In your written work, you want to draw on both traditions, paying particular attention, in the case of China, to Taoism and Confucianism, and in the case of Japan, to Shintoism primarily in developing a “lecture” on the topic–achieving harmony in and with the world.” This will be a paper, of course, but I do want you to think of it as a lecture that you could give.
Why? When you give lecture, you have to decide on the texts you will use, the authors you will refer to. So, in this case, you will be using material from Ellwood, but you will also want to use material from Shinto, Taoistic and Confucian sources.
Giving a lecture also means that you are addressing an audience–they want to know what you are going to say. You can’t simply repeat texts–your audience would ask: But what do they mean? You are sharing with them what you have learned from your reading? What do you see as important for them to know: why is it? As you answer that question, you will be shaping your paper because you will be arranging material in order of importance–“I want my readers to understand these three concepts–and I want them to have an appreciation of the centrality of—“