AST3UJS: Guidelines for Long Essay
You are required to write a research essay of 2,000 words for submission to Dr. Elise Foxworth by 2:00pm Mon Dec 21st with a signed statement of authorship AND Turnitin certification. Please attach a stamped and self-addressed envelope if you don’t mind.
Please note that both late essays and those that exceed the word limit by 10% will be penalized. Please refer to the Asian Studies Program Rules posted on the LMS.
Formatting
Your essay:
• Must have a contention; it must be analytical and not just descriptive!
• May be typed on both sides of the paper
• Must be double spaced
• Must be in a large enough font for your sensei’s old eyeballs to read! 12 or 13 • Must have a 3 cm left hand margin.
• On the cover sheet please write the number of words of your essay – NOT including the references.
• On the cover sheet please indicate the referencing system you decided to use: MLA, Harvard, Chicago etc. (see below)
You must keep a copy of your final essay.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism will be penalised.
References
All references are to be clearly acknowledged and listed in a bibliography at the end of the essay. At the very minimum, you are required to refer to 10-12 sources in writing your essay. If you are majoring in Japanese you should include 2 Japanese primary sources if possible. Online encyclopedias, like wikipedia.com, do not count as credible academic sources, but they can often serve as a good starting point, especially if they contain references and/or a bibliography.
You will need to use one of three referencing systems to acknowledge your sources in your essay: either the Harvard system, the Chicago system or the MLA system. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are using your chosen system correctly. See the reference guides either in the library or at: http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/help/style-guides.php
Citing Asian language sources: follow the normal guidelines of your style guide: Romanize (put in Roman letters = the English alphabet) and italicize the Japanese title and in parentheses translate the title. Romanize the rest.
Essay Topics: Please write on one of questions given below.
A: Queer Japan or being transgender in Japan; what implications do these gender identities have for gender equality in Japan?
B: How has the recent influx of migrants to Japan affected the ways in which Japanese see themselves? Why? What are the human rights implications with regard to immigration to Japan? C: How is Japanese fiction a reflection of and/or a response to social problems in Japan? You may choose one Japanese author, such as MIYAZAWA Kenji, OE Kenzaburo, MURAKAMI Haruki or another, and read at least one English translation of the author’s works and critique it with this theme in mind. You must reference several analyses of the works of the writer in question so that you achieve an understanding, not only of the work of fiction you have read, but also of the oeuvre of the writer and how he/she treats Japanese social ills in his/her literature. D: Compare and contrast domestic violence in Japan and Australia. How are we to understand the differences in both perceptions and services in the two nations? How effective have institutional initiatives been? What are the implications? Any suggestions for future directions?
You are NOT permitted to submit an essay that treats the same topic matters you treated in essays for MMA – the Making of Modern Asia – or CIA – Contemporary Issues in Asia. Suggested method
1. Begin by making a list of resources and scanning, skimming them to get an idea of the variety of subtopics pertaining to your topic.
2 On the basis of your browsing, your knowledge of the subject and, of course, your own interests, select a very few aspects of the topic you think worth researching. Do not write too much of a ‘generalist’ essay or an ‘exposé’ – rather focus on a very few aspects of your topic and write about them analytically.
3 Commence intensive reading on your subject in relevant secondary sources and in the major primary sources you have identified.
4 Draft a detailed outline of your essay and its argument.
6 Cross-reference: look for more information, even if only of a contextual nature.
7. Write your essay on the basis of your thinking, research and reading, focusing on the central question you have identified.
8. Pretend your due date is Friday Dec 18 and FINISH it by then.
9. Proofread your final essay.
10. Print out your essay and ask someone with a good command of English to read it and edit it for grammatical and punctuation mistakes.
11. Proofread it again!
Resources:
The Borchardt Library (and other libraries in Melbourne, including the University of Melbourne) are your most reliable sources for the information you will need to gather in completing your essay.
