For the first paragraph begin your paper with a single sentence paragraph.  This should be a thesis sentence that tells the reader where you are going to take them.  Your first sentence should begin with the words In this paper, I will argue that  then complete that sentence.  In this case you will want to say something like In this paper, I will argue that while the turn of the millennium Japanese novel Tale of Genji describes women as.. the 15th century Noh Drama Kyotsune show women to be more like)

In the second paragraph discuss fully some aspect of the book Tale of Genji.  The first sentence should be a strong topic sentence that tells the reader what you are about to talk about.

The second sentence should provide a broad description of the source as a whole (you should tell the reader who wrote the source and broadly what the chapter/document is about).  Remember, you are telling the reader as if they know nothing of this class or this information.

In the rest of this paragraph you should emphasize one aspect of the source (For example you might want to examine children by focusing on the life of Murasaki; or you might want to discuss marriage by focusing on the relationship between Aoi and Genji; or you might want to look at the power of a strong woman like the Kokiden Consort, the sexual desires of Oborozukiyo, or the demure temperament of Fujitsubo or Yugao; or you could look at government officials such as the Akashi Novice or To No Chujo; or examine Genjis sexual relations with his aunt the Rokujo Haven, his cousin and wife Aoi; or his fathers concubine Fujitsubo).  Remember, the word analysis means to break into parts so I want you to discuss your topic in two or three partsdo not simply retell the story. 

In the third paragraph you will examine another source from this class that compares or contrasts with your description of Tale of Genji. The first sentence should be a strong topic sentence that tells the reader what you are going to talk about.

The second sentence should provide a broad description of the source as a whole (you should tell the reader who wrote the source and broadly what the chapter/document is about).  Remember, you are telling the reader as if they know nothing of this class or this information.

In the rest of the paragraph you should focus on the same single topic you examined for Tale of Genji above.  (For example, having examined the life of the child Murasaki above you might want to discuss the role of children as described by Ban Zhao in her Lessons for Women or in the short letter From Feng Yan to his Brother-in-law;  or having examined the marriage of Aoi and Genji you might want to look at other marriages such as the one found in the Noh Drama Kyotsune, the ancient story Birth of the Land,  Ban Zhaos Lessons for Women, or Letter from Feng Yan to his Brother in law or the book The Gossamer Years by Michitsuna no Haha;  Having examined the sexual relations between Genji and Oborozukiyo you might want to look at Sima Qians description of the first emperors mother and Lao Ai in Birth of the First Emperor or the depiction of Vietnamese women in the chapter from the book Vermillion Bird; Or having examined one or two of Genjis sexual partners you could look at the Tang Codes to describe the Chinese laws regarding these particular relationships; Or after looking at the demure Fujitsubo or the powerful Kokiden Consort you might examine the woman and the law found in Tokugawa Justice under Confucian Precepts).

Be careful: you need to break your discussion into the same three parts as you did in the previous paragraphdo not simply retell the story. That is, if you want to discuss marriage you may want to think about how the marriage between Genji and Aoi was arranged, was described as cold, and was portrayed in the bitter sweet periods.  These subtopics or issues will present areas of comparison with a similar depiction in another source.  So you want to be sure to find a second source that covers these same issues in some fashiondo not simply describe two married couples.  This type of subtopic within a larger topic will help you organize your paper and make the comparisons much easier for the reader to follow. 

In the fourth paragraph compare and contrast the two sources you have discussed in terms of the same topic as above.  Begin with a strong topic sentence that tells the reader what you will argue regarding the two sources.  Then, restate and examine each of your points from paragraphs two and three.  If you have organized the other paragraphs well this should be nothing more than a restatement of the main points of each integrating each point one by one.

In the fifth paragraph discuss your own thoughts about the materials you have examined.  To this end, you should address at least one of the following questions: What do you think about the way the sources described your topic?  Whose interests were served by the system that was originally in place? Who benefited by the changes/differences, if any, that you found in other periods or other sources? How do you, a student in the 21st century, view this issue and the way in which it was experienced in ancient China?  Why is this issue important and what do you think will be the consequences of the issue you discussed?

Footnotes:

When you write your papers be sure to use proper Chicago style footnotes.  For the second paragraph, when you discuss Murasakis book (on say page 51) use this footnote. [1]  When you want to talk about another part of Murasakis book, say page 90, then footnote it like this. [2]

In the third paragraph, if you want to discuss the play Kyotsune, which is a story within an edited book that does not have an author, you should footnote it like this. [3] If you discuss it a second time simply footnote it like this. [4]  If, on the other hand, you want to discuss page 257 of the murder case that is found in the book edited and translated by David Lu, you should site it like this. [5]  (Note that I use Hakuseki first in the footnote.  This is because it is his family name and should go first in proper Japanese language even though the editor, David J. Lu, turned the names around.)  And then subsequent footnotes of that source should be like this. [6]