IAFS 1000 Research Paper Instructions

IAFS 1000: Global Issues and International Affairs

Fall 2007: The Fate of the State

Professor Jupille[1]

Research Paper Assignment

The research paper assignment affords you the opportunity to dig deeply into a particular topic of relevance to our course, to analyze the issue, and to communicate your analysis in writing. This assignment counts for twenty percent of the overall grade for this course, so you should be prepared to invest a significant effort in researching and writing it.

Your assignment is as follows:

First, choose a topic and conduct preliminary research on the topic.
Second, write a brief paper proposal.
Third, submit a first draft of your paper.
Fourth, revise your paper and submit a final version at the end of the course.

The goal of this four-step process is not to make unnecessary work for you, but rather, to guide you through the process of developing and refining your paper.

Here are the details:

STEP 1: CHOOSE A TOPIC

The broad topic for the paper is the following: Are contemporary transformations (globalization, etc.) fundamentally challenging the Westphalian state?

You will have to narrow this topic with the assistance of your TA. Choose one particular aspect of transformation to focus on, such as:

the economy (in general, or specific aspects such as trade, finance, investment)
the environment (in general, or specific problems such as global warming, acid rain, marine pollution)
communications technology (e.g., satellites, internet, mobile phones)
culture (e.g., “Americanization”)
international law (e.g., human rights law, law of intervention)
regional/international institutions (e.g., UN, WTO, IMF, World Bank, EU)
security issues (e.g., transnational terrorism, weapons of mass destruction)

These are just a few examples. Feel free to define a topic appropriate to yourself, in conjunction with your TA or me. Once you have chosen a topic, you should go to the library and spend a few hours on preliminary research so that you will be ready to move to Step 2.

STEP 2: PAPER PROPOSAL

You must write a brief paper proposal (less than one page) in which you do the following:

First, identify the specific aspect of transformation that your paper will address.
Second, state whether you think this specific aspect of transformation represents a fundamental challenge to the Westphalian state. Present a hypothesis, or provisional answer.
Third, identify the sources of information that you will examine to evaluate the validity of your hypothesis. Note: for your final draft, you must cite at least ten sources; internet sources can comprise no more than half of your references.
Fourth, identify alternative arguments and state what kind of evidence would prove or disprove your hypothesis.

Don’t worry if your proposal is a bit rough. Just address these tasks as best you can.

You are required to submit a paper proposal to your TA at your recitation during week five (the week of September 24^th). Your TA will probably tell you to narrow your topic down even further and can also make specific suggestions about how best to frame your paper.

Failure to submit a proposal on time will result in a 1/3 grade reduction in your final paper grade.

STEP 3: FIRST DRAFT

Based on the feedback you receive on your proposal, you will then proceed to researching and writing the entire paper. During this period, you are welcome (but not required) to continue consulting with your TA and/or the professor.

As you do your research, bear in mind that your final paper should include the following elements:

a clear argument; and
appropriate and sufficient evidence to support your argument; and
serious consideration of alternative arguments or explanations.

A few words about structuring your paper:

A good paper is one that is built around a clear structure, so you should outline the main points of your paper before you start writing. It’s easier to overhaul your outline than it is to overhaul a fully-written paper, so spend some time thinking about the structure of your paper before you launch into the writing.

Your paper should have a clear introduction (conforming to the specific guidelines below), a body (in which you flesh out your argument with evidence, and consider alternative arguments), and a conclusion (in which you summarize your argument and findings and “open” the paper to consideration of broader themes).

A few words about WRITING your paper:

I require an “introductory paragraph” conforming to the guidelines that I have posted. It must introduce the topic, state the main argument of the paper, set forth the plan by which the paper unfolds, and state the paper’s conclusion. In brief, after having read the first paragraph, your reader should know *precisely* what the paper is about, its main claims, how it unfolds, and where it will end up.

Write the paper in coherent paragraphs. Each paragraph should flow naturally and logically from the previous paragraph, and on to the next paragraph, following a clear train of argument.

Good writing is clear writing. Write in simple, declarative sentences. Use the active voice, not the passive voice. (For advice on style, click here.)

Feel free to quote from books, articles or experts, but do not waste space with very lengthy quotations – briefly paraphrase these passages instead.

For advice on overcoming writer’s block, click here.

A few words about acknowledging and citing sources:

Every time you use somebody else’s ideas or words, you must acknowledge the source of the information (unless the information is common knowledge). See the discussion of plagiarism below for more information.

You may acknowledge these sources by using footnotes, endnotes, or in-text notes. Don’t get hung up on details of citation style: what really matters is (1) that you cite your sources in such a way that readers can identify your sources and check your facts, and (2) that you use the same citation style throughout the paper. (For examples of different citation styles, click here. When citing Internet sources that do not have printed equivalents, identify the author, document title, Internet address, and the date that you retrieved the document.)

Append a bibliography at the end of the paper, and include all the sources that you used in writing the paper.

A few words about plagiarism:

University policy: Using another's ideas or words without acknowledgment may result in a failing grade for a particular assignment, a failing grade for the course, and/or suspension for various lengths of time or permanent expulsion from the university. Examples of plagiarism may include: failing to use quotation marks when quoting from a source; failing to document distinctive ideas from a source; fabricating or inventing sources; and copying information from computer-based sources such as the Internet.

Follow these helpful guidelines if you have any doubt about what constitutes plagiarism. When in doubt, cite your source.

You may not submit the same work for credit in two different courses unless you obtain permission from the professors teaching both courses.

Obviously, submitting a paper that was written or researched by somebody else, or obtained from a paper-writing service, is prohibited.

Submitting Your Draft:

When you have completed the first draft of your paper, re-read it for clarity, grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Print your paper double-spaced in a normal font (e.g., 12-point Times New Roman), number the pages, put your name and student number and the name of your TA on the title page, and staple all the pages together. Your research paper should have a title other than “Research Paper”. Try to think of something catchy that interests the reader but also speaks to the themes of the paper.

You are required to submit the first draft at your regularly scheduled recitation meeting in the week of October 29th. Failure to submit your first draft at that time will result in a 1/3 grade reduction in your final grade for the paper.

STEP 4: FINAL VERSION

Based on the comments that your TA provides on your first draft, you will revise your paper and produce a final version. Your TA may instruct you to do additional research or substantially rework the paper.

When you are done, print your paper double-spaced in a normal font, number the pages, put your name and student number and the name of your TA on the title page, and staple all the pages together. Append a bibliography. Also, please include a word count of your entire paper on the title page. If you don’t know how to do a word count … figure it out!

The final version of the research paper is due in lecture on Tuesday, December 4^th, at the start of class. It must be between 2,000 and 3,000 words in length.

We will use the following criteria to evaluate the research papers:

Argument	Evidence	Writing
persuasive or unpersuasive	specific or vague	well written or poorly written
clear or unclear	accurate or inaccurate	grammar is correct
sophisticated or superficial	relevant or irrelevant	spelling is correct
considers alternative arguments	thorough or incomplete	formatting follows guidelines
	organized or disorganized

Your final research paper grade will also reflect the quality and timeliness of submission of your first draft and proposal.

LATENESS POLICY

Final research papers submitted after the start of class on Tuesday, December 4^th will be subject to deductions according to the following schedule:

Papers turned in after 11:00 a.m. but before the end of class	1/3 grade (3 pts.)
Papers turned in after 12:15 p.m. but before 5 p.m. on the due date	2/3 grade (6 pts.)
Papers turned after 5 p.m. on the due date, but before noon on the following day	1 full grade (10 pts.)
Papers turned in after noon on the day after the due date	1 1/3grades (13 pts.)
Papers turned in anytime on the second day after the due date	2 full grades (20 pts.)
Papers turned in anytime on the third day after the due date	3 full grades (30 pts.)
Papers turned in anytime on the fourth day after the due date	4 full grades (40 pts.)
… and so forth	…

Heavy workloads, bad planning, oversights, and computer malfunctions are not acceptable excuses for lateness. If your explanation is medical, you must provide a doctor’s note explaining why it was impossible for you to complete the assignment by the due date.

SUMMARY

Like your university experience more generally, writing a paper affords you the opportunity to engage important issues, to come to your own understanding of their contours and importance and to communicate that understanding with maximum effectiveness. Take it seriously and do your very best, but also enjoy the process. Please feel free to speak to your TA or me as you proceed.

Good luck!

[1] Substantially borrowing from Professor Roland Paris, whose contribution is acknowledged.