

8. In Conclusion

By studying these guidelines, I hope that your learning experience will become more pleasurable and rewarding for both you and me. These guidelines are meant to help you polish a skill, academic writing, that you are developing as you progress. Don't get so hung up about them that you feel your creative processes hindered. If anything, they should provide just enough of a framework to express your analytical and creative skills. The accompanying essay emphasizes the creative aspect of paper writing.

Writing: The Bridge between Consciousness and Unconsciousness[1]

I like writing. When I am totally absorbed in writing, many ideas which have never occurred to me before can pop up in my mind, or once confused and fragmentary information and thought can be spontaneously organized and become clear. It is one of the most satisfactory moments for me.

Yet, I often struggle for long periods trying to organize ideas in front of the cruel white paper. This is especially true when I am trying to be systematic and logical, beginning with an outline. Since anything unclear or vague is eliminated in the process of making an outline, the paper turns out to be organized, clear, and compact, but I rarely have a sense of satisfaction.

What is the difference between a paper which emerges spontaneously and one that begins with a concern for logical consistency? I have been wondering how I can bridge the gap between these two types of writing and the attitudes they represent. I have found some clues to these problems in three articles written by Donald Murray, Peter Elbow, and William Stafford.[2]

What they emphasize in common is the process; writing is not the description of a result; in fact, writing itself can create the result. This means that we should not worry too much about how the last draft will turn out, or how we can organize all of our ideas before we begin. According to Murray, what we need for writing is enough information and a clear purpose: logic or order can appear later in the process. Elbow even denies the need for coherence in the initial stages of producing writing. He suggests "freewriting," which activates the writing process by getting rid of any concern about correction. Also, Stafford remarks that the most important things for his writing are receptivity and a willingness to give up high standards. For all of these writers, logic and organization, which has restricted me in certain ways, are secondary at the initial stage of production. It is true that logical rigor is important, but we can worry about that as much as we like after everything has been written down that we want to say.

What is important in writing is, as the three writers agree, the productivity of writing. According to Murray, for example, writing is the process of "making something that was not there before, finding significance where others find confusion and bringing order to chaos."[3] By writing you can find new things, which may be a new thought, a new feeling, a new idea, or even a new self which you would never have found without writing.

In order to promote this kind of productivity, Murray, Elbow, and Stafford agree on the importance of opening our minds. Murray points out that writing gives us an opportunity to capture, at the conscious level, unconscious feelings and ideas we had not noticed or had forgotten. Elbow says freewriting is a method to make our consciousness empty so that we can pick out something unconscious from deep within our hearts. Stafford remarks that the power letting him write is not a conscious device but his "own weak, wandering, diffident impulses" and his "confident reliance" upon these impulses.[4]

Writing might be compared to a breeze blowing towards the small window between consciousness and unconsciousness. The window is usually closed because consciousness is too strong to let the window open, and one ends up living in only half of the house, that is, the entire world of one's existence. But when writing occurs with the mind open, a breeze opens the window and one can encounter other aspects of the self, or even another self and become more fully integrated: The wonder of the writing process may even be the act of another self.

When I try to stick to the rules of logic from the outset, my consciousness prevents the window from opening to the other world. My writing then becomes a mere product of my pre-existing consciousness rather than the activity of my whole self. Repeated experience and practice of freewriting has helped me to open my mind. I can worry about logic and organization after my creative impulses have found expression on paper.

[1] This essay is an adaptation of Megumi Unno, "Writing: The Bridge between Consciousness and Unconsciousness," Foothill College, 1990.

[2] Mary Jane Schenck, Read, Write, Revise: A Guide to Academic Writing (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988), pp. 2-17, cites Peter Elbow, "Freewriting Exercises," Writing without Teachers (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1973); Donald Murray, "Why Write?" Write to Learn (CBS College Publishing, 1984); and William Stafford, "A Way of Writing," Field 2, Spring, 1970.

[3] Schenck, p. 3.

[4] Schenck, p. 16.