Conservative Judaism. Purpose: To present an overview of the foundations and ethical principles of a religious or philosophical tradition; to summarize and evaluate the major sources of the tradition

ASSIGNMENT #1 [20%] DIRECTIONS Purpose: To present an overview of the foundations and ethical principles of a religious or philosophical tradition; to summarize and evaluate the major sources of the tradition that contribute to how ethical/moral choices are determined. Length : The paper is to be 1 500 -20 00 words – do not be fooled by word processor word -counts, they often count very small words, letters, numbers and citations as ‘words’ when they are not. An easy way to get a true academic word -count is to add up the major words on a single line of random text and to multiply it by the number of lines per page, then multiply the result by the number of full pages. Requirements : Facts must be supported by information obtained from your research. Sources used must be properly cited – YOU MUST USE A PROPER STYLE GUIDE (APA or MLA) to format your in -paper citations, bibliography, and the essay in general. Any use of other person’s materials or prior assignments from previous sections, terms, or online sources will result in an automatic F and an investigation into plagiarism. This assignment requ ires that you make use of a minimum of 4 academic source s in writing your p aper; a real ‘academic ’ source is something that has been peer -reviewed and published in the field – if you are uncertain if a source is proper to use you should always ask. As per the evaluation sheet, ½ of the paper will be evaluated on proper written English. Research ing: Resea rching your topic means g oing to the libraries, and online, to find information. Do not use the UMlearn Co urse Readings or Class Lec tures No tes as sources. If you require help finding source materials for your paper – ASK! Ask the librarians, professor, adv isors, etc. Do not wait un til the day before yo ur paper is du e to ask for help! At the Library: M ake sure that you know how to use the Un iversity of M anitoba Library Catalogu e, especially how to do ‘sub jec t’ and ‘keyw ord’ sea rches. The “One Stop Search” at the librar y website is a good plac e to start. You can also check the ATL A Religion Database of articles on religion (in any Campus Library’s list of on-line d atabases). Do not go to the library, find a big boo k about what you are resea rching, and assume that you have done the nece ssary resea rch. Seldom does one boo k, even if it is long and detailed, do justice to a topic. At the same tim e, don’t try to rea d everything you can find on your sub jec t. Remember, you are writing an academic essay; do not try to include every single detail into your paper. On line : The internet ca n be a grea t source of useful information. But anyone can put almost anything they wish on the W eb, including stuff that is not true. G enerally, think of the W eb as an odd mi x of scholarship, personal op inion, and public relations junk (especially so in matters of religion). If you use W eb resource s, you nee d to be able to make such distinctions to ensure a given site’s academic reliabil ity. W eb sites run by universities, organiza tions like the Un ited Nations or the like are generally trustworthy. Remember, academic source s i nclud e documents that have bee n reviewed by others in the field, items that are pub lished by acc redited institutions a nd well-known orga nizations. Personal op inions of non-experts are not good source s for aca demi c papers. What to an swer and how to orga nize the assign m ent : To get full marks in ea ch of the sec tions of the evaluation shee t for this assignment make sure your paper has answers to the following :  W ho was involved in the origins of your assigned religion/philosophy?  Where did it develop?  When did it start? When were major changes or developments put into place?  What are the major sources of authority that it offers people for making moral/ethical choices in life?  W hat was the tim e period and setting like ? W as society different than today?  Are certain of its sources of authority more reliable today as compared to others?  How do the major idea s of this religion/ tradition compared to neighboring ones ?  W hat are the strengths and wea knesses of the religion/ tradition ?  Are there any specific subjects/issues that present large challenges to your tradition today? How to write a good essay with regard to con tent : Essay writing demands ca reful, precise thinking and expression. Develop ing your ability to think and express that thinking clea rly is a significant goal of “W ” courses. Consequ ently, the qu ality of your writing will affect your paper’s grade. On ly rarely can anyone comm unica te good ideas in a po orly written paper. The “classic” form of writing an essay is simple — make sure to write a well-structured essay wi th an introdu ction which states yo ur ce ntral thesis (apart from a simple central thesis statement, your introduction should also include a proper reason for writing this paper, and the basic outline of how the paper will be organized and what it will address ); next is a body of several paragraphs which elaborates up on and demonstrates the thesis statement and answers the above listed questions ; and finally, a strong conclusion which states yo ur views. Naturally, throughout the whole paper, any fact that is not considered ‘common knowledge’ to all persons must be cited properly. Grad ing will also be based on these cr ite ria:  Essay conforms to an app ropriate AP A or MLA style manual, especially regarding citations and bibliograph y.  It is p rinted legibly; it is d oub le-spaced; it is the correct length; it is p resented nea tly.  Paper includ es proper title page information with you name, stud ent #, d ate, title of paper, and who it is for.  Paper is stapl ed in the upp er left hand corner (do NOT put it in a ca rdboard or plastic folder).  Formal Canadian English is u sed. Do not use contractions, clichés, and slang langu age. If you use a spell chec ker, set its options to Canadian English (CE) . If you use a gramm ar chec ker, set its options to “formal”.  Non-gendered langu age is u sed wh en referring to human beings unless specifica lly discussing a man or woman. [See the Un iversity of M anitoba's “Langu age Usage Guidelines”, in Un iversity Policies, Uni ve rsity of M anitoba Und ergraduate Calenda r.]  Ess ay has bee n carefully proo f-read for gram matical and spelling er rors. Spell-check helps, but it does NOT catch everything that proof-rea ding does.  Direc t quotations and paraphrased materials are sourced properly, documented with citations. Failure to document yo ur sources is dishonest and wi ll low er yo ur grade sub stantial ly.  M ake sure you include a complete, and correct, Bibliography of ALL source s u sed. Late papers: Except with prior permission of the instructor, or in the case of documented illness or emergency, a paper handed in after the due date will have one point from the overall total de ducted for each day it is late. For those with little/no experience in formal essay writing : If you have never done a formal paper before at the U of M, or have trouble with basic English composition, it is highly recommended that you find the Learning Assistance Centre At University Of Manitoba (http://umanitoba.ca/student/u1/lac/ ). The Mission of the LAC is “To offer quality academic support to all UM students through accessible and adaptable programming that will f acilitate learning and enhance writing.” The LAC offers a variety of services and resources, including an “online writing tutor . . . offering virtual writing support”. It allows you to electronically submit a copy of your paper to the “virtual tutor” and ask questions about its format, organization, grammar, etc. You can also find online writing resources at www.umanitoba.ca/virtuallearningcommons . Do not forget, you can always contact your ins tructor for specific help!