1 1/2 paper

THE DIALOGICAL ESSAY 

The purpose and intention of the ​DIALOGICAL ​ESSAY is two-fold: 

(1) to help the professor understand how you are integrating the content of the class  into your own way of thinking and life experience.  

(2) to engage more deeply the work of other classmates.   

Thus, this essay revolves ​both​ around the assigned reading and the work of other students  in your group. After you have "proven" that you have done your assigned homework in the  CONTENT ESSAY, you now take the next step in the learning process. What do you find of  particular importance in the essays of your fellow student learners about the content of the  assigned reading? Again, what did you learn from​ them​ (as opposed to the original modular  reading assignment)? What did you agree with, or disagree with, and why? Have they  inspired you to do further done further online research on your own? Be imaginative! Be  creative! One hopes that you now have a new perspective on religion, a “new window” so to  speak. How are your perspectives evolving in this class? You can even go back and review  an earlier module and reframe some of your earlier ideas now that you have added to your  knowledge base in each successive learning module. You may even review the FORUM  postings in previous learning modules. This DIALOGICAL ESSAY should be approximately 1  1/2-2 pages in length (about half the length of the READING essay). REMEMBER: While  subjective in nature, don’t just “shoot from the hip” in this essay—it will be quite evident if  you spend the requisite amount of time really processing the material…! 

Step One: Read ALL of the essays submitted by fellow class members 

Step Two: Isolate 3-4 main and/or important ideas from these essays 

Step Three: Discuss these ideas in a good solid paragraph each 

Step Four: Embellish these ideas with further research, either online or in the library 

Step Five: Compile all of this is one good solid essay that is approximately two  single-spaced pages, space between paragraphs (12" typeface)