The length and formatting of the papers should be as follows:
Length: 9 pages Font Type: Times New Romans
Font Size: 12 Line Spacing: Double
Top, Bottom, Left, Right Margins: 1” Footnotes rather than endnotes
Please include page numbers. No cover page for the paper is necessary
Please see the course writing guide for further writing suggestions and instructions as to how footnotes should be formatted. Papers should include a bibliography of works cited; this page does not count towards the required length of nine pages. Students often ask about expectations for the number of sources engaged in a paper. I would recommend students have at least four different sources (or at least four not included in their first papers)
Students may write on a topic related to our readings of God, suffering, and evil, or authors, texts, and media mentioned or not mentioned in our course. Regarding this prompt, students in the past have submitted poetry, reflections in songs and images, and original short stories and dramas that involve suffering and the questions it raises. Students have also analyzed films, media, and texts from outside our course using the constructs and themes from the course. If students wish to write on a related topic or pursue a more creative or unusual project, the instructor would be glad to discuss possible submissions.
This paper is for a class called God, Suffering, and Evil. For this paper, I chose to further explore the works of Thich Nhat Hahn, a Buddhist monk that has many books on suffering. During class, we explored his book called The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation. For this essay, however, I would like to explore some of his other works from his “How to… series”. Since the books are very short and a minimum of three sources are required, I chose the following three books from this series: How to Eat, How to Love, and How to Relax. The idea behind this essay is to somehow tie the teachings provided in these other books to embracing and overcoming suffering. In other words, THERE SHOULD BE A CLEAR CONNECTION BETWEEN THESE BOOKS AND THE SUFFERING THEME.
As I suggested in the title, my idea was to show how these three books provide a practical guide to transforming pain and suffering into healing. I am not sure what is the best way to integrate the three books and in which order, so feel free to be creative about it.
Also, the essay should be at least 9 pages of written content. References should go on the 10th page.