HUMA final paper
wpr MC January 2023 / last updated October 2023

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A Missing Piece: HUMA Final Paper Overview
Over the course of this term, you have read a lot and learned a lot, but you know there are some
gaps in our textbook. And I have good news! The publisher of our text has just called to say that
our class is being asked to make the revisions for the eighth edition, which will come out next
year. I need and want your input on this!

Note: I am not actually submitting anything to the publisher. That’s just the parameters of
the prompt. This is just a hypothetical. I recently had a student take a very passionate
stand against unpaid labor and refuse to write this essay because I wasn’t clear about that!
So just so we are clear, I am not actually going to use your submission to submit to the
publisher. But let’s pretend!

Paper Description

For your final paper, I want you to explore, describe and expand upon one idea, period, or
movement in art, literature, religion, dance, theater, philosophy, handcrafts, the culinary arts,
culture, or architecture that is missing from (or barely mentioned in) the textbook that you think
should be featured. (For 1301, it should be from the time periods covered from Chapters 2
through the end of Chapter 8. For 1302, it will be from Chapter 9 to the end of the text.)

This can be something that you covered in any of your previous discussions or posts, and it is
also great with me if it is an idea you got from a classmate or a class lecture or video that you are
very passionate about. But if you did get the idea from a classmate or a lecture, please include
that as a note to me in your assignment. Note that even if the idea originated from someone else,
you’re still going to have to make the case for why it should be included in the text, so make sure
you pick something you feel passionately about and can show you’re thinking critically and
deeply about.

Paper Specifics

Provide the publisher with a write-up about this missing piece, making sure it is between 500-
750 words long, which is roughly 2-3 double-spaced Times New Roman 12-point pages with 1-
inch margins.

Here is a paragraph breakdown to help you organize your writing.

• Paragraph 1. What are you proposing to add to the text? Take a stand and make an
argument for your addition. Why does this thing matter enough to future students of this
class to reformat the textbook to add it? What does this item add to your understanding of
humanities and why? Why is it a problem that the text omits or barely addresses this
addition you are proposing?

HUMA final paper
wpr MC January 2023 / last updated October 2023

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• Paragraph 2. Explain your addition in detail, contextualizing it in the time period where it
comes from. What came before it, what came after, and why does it matter? Why is it
important? Why should the reader of the new edition of the textbook care about it? Why
do you care about it? (It’s perfectly okay to write in the “I” here.)

• Paragraph 3. Where would it appear in the text? We need to tell the publisher which page,
and where on that specific page, you envision this addition being placed. If it is a
concept, would any artwork or graphics would accompany it? Would you link it to a
video? Do you think it should replace something that’s already in the text? Or would it be
a completely new addition?

• Paragraph 5. How does it relate to what we have read and add to our understanding of the
humanities in this course? Why does this matter? It’s your job to convince the publisher
so restate your claim, make your case, and articulate the stakes: what will we be missing
out on if this is left out of the text?

Tone and Style

Your paper should answer the questions who, what, when, where, why, and how about your
item. If you need a guide, take a look at Roman Daily Life on p. 89-91, or The Bayeux Tapestry
on p. 143. Your submission should have the same (or similar) scholarly tone as our text, as we
want it to be a seamless addition to the new edition.

Citations

Citations should be in the MLA citation style, which means the paper and its sources should be
formatted like this.

Grading Rubric

Your paper will be graded as follows, adapted in part from the Dreyfus Model for Assessing
Humanities and Philosophy.

• The A Paper: Superior. Exceptional work that uses imagination and actually does more
than the assignment calls for. It is clear, concise, and free of errors of logic. It is well-
organized and largely error-free. Handling of sources, MLA formatting, and research
techniques are superb. Student work demonstrates authoritative knowledge of key
elements of philosophical arguments or literary, cultural, or artistic moments within the
context of the history of ideas, deeply engaging or questioning meaning, value, cultural
contribution, interpretation, historical significance, or methods of writers, artists, or
philosophers.

• The B Paper: Excellent. Exceptional work with a minimum of difficulties of thought,
expression, organization, and formatting/research techniques. Student work demonstrates
some refinement and depth in its engagement with key elements of philosophical
arguments or literary, cultural, or artistic moments within the context of the history of
ideas.

HUMA final paper
wpr MC January 2023 / last updated October 2023

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• The C Paper: Good. Work which fulfills the assignment and has an acceptable number of
technical difficulties. Student work engages or begins to question or develop personal
conception of some key elements of philosophical arguments or literary, cultural, or
artistic moments within the context of the history of ideas.

• The D Paper: Unsatisfactory, but with some redeeming features. Ds will be given very
rarely. Student work identifies and discusses some key elements of philosophical
arguments or literary, cultural, or artistic moments within the context of the history of
ideas.

• The F Paper: Failing work. Superficial treatment of subject, with lack of focus, garbled
prose, frequent grammatical and mechanical errors, weak organization, unacceptable
formatting/research techniques. Plagiarized and/or AI-written content. Student work
demonstrates little to know knowledge of key elements of philosophical arguments or
literary, cultural, or artistic moments within the context of the history of ideas.

Academic Integrity

I will run all papers through Turnitin, which will check for plagiarized content. It is a very
powerful, very accurate resource that you can also utilize on Canvas to check the integrity of
your own work. A flat 0 will be given to any paper that fails to cite its source material and uses
words that are not your own original content. Similarly, AI cannot articulate your opinion and it
cannot cite, and you must do both for this paper.