The paper must be 1800-2000 words, NOT including the reference list. The paper MUST be
typed and double-spaced in a standard font. If it is not in the right format, I will apply a penalty.
Submissions that are too short OR excessively long will be penalized.
• The paper must have a clear thesis statement – defined in Webster’s dictionary as “a position or
proposition that a person…advances and offers to maintain by argument.” State your thesis at
the conclusion of the first paragraph and support it throughout. Your