I. Prompt You must (1) explain what the political views of Laozi (also spelled Lao Tzu) are, (2) explain what the political views of Confucius

I. Prompt

You must

(1) explain what the political views of Laozi (also spelled Lao Tzu) are,

(2) explain what the political views of Confucius are,

(3) discuss one way in which the political views of Laozi and Confucius are similar, and

(4) discuss one way in which the political views of Laozi and Confucius are different.

WARNING: Do not talk about whether Laozi or Confucius is right or wrong. Just interpret each and state what you think the relationship of their views to one another is.

In the case of the reading assignment from Confucius’s Analects, the reading assignment given in the iBook (Books 3-7, 10, 12-14) is 53 pages. I suggest that you focus on Books 4, 12, and 13 of the Analects (16 pages).

II. Guidelines

The body of your paper must be at least three full pages long, and no more than four pages long (not including the cover page or works cited page). It must be formatted as follows: use the Times New Roman font, 12-point size, double spacing between lines, no extra spacing between paragraphs, and one-inch margins on the top, bottom, left side, and right side.

Do not write an introductory paragraph. State a thesis all by itself instead of an introductory paragraph. The thesis states the main point of your paper.

You must provide citations for information that you get from the text of the Dao de jing or the Analects. The text of chapters 2 and 3 of the iBook are not adequate support for the claims you are required to make in this paper.

Do not include unnecessary background information about the life or times of either Lao Tzu or Confucius. Focus on the prompt give above.

Use APA style. For a quick guide on how to use APA style, see the following link: lynn-library.libguides.com (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Include a cover page at the beginning and a works cited page.

Do not save your judgments about the relation between the political views of Lao Tzu and Confucius for the last paragraph. Your last paragraph should be a conclusion in which you restate the most important points that you have already made.

Do not refer to Lao Tzu as “Lao.” Refer to him Lao Tzu as “Lao Tzu” (or “Laozi,” if you prefer). “Lao Tzu” or “Laozi” means “Old Master.” So, if you call him “Lao,” then you are calling him “Old” instead of “Old Master.” In any case, never refer to an author by his or her first name in an academic paper.

Do not plagiarize. Plagiarism is copying someone else’s text word-for-word (or almost word-for-word) without proper attribution. If you copy what someone else says word-for-word, you should put the text in quotation marks and include an in-text citation showing where the quotation is from. If you have paraphrased a source (that is, taken someone else’s idea and put it into your own words), give an in-text citation. Do this for every sentence of the paraphrase. If you are in doubt as to whether you should cite a source, cite it. I will never penalize you for too many citations.

III. Example Paper Outline

Do not turn in an outline. This is just an example of the structure of the kind of paper you should write. I am including this to illustrate some of the guidelines from above.

(Cover page)

I. Thesis (no introduction, just hit me right in the face with your thesis)

II. Explanation of the political views of Laozi

III. Explanation of the political views of Confucius

IV. Statement of one similarity and one difference between the political views of Laozi and Confucius

V. Conclusion: restate (I) and the main points of (II), (III), and (IV). Do not make any new points here.

(Works Cited page)

IV. Grading Rubric

Thesis (15%)

Exemplary: The paper contains a thesis statement which is clear, follows the prompt, and is the first sentence of the paper.

Proficient: The thesis statement does not follow the prompt or is unclear.

Satisfactory: The thesis statement neither follows the prompt nor is clear.

Basic: The thesis statement is not at the beginning of the paper.

Unsatisfactory: The paper contains no thesis statement.

Content (45%)

1. Interpret what Laozi says about politics

Exemplary: You offer a clear and correct interpretation of what Laozi says about politics.

Proficient: You offer an interpretation of what Laozi says about politics, but some details of it are wrong, vague, or confusing.

Satisfactory: You offer an interpretation of what Laozi says about politics, but parts of the interpretation are wrong, vague, or confusing.

Basic: You offer an interpretation of what Laozi says about politics, but the entire interpretation is wrong, vague, or confusing.

Unsatisfactory: You do not even attempt to interpret what Lao Tzu says about politics.

2. Interpret what Confucius says about politics

Exemplary: You offer a clear and correct interpretation of what Confucius says about politics.

Proficient: You offer an interpretation of what Confucius says about politics, but some details of it are wrong, vague, or confusing.

Satisfactory: You offer an interpretation of what Confucius says about politics, but parts of the interpretation are wrong, vague, or confusing.

Basic: You offer an interpretation of what Confucius says about politics, but the entire interpretation is wrong, vague, or confusing.

Unsatisfactory: You do not even attempt to interpret what Confucius says about politics.

3. State one similarity and one difference between what Laozi says about politics and what Confucius says about politics

Exemplary: You make a clear and correct statement of one similarity and one difference between what Laozi says about politics and what Confucius says about politics.

Proficient: You attempt to state one similarity and one difference between what Laozi says about politics and what Confucius says about politics, but some details of your statements are wrong, vague, or confusing.

Satisfactory: You attempt to state one similarity and one difference between what Lao Tzu says about politics and what Confucius says about politics, but parts of your statements are wrong, vague, or confusing.

Basic: You attempt to state one similarity and one difference between what Lao Tzu says about politics and what Confucius says about politics, but your statements are wrong, vague, or confusing.

Unsatisfactory: You do not even attempt to stateone similarity and one difference between what Lao Tzu says about politics and what Confucius says about politics.

Support (20%)

Citing the Dao de jing and the Analects to support claims about them

Exemplary: Statements about the views of Laozi and Confucius are supported by citations of the Dao de jing and the Analects.

Proficient: A few statements about the views of Laozi and Confucius are not supported by citations of the Dao de jing and the Analects.

Satisfactory: Several statements about the views of Laozi and Confucius are not supported by citations of the Dao de jing and the Analects.

Basic: Most statements about the views of Laozi and Confucius are not supported by citations of the Dao de jing and the Analects.

Unsatisfactory: No statements about the views of Laozi and Confucius are supported by citations of the Tao Te Ching and the Analects.

Spelling, grammar, and word choice (10%)

Exemplary: The paper contains no errors or only a few trivial errors.

Proficient: The paper is understandable but contains minor errors.

Satisfactory: The paper is understandable but contains multiple serious errors.

Basic: The errors make at least one sentence of the paper incomprehensible.

Unsatisfactory: The errors make more than one sentence of the paper incomprehensible.

In-text citations and Works Cited page (10%)

Exemplary: In-text citations and citations on the works cited page are in conformity with APA style.

Proficient: In-text citations and citations on the works cited page deviate from APA style in at least one way.

Satisfactory: In-text citations and citations on the works cited page deviate from APA style in at least two ways.

Basic: There are citations in the text but no works cited page, or there is a works cited page but there are no citations in the text.

Unsatisfactory: There are no citations in the text and there is no works cited page.