Aleena shekh

he  Weekly  Reading  Essays  (WREs)  are  designed  to  (1)  aid  in 

the 

comprehension and retention of key concepts

and theories as well as essential 

historical background for understanding the contemporary issues covered in the 

overall 

course

,  including  the  class  sessions

.

They  are 

also

meant  to 

(2) 

help 

develop   critical   thinking  and   writing   skills   foundational   to  you

r   college 

experience 

and 

longer

-

term 

career

-

life 

goals

.

Along with these general guidelines

which pertain to all WREs

, s

pecific 

guidelines are given in the syllabus for each weekly essay in direct relation to the 

required readings for that week. 

In order to achieve the highest possible grade, 

you should 

carefully

follow 

both

the specific guidelines for each week and these 

general guidelines when writing each weekly essay.

Generally, all essays are 400

-

450 words in length

(though the Week 9 

essay i

s 500

-

550 words)

. This is the absolute minimum requirement. 

If you go 

over 450 words, y

ou should not exceed 600 words

maximum

.

(

In the case of 

WK 9, if you go over 550, 

700 

is the maximum limit

)

.

A

ll your essays should be written 

in a

strictly 

factual, enc

yclopedic

manner.

Use  the 

D

ictionary

of  Sociology

article  on  “Globalization”  fr

om  the  Week  1 

required  readings 

as  a  model  for 

style

(

not  word  count). 

All  material  in  your 

essay must be taken from the specified (required) course readings

for that week

, 

no 

outside  sources  are  permitted.  The  essay

s

should  be  written,  however, 

in 

your own words

.

You can quote small, key phrases of approximately 3

-

5 words 

(with quot

ation

marks always clearly placed around them), 

but 

do 

not 

quote

entire 

sentences

. 

T

he 

number of quote

d phrases

in any one essay should not exceed 

five

. 

Also, d

o not 

simply 

change a few words in the origin

al

.

You should instead 

recast

the 

material 

from the readings 

in your own words

, according to your understanding

.

It should be 

your

essay, even though it 

is 

based directly on the readings.

Do

not  use  ‘fluff

& 

filler’  or  unnecessary  phrases

such  as  ‘I 

think/feel/believe that...’.

T

he  following 

sentence  is  an 

example

of  what  I 

consider mostly ‘fluff

& 

filler’ and unnecessary phras

ing

: “I think it is important 

to realize that Vanhaute makes a reall

y huge point when he says on page 54 that 

Western triumphalism influenced 

the writing of 

universalist history. This is an 

amazing  fact  which  really  deserves  our  attention  because  of  all  its  profound 

implications

.

” The only part of this statement which will be 

considered ‘factual’ 

and ‘encyclopedic’

for grading is “Western triumphalism influenced 

the writing 

of 

universalist history.” Everything else is unnecessary and will not be given 

credit  when  grading. 

(

Note  th

at  I  have  only  used  quotation  marks 

in  this 

example 

to highlight the statement

; it is not a direct quote from a reading

.

)

Also,  avoid  opinion

statements

/value  judgment

s

, such as: “This is a 

great tragedy,” or “this kind of racist attitude should not be tol

erated  in  our 

society.” 

T

hese kinds of statements will also be considered unnecessary ‘fluff & 

filler’. You should, however, feel free to 

critically engage

an 

author

and/or a 

viewpoint

. 

In   such   cases,   you   should   again 

not

use  phrases  such  as  ‘I 

think/feel/

believe...’. Instead, simply state your viewpoint

, together with your 

supporting  reasons/evidence,

as  an  assumed  fact  in  contrast  to  the  author

or 

viewpoint

. For example: “Among the three views he presents on ‘the rise of the 

West’ and ‘the Great Departure’,

Vanhaute 

holds the third view

, but 

the second 

view seems more reasonable because...”

You can also critically engage various 

viewpoints presented in the readings

in a similar way, 

without attributing them to 

the author in such cases

. 

For example: “Among the three views on ‘the rise of the 

West’ and ‘the Great Departure’ which Vanhaute discusses, the third 

view 

seems the best option because...”

You  will  need  to  be  careful  to  distinguish 

when the author is simply discussing various viewpoi

nts versus expressing their 

own. 

Demonstrating  this  kind  of  critical  engagement  with  the  readings 

will 

strengthen your grade

.

There  are  minimum  reference/citation  requirements  in  the  specific 

guidelines for each week

. 

References should be cited in parenthe

ses at the end 

of   the   sentence(s)   from  which   you   t

ake

specific 

idea(s)

or   facts

.

Your 

reference/citation  should  be 

according  to  the  following  example:  (Vanhaute 

2013:72

-

73).  In  this  reference/citation,  “2013”  refers  to  the  year  that 

Vanhaute’s book was published and “72

-

73” refers to the page numbers from 

which you took the 

specific 

idea(s)

or fact(s)

.

Grading of the e

ssays will, again, be according these general guidelines 

in conjunction with the specific guidelines for each week’s essay. Feel free to 

ask questions before or after class, during office hours, or by email, if you are 

not clear about 

something. Also, if y

ou wish me to look over your essay before 

you submit it for grading, I am happy to do that. However, I am unable to do it 

by email. You will need to come in during office hours to sit down with me and 

go over your essay together.

These  essays  will  be  one  o

f  the  most  challenging  parts  of  the  course. 

They will take time and effort on your part. The first few essays will be the most 

difficult.

You  should  pay  special  attention  to  these  general  guidelines  when 

doing the first two or three.

But once you get ‘the 

hang of them’, I am confident 

they will prove richly rewarding in terms of 

deepening your understanding of 

ourselves and our world as well as developing crucial life

-

lo