POSC 1000(056) Introduction to Politics

Essay Help

Russell Alan Williams

Essay Help

Purpose:

Research degree – most tangible skill you will get – research, writing and persuasion are essential for most careers

Few careers involve multiple choice tests!

Skills for upper level classes

Levels the “playing field”. . . .

Essay HelpFormal requirements:

Should be approximately 2,000 wordsShould make use of six separate sources in its citations – meaning?Should be formatted in the style of a formal research paperDue November 18 – In class!!! Not Nov. 10.

However, you must also:Make a clear argument - introduced by a thesis statementUse your sources correctly

• You can use any citation system, but do it properly, and don’t plagiarize

Instructions:Pick a topic

a) General Questions:1. Is terrorism justified?2. Should trade agreements allow corporations to sue

governments that violate those agreements?3. Should government officials be representative of the

diversity of society?4. Does the parliamentary system of government give too

much power to the prime minister?5. Is “party discipline” a bad thing?6. What is wrong with federal systems of government?

All topics will be in touched on in class

Most are relevant in current events . . .

1.Does the parliamentary system of government give too much power to the prime minister?

Pick a topic you want to make an argument about!

Writing

Thesis statements:

“Many suggest the prime minister of Canada has too much power. The prime minister picks cabinet members, appoints senior civil servants, judges and senators and controls the budget. This paper will explore the power of the Canadian prime minister”

“The Canadian prime minister has the power to appoint cabinet ministers, senior civil servants, senators, judges and controls the operation of the bureaucracy and the budget. While many argue that the prime minister’s power contributes to efficient and organized government policy, this paper will argue that the prime minister has too much power for a healthy democracy.”

Research

Can be drawn from a variety of sources – no limitations

•Books & journal articles

•Newspaper articles and web sources

– No Wikipedia & encyclopedia entries, please!

•Key: Materials must be accessible . . . .

Tip: Six sources only a minimum - more is better!

Documentation/Citations

Any recognized system is acceptable•Footnotes•Endnotes• In-text reference systems (Author-date)

Library help on all of these!Essay handout gave you a sample of the “Chicago system”

Documentation/Citations

Tips!

Internet sources should include full html and date accessed in your bibliography/references or works cited section

Good guide is to remember that the marker must be able to find that source based on your citation

When to cite a source?

Example: Even when you are not directly quoting a source!

"The private sector must be the engine of growth. While it is the role of government to create an economic and social environment that promotes competitiveness, it is the enter prising spirit of the private sector that will stimulate lasting economic growth."

= Footnote required

The Strategic Economic Plan argues that the private sector must be the basis of economic growth in the province.

= Footnote required

When to cite a source?

Example: The common knowledge problem . . . .

Martin Luther King, Jr. was a black civil rights activist who was jailed in Alabama for leading a march against segregation in the early 1960s.

= No footnote would be required for such a fact

Martin Luther King, Jr. ex pressed disappointment that southern religious leaders urged people to comply with desegre gation not because it was morally right but because it was the law.

= Footnote required

Plagiarism

Types:

1) Submitting someone else's work

2) Using other sources “word for word” without placing these quotes in quotation marks

Must include a citation

3) “Paraphrasing”: Using someone else’s ideas or arguments

Not a quotation, but still requires a citation