Topic: The Five Pillars of Islam

Order Description
Guidelines for the Essay:
The top of the first page should have the following information:
Your name:
Instructor: Ms. Carol Lawson
Date:
Name of Course: REL 101 – W0?
Title of Your Essay: State Shinto (or whatever topic you have chosen)
MLA format (typed, double-spaced, 12 pt. font, Times New Roman, one inch margins)
To Find Instructions for the MLA Format: Google Purdue OWL MLA Formatting and
Style Guide.
Marks will be deducted for not following the MLA format for Works Cited.
To learn how to use citations in your essay, click on How to Use Citations in Your
Essay (found under Essays).
Length: 1,300 words – Note: Any essay that is less than 1,300 words will be an automatic
failure. You may write more than 1,300 words, but please do not write a book. ?
Eighty percent of the essay must be written in your own words. (Do not use very long
quotations.) Check your percentage on How to Check for Plagiarism. If the result says more
than 20%, you need to reduce it to 20% or less.
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” NOTE: Please be careful not to preach a sermon. A sermon is not a research essay.
Sermons will be graded as zero
” Objectivity: When you write your essay, please pay particular attention to point three of
the objectives for the course in the syllabus. Point three says that you must demonstrate
that you can study religion in an objective manner. That means that you do not start your
essay with an agenda to prove that your religion is better than another religion. Also,
please do not write a sermon; a sermon is not a research essay. If you do not meet the
objectives for point three, your essay will be a failure.
” Do not use personal anecdotes. This is a research paper. At least ten percent will be
deducted.
” Quotations: Use no more than two quotations. Five percent will be deducted for more
than two. Ten to forty percent will be deducted, if your quotations are very long.
” Plagiarism: Check your essay for plagiarism after you upload it. Read the How to Check
for Plagiarism document that is found under Essays. If you plagiarize your essay, you
will be given a zero and an academic misconduct. If you are not sure what plagiarism is,
please read p. 2 of the syllabus. It is the responsibility of the student to understand
what constitutes plagiarism. Plagiarized essays will receive a zero and an Academic
Misconduct
1. Opening paragraph – 10 %
2. Content – 50 %
3. Citations – 5% – Citations differ from the Works Cited list. You must have citations at the end
of sentences or paragraphs to show where you found the information. If the citations are
missing, that is plagiarism, even if you have put the information into your own words. If you do
not know what citations are, please go to Essays and click on How to Use Citations in Your
Essay.
4. Works Cited – 5% – at least two academic sources – At the end of your essay, there must be
a Works Cited list with a minimum of two solid sources. You may use books, websites, film, and
your textbook. Do not use a general encyclopedia or an on-line CD encyclopedia such as
Grolier, Wikipedia, or Encarta. Do not use general interest magazines, such as National
Geographic. If you need help finding appropriate sources, ask a reference librarian. Google
Scholar is also a good resource. There are also many good films in the Trident library. You may
use one film in the Trident library as one of your two minimum sources. If you want to use a
film that is not in the Trident library, you must get it approved by sending me a D2L email.
” Please note that the Bible, the Koran, the Buddhist scriptures, or any other sacred text
is not considered to be a source for academic research. You may quote the Bible or the
Buddhist sutras or the Bhagavad Gita of Hinduism or any other sacred texts for up to
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10% of your essay; however, holy books/sacred texts will not count as one of your two
academic sources.
5. Closing paragraph – 30 % – your conclusion/critical thinking