This should give you an idea of some of the resources available to you in writing your essay. This list, along with the below list of useful sources, are incomplete. You will clearly find additional resources to draw on, including new online resources.
A special note about online sources. The World Wide Web is an extremely powerful tool with billions of webpages created by individuals across the global and providing information on nearly every conceivable topic. Yet, unlike the information contained in books, journals and newspapers found in research or academic libraries, most of the information you find on the web has not been evaluated, vetted or edited prior to its publication online. Anyone with a computer, access to a server and a bit of time can create a webpage. Thus the nature of the Internet means you need to approach it with a healthy degree of skepticism and the skills of a modern-day cyber detective. You should never accept any source of information without first questioning its authority, appropriateness and creditability—most especially online information
General Sources
Beauchamp, Edward R, and James M. Vardaman, Jr., editors, Japaneseeducationsince1945:a documentarystudy(Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, c1994).
De Bary, Wm. Theodore,SourcesofJapanesetradition(New York: Columbia University Press, 2001)
Dilworth, David A, and Valdo H. Viglielmo, translated and edited,Sourcebookfor modernJapanesephilosophy:selecteddocuments(Westport, Conn: Greenwood, 1998).
Livingston, Jon, Joe Moore, and Felicia Old father, edited, TheJapanreader(New York: Pantheon Books, [1974], c1973).
Lu, David John,SourcesofJapanesehistory(New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974).
Meyer, Charles and R.S.B. Searle, edited, Japan(Milton Qld: Jacaranda, 1975).
Tsunoda Ryusaku, Wm. Theodore de Bary [and] Donald Keene, editors,Sourcesof Japanesetradition(New York: Columbia University Press, 1958).
A Reference List of Ethnographic Monographs in Japan Anthropology (Compiled by William W Kelly, Yale University) http://research.yale.edu/wwkelly/Japan anthropology/J monograph-list.htm
Original Sources:
Asahi Newspaper //www.asahi.com (Click -English- once in)
Japan Times //www.japantimes.co.jp
Mainichi Shinbun //www.mainichi.co.jp
Nihon Keizai Shinbun //www.Nikkei.co.jp
Yomiuri Newspaper //www.yomiuri.co.jp
NHK (Japan Broadcasting Coorporation ---- Japanese version of ABC)
//www.nhk.or.jp
Radio Japan International (Enter from NHK)
Osaka prefectural government
//www.pref.Osaka.jp/Osaka-pref/indexe.
Japanese National Library //www.ndl.go.jp
Embassy of Japan (Canberra) (This also provides Japanese government web directory.)
//www.japan.org.au
Statistical Yearbook of Japan (hardcopy in the library).
Japan Institute of Labor Policy and Training http://www.jil.go.jp/english/index.html Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare //www.mhlw.go.jp/english/index.html
Useful websites:
//coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVL-AsianStudies.html
//WWW.geocities.com/Tokyo/4220/japanlinks.html
//www.japan.org.au/Melbourne/melbourne.html
//www.lookjapan.com
//www.japanecho.co.jp
//www.mofa.go.jp
Annotated directory of internet resources, Popular culture of Japan http://newton.uor.edu/Departments&Programs/AsianStudiesDept/japan-pop.html
Specialist Journals
AsiaRecorder:AWeeklyDigestofAsianEvents.
JournalofJapaneseStudies
MonumentaNipponica
JournalofAsianStudies
SocialScienceJapan
AST3UJS Long Essay Assessment Grid
Depth and Quality of Research
Reflects adequate and relevant reading about the issue
Convincing evidence /20
Analysis and Critical Thinking Not merely a descriptive essay
Insightful comments /20
Structure
Introduction & conclusion
Organization of key points & good flow /20
Bibliography & Referencing
Proper citation /10
Presentation
Formatting rules followed /10
English expression
Grammatical accuracy
Spelling and punctuation
Variety of vocabulary used appropriately /20
Total /100