synthesize a wider array of passages

See attached for easier instruction reading Text used: Confucius, The Analects of Confucius (A. Waley trans.). 1989. New York: Vintage Books. Instructions Write a 800-1000-word descriptive essay on one of the topics listed below. In this assignment, you will synthesize a wider array of passages to provide an exposition of Confucian views. Remember, in this assignment, you are to explain, not evaluate. Your assignment should be double spaced. Make certain that your documentation is complete and that you take every effort to acknowledge intellectual indebtedness. It is worth 15 per cent of your final grade for this course. Topic Choices 1. Explain how the idea of jn or humanity (sometimes rendered as love, sometimes as goodness) works in Confucian philosophy. Note that explaining the concept itself is a necessary component. 2. Explain li or ritual / righteousness, and how it works. 3. Explain the notion of the superior man (chn tzu, sometimes rendered gentleman). 4. In what ways did Confucius see himself as incomplete or imperfect, especially as compared to the Sage? (Here, you want to ensure that you deal with such concepts as heaven and the degrees of goodness.) You will have to synthesize many concepts to make this case. 5. What is human nature for Confucius? What evidence does he give to show that his views about human nature are correct? What is The Descriptive Essay (Assignment 2) 1. Comprehending the text is the goal of your first two assignments. This task is very much like gathering evidence for a court trial. (Bear in mind that it can be done more or less adequately, that is, rigorously or carelessly.) You can end up with an ill-considered comprehension of the text, if you examine only a small portion of it, or if you merely state your opinion about what it is saying. A good essay develops an interpretation that explains what the text is saying in a step-by-step manner, citing it (using textual references) as you go. Like a good lawyer who puts together an argument by gathering relevant evidence and compiling those pieces of evidence into a coherent argument (or explanation of what the evidence means or implies), a good descriptive essay thoroughly identifies the relevant sections of a text and explains how those sections fit together. In other words, a good descriptive essay is a thorough, coherent, and well-supported exposition of the text. 2. Sketching a summary of the text is a good way to begin. Using your summary as a base, you can then see whether all the parts of the text fit with your summary description. If they do not, then you know your interpretation is lacking. Work back and forth between your summary and the text, revising the summary as you go to fit the text. This process should lead you to identify the main point of the text and how each part fits into the exposition. 3. One reason for not including secondary sources or commentaries on the readings is that you, as the investigator, are to gather the evidence you need to give a particular interpretation of the philosophers views on a topic. Keep in mind that this course is not primarily about memorizing information about philosophers, but about critical evaluation of the ideas they present. Gathering evidence from the text is part of this process. You want to make sure that the philosopher you will eventually criticize (or someone who defends him) cannot say, I didnt say that. You also dont want him to be able to say, Your interpretation is off-track; if you looked at what I said more thoroughly, you would see that you are wrong about my position. If you are to avoid this kind of error (and your essay will be evaluated in part on how well you avoid such errors), you need to put together a coherent interpretation with references from the text. 4. Your task in a descriptive essay is to identify and spell out the thesis as clearly as possible. The first question, then, is this, what is the author trying to say in the text or the section of the text of concern? 5. The second question is, what are the main supporting points that the author uses to establish the thesis or position? 6. Once you have identified these elements, you will need to explain the basic concepts and principles that are used. Units 1 and 2 deal with the task of identifying key concepts and principles. If you are unclear about this part of the assignment, read these units over carefully and contact your tutor with your questions about specific sections and their basic concepts and principles. 7. Explain, explain, explain. Clearly, clearly, clearly. Make sure the explanation you give matches the text and that you have not left out important elements of the text. Then, ensure that others will know what you are saying. 8. When you make a claim about what an author is saying, refer to the text, either by using a footnote or by quoting the text.