Transcendentalism and Today Research Paper
Topic: Transcendentalism is the idea that people should live a simple life unencumbered by technology. Those who followed this principal believed that the only truth lies within you, so you should always follow your intuition. While transcendentalism is a philosophical principal from the early to mid-19 th century, do its ideas transfer to modern times? Can you be a modernday transcendentalist? What are the benefits of living your life in this way? Conversely, what about this line of thinking would be dangerous in today’s world? Do the tenets of transcendentalism make for inherently selfish people?
Task: Write a 4-6 page research paper either for or against transcendentalism in today’s world.
You must use at least 5 sources. 2 of these sources must come from the literature. You must have at least 8 in-text citations.
This packet will be used to help you write your paper. Please turn it in when you turn in your paper.
Step 1: Create a thesis statement.
What is the main point I want to prove or discuss?____________________________
How will I convince the reader that this is true?
Ways that I can convince the reader of my point. (Remember your point must be debatable. Something that everyone already agrees with is not a good premise on which to write your essay)
My thesis statement:
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Transcendentalism and Today Research Paper
Now that you have created a working thesis statement, think about the research that you will need to locate. The pieces we will be reading in class are “from Walden” by Henry David
Thoreau and “from Nature” and “from Self-Reliance” by Henry David Thoreau. There is also an anti-transcendentalist piece by Joyce Carol Oates called “Against Nature.” Keep in mind that these are just small excerpts from the essays. You may find yourself having to do some more reading in order to find the information you need. We will also be watching the movie “The
Dead Poet’s Society” the 3 days before Thanksgiving. You may find yourself using some literary pieces that are not in our textbook such as Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience.”
Before we go to the 300 lab on November 18 and 19, you must have an idea of the information that you are looking for. In order to do this, you must sketch out the support for your argument.
Supporting Point #1 -
Find at least 3 pieces of information to support your point.
Evidence
Source
Evidence
Source
Evidence
Source

Transcendentalism and Today Research Paper
Supporting Point #2 -
Find at least 3 pieces of information to support your point.
Evidence
Source
Evidence
Source
Evidence
Source

Transcendentalism and Today Research Paper
Supporting Point #3-
Find at least 3 pieces of information to support your point.
Evidence
Source
Evidence
Source
Evidence
Source
You may find yourself with more than 3 supporting points. I will put a copy of this chart on my website, so that if you need more, you can make the copies.

Transcendentalism and Today Research Paper
Once you have completed your research, you will begin to write the paper.
4 parts to the introduction
1. Introduces the topic
2. States why the topic is important
3. States that there is a difference of opinion about this topic
4. Describes how the assignment will be structured and clearly states the writer's main premise (thesis statement)
Use the information from your research to write your body paragraphs. Don’t forget to address the counterargument in your essay.
Comment on how the evidence supports your claim. This is where you clearly explain the connection between your claim and the evidence to the reader. Do not assume the reader automatically understands the connections between your ideas—you must explain them!
After you have finished the body of your research paper, ask yourself the following:
 Have I provided enough/relevant evidence to convince the reader of my claims?
 Have I explained how the evidence supports my claims?
 Have I used lead-in language to smoothly integrate my evidence?
 Have I used innovative and current evidence, rather than simply stating obvious and/or outdated information?
 Have I cited the sources of the evidence?
3 parts to the conclusion – Remember you must not include new information in your conclusion.
1. Restates the main premise
2. Presents general sentences which accurately summarize your arguments which support the main premise
3. Provides a general warning of the consequences of not following the premise that you put forward and/or a general statement of how the community will benefit from following that premise.
Important Dates
November 10 – Research Paper is assigned
November 18-19 – Time in the 300 Lab to locate research
November 20, 23, 24 – Watch “Dead Poet’s Society”
December 14 – Paper Due

Transcendentalism and Today Research Paper
Score
50 points
50 points
25 points
15 points
25 points
Traits
CLEAR, WELL-ORGANIZED, WELL-DEVELOPED
 Main idea (thesis) is clear
 Each paragraph has a clear, effective topic sentence.
 Supporting details clearly relate to topic sentence in a significant way.
 Transitions are used effectively.
 Introduction, body, conclusion provide logical sequencing of ideas leading to understandable, appropriate content that is free of superfluous information. Attention to audience is evident.
 An argument is presented; paper does not just give information.
USE OF EVIDENCE
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Topic is developed thoroughly by selecting the most significant and relevant facts, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples.
 Information is skillfully integrated into the text to maintain the flow of ideas and advance the thesis.
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Strength and limitations of sources are skillfully assessed.
 A counterargument is present and well-developed.
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At least 8 in-text citations are used to skillfully support the topic.
WRITING STYLE
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Varied sentence patterns.
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Word choice includes strong verbs.
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Vague, overused, repetitive language is avoided (a lot, very, great, really, there is, there are etc.).
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Vocabulary choice is interesting and thoughtful
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Passive voice and be verbs are not overused.
 Awkward or wordy sentences are avoided.
GRAMMAR, USAGE, MECHANICS
 No run-on sentences
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No sentence fragments
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Subject/verb agreement; correct verb tense usage
 No use of contractions
 Punctuation is correct; capitalization is correct
 Spelling is error-free
MLA DOCUMENTATION
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Information from bibliography sources is cited properly in paper.
 All paraphrased information except common or general knowledge is cited parenthetically.
 All quotations are cited parenthetically.
 Text is in the student’s own words or is properly documented.
 Paper is typed in MLA format
 Works Cited paged is in MLA format.
Comments

Transcendentalism and Today Research Paper
Major Tenets of Transcendentalism
Nature = God: We should live close to nature, for it is our greatest teacher. Nature is emblematic, and understanding its "language" and “lessons” can bring us closer to God. In fact, Nature = God. The words Nature, God, Universe, Over-Soul, etc. all mean the same thing.
God is omnipresent: God is everywhere and in everything, so there is no need for specific religions or churches. The Transcendentalists did not believe in organized religion because they wanted that direct relationship with God, not one through a pastor or a priest. They thought organized religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, etc.,) were all just made up by people anyway.
Man is divine: Since Nature is divine, and we are literally creatures of Nature, we are also divine. Therefore, we have a direct relationship with God. In a sense, we are God or particles of God.
Intuition: Since God is within us, every person "intuition," an essential understanding of right and wrong (morality). We don’t need to learn morality from so-called holy books, laws, or society.
Self-Reliance: Our intuition and natural instincts guide us to do the right things. In nature, we are uncorrupted. It is only when we let society influence us that we start to conform and hence, be corrupted.
Society is the source of corruption: We are born pure, but society misguides us and corrupts us as we grow old. Society demands conformity, and conformity kills individuality. If we are all to follow our own free will and listen to our intuition, we would be much better off. We don’t need artificial laws, customs, fashions, or values.
Idealism: Human beings are naturally good at their core. Again, it is society that corrupts us.
Human beings left to their own devices are good.
Materialism is bad: Striving for material goods is worthless and an unhealthy pursuit. It is totally superficial. Money is evil because it causes us to place artificial and false value on objects and people.
Technology is bad: Advances in technology only caused more problems for society. For example, we built the railroad so we could go, go, go. First of all, we should stay home and get in touch with ourselves. Secondly, now we need people to build the track and make the cars and drive the train and maintain everything. Technology ends up running us and not the other way around.
Emphasis on the here and now: The past is unimportant. Knowledge comes from experience. It is not derived from studying the past. We can’t learn anything truly valuable from the past or from the people who lived before us. Their knowledge was based on their experience, and ours should be too. We should not worship anybody or anything that has come before us.