Posted: September 16th, 2017

The purpose of this essay is to allow you to explore in greater

1.    The purpose of this essay is to allow you to explore in greater detail a question or issue raised by our readings and/or class discussions.

Choose a well-defined and focused topic that

you would like to know more about. The basic requirements for the essay are: 3-4 pages, single-spaced, not including the bibliography, utilizing at least two, scholarly outside sources (i.e.,

reasonably objective sources, reputable, and non-polemical). I strongly encourage you to look at, and if possible utilize, ‘hard copy’ resources (books and/or periodicals)

from the ISU Library (or

library reserve). The ISU Library has a good selection of texts on Mormonism in the ‘BX’ section of the stacks; it also carries the excellent academic journal on Mormonism, Dialogue, with issues

dating back to the journal’s inception (in the 3rd floor periodicals stacks). Ask the library staff to assist your search; they are extremely helpful and knowledgeable.

The essay is due in class on

Tuesday, June 10th. Late essays will be penalized one full letter grade per day.
Important note: The point of this essay is for you to explore a topic or an aspect of a topic about which you are interested – and don’t know much about presently — in a non-superficial way.

Please do not explain to me what a basic church doctrine is (I already know), bear your testimony about the truthfulness of an aspect of Mormonism, or give me an anti-Mormon polemic.

Please

do undertake some serious academic research about a topic of interest, and explore its complexity and nuances as much as possible; dig deeply, be thoughtful, and make appropriate

connections and well-researched arguments/speculations of a non-ontological nature (i.e., you are not attempting to establish ‘truth’ or ‘falsehood’). We will discuss differences between a sub-

standard, superficial essay and a strong, analytical essay in class; pay close attention and ask questions if needed.

2.    You must cite all sources. I will accept any standard citation format, but you MUST give author’s name, date, text or journal name, page (if specifying a particular passage),

and

publisher or website. Any statement that is not common knowledge must be cited. A standard social sciences citation format is: “_________” (Mead 1961: 11). And then, of course, the relevant

publishing data is included in your bibliography under Mead, Margaret 1961.

3.    Please use the following organizational format:
a.    Introduction: Immediately acquaint the reader with your topic or research question. Let the reader know what the essay is about and where you are going with it. Indicate how the rest

of the paper is organized. This section should be one or two paragraphs.
b.    Discussion of the Literature/Findings: What did the literature say about your topic? How did various sources agree and disagree with regards to your topic? What are the issues?

Remember to keep focused in this section; it is easy to start wandering around here, which makes the essay loose and incoherent. In other words, don’t try to include everything that everyone

has said about the topic; prioritize, summarize, and use only what you need to discuss your particular issue. This section should be around 1 page in length.

c.    Analysis: What do you make of your findings? How do they connect with some of the readings, discussions, and theoretical perspectives from class? In this section, you need to engage

what you have learned from your research, articulating your findings with issues raised in class and your own observations and thoughts, and contextualizing them within more encompassing

topics. This section is all about creative analysis and the application of critical thinking skills. It should be around 1-2 pages in length.
d.    Conclusions: Summarize the main points you have raised and documented in the literature. What does the reader now know that s/he didn’t know at the beginning of the essay?

Reiterate the important points and pull them together in a coherent summary.