Letter in Reply to Ren An

Instructions for the Written Essay (20%)

Assessment one: Class presentation and paper due one week after class presentation
1,500 words (20%)

Topic: Letter in Reply to Ren An: This letter is renowned for its highly personal quality. What is Sima Qian trying to explain to Ren An? (please do not use any references here but your words in trying to explain what is Sima Qian trying to explain to Ren An?) Why do you think this letter had been prized by Chinese intellectuals for the past two thousand years (please incorporate references here to support your stance in terms of why do you think this letter had been prized by Chinese intellectuals for the past two thousand years)? The purpose of this assignment is to develop skills in interpreting literary or classical Chinese works with regard to their meaning, significance and cultural context.

You will be marked on the following criteria:

•    your understanding of the conceptual issues involved in the topic; 
•    your ability to frame an argument in response to the set question;
•    clarity of writing, appropriate presentation; 
•    correct citation and use of scholarly references. 

Note you receive marks for the written class paper not the class presentation, but you are required to present in class in the relevant week.

Style Guide and essay formatting
Format for essays, exercises or assignments

Unless otherwise stated by the relevant lecturer, the following apply:

Use A4 paper, double-spaced with a wide margin (about 4 cm) for comments, and use only one side of the paper.
Word Limit: 1500 words, typed, double-spaced, with reasonable margins. Remember to number your pages. Please proofread your work carefully before submission.
•    Proofread carefully (use spellcheck and grammar check).
•    Note that Chinese names follow the order of Family name + given name. However, not all English language publications follow this order which can lead to confusion. If possible check this when citing names.
•    Words in languages other than English should appear in italics or be underlined with the exception of words which are now a common part of the English language, eg. Yuan (a Chinese unit of currency).
•    It is recommended in your assignments that you use the Hanyu Pinyin system for transliterating Chinse words and names. Works published before around 1980 used an older system called the Wade-Giles system. In your reader you will find a Wade-Giles to Pinyin Conversion Table.

How to use citations:
Why do we have to provide references or sources for our work? Referencing allows your reader to trace the sources of your information and ideas. It allows for a dialogue between yourself and others who have written about this topic. It also allows you to separate out your own contribution from those of others. It is essential to avoid plagiarism. Your references will allow your reader to assess the sources of your information. You must give enough information for the reader to locate the same source, including its year of publication and page number.

Footnotes (or endnotes) may be additionally useful to discuss minor points you do not wish to include in the body of your essay, assignment or exercise.

When you are using citations, make sure that your essay or assignment does not consist primarily of a long stream of direct citations, summaries of facts or opinions from the work of others, without your own argument or personal voice. A good way to avoid this is to frame your work around the set criteria.

It is acceptable to structure your class paper around headings such as medium, genre and so on. However, if you prefer, you can integrate this information into an essay format. Be sure to include discussion of quotations from the primary sources (eg. the translated Chinese readings for that week).

Use direct quotations from secondary sources sparingly*. Summarise the facts or views of others in your own words as far as possible.

*A secondary source is an analytical study of an issue, eg. Victor Mair on Chinese civilisation. A primary source is the raw data that an analytical study will generally rely on to make its case. In this course, the writings of Chinese thinkers such as Confucius, poems in the Shijing, and so on are all regarded as primary sources. 

Referencing style
If you are an Arts student you may well be familiar with the footnote system of referencing. You are welcome to use this style (check out the Arts website for details) OR to use what is sometimes called the Harvard referencing style or the in-text referencing style. In the latter you refer to a work in the body of your essay in the following way (Graham 1991), (Fung 1948), ( Kracke 1964: 22-26) etc.

Above you have given the surname(s) of the author(s), the year of publication and the page number cited in your own essay. In the case of Graham, you wished to cite the work as a whole so there is no need to give the page numbers here. With the Harvard referencing you must list the full form of each reference in your bibliography appended at the end of your essay. Arrange your bibliography in alphabetical order, eg Fung, Graham, Kracke.