Essay: Compare/Contrast Hinduism & Buddhism Mr. Hess/Mr. Venarchik 90 Summative Points

Hinduism and Buddhism have many beliefs in common. Siddhartha Gautama, the man who founded Buddhism, was a Hindu. While the two religions have a great deal in common, they also have several distinct differences. Your task is to write a formal essay that compares and contrasts the two religions.

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  You will be writing a comparative thesis essay examining the similarities and differences between Hinduism and Buddhism.
  
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  You must develop your own comparative thesis statement.
  
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  You must then prove this thesis by identifying, explaining, and using key terms and examples for a MINIMUM OF THREE SIMILARITIES/DIFFERENCES. You must have at least one similarity and one difference.
  
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  Each similarity and each difference should be developed into its own body paragraph. This means a total of five paragraphs:
  
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    Paragraph 1: Introduction
    
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    Paragraph 2: First Similarity/Difference
    
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    Paragraph 3: Second Similarity/Difference
    
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    Paragraph 4: Third Similarity/Difference
    
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    Paragraph 5: Conclusion
    
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  Origins and founders of the two faiths
  
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  Views on God(s)
  
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  Views on Karma
  
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  Views on Dharma
  
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  Views on Reincarnation
  
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  Views on Nirvana
  
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  Views on Moksha
  
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  Views on Duties/Roles in life: Four Noble Truths, Eightfold Path, Caste System, etc.
  
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  How they worship
  
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  Holy texts: what they are? Style and format? Content?
  
  

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  A thesis statement is a sentence that expresses the main focus of your paper.
  
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    Thesis = Observation + Explanation
    
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  A strong thesis is broken into three sections:
  
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    Your claim/argument
    
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    The reasons/evidence that will support this claim
    
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    The order in which you will present the evidence
    
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  Example Observation: Ronald Reagan obtained many Democratic votes in the presidential election of 1980.
  
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  Example Explanation: Many Democrats believed that Reagan had stronger moral values than his opponent.
  
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  Example Thesis Statement: Ronald Reagan obtained many Democratic votes in the presidential election of 1980 because he communicated his strong moral values more effectively than his opponent.
  

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  Should be no more than four to five well-developed sentences.
  
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  There should never be any “In this paper” or “I” statements.
  
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  Needs to do three things:
  
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    Get the reader’s attention
    
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    Briefly introduce the topic (background)
    
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    Clearly state your position (thesis)
    

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  Please see the “Proof Sandwich” handout.
  

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  It restates the thesis and contains echoes of the introduction/body.
  
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  It can close with a reference or tie in to the hook used in your introduction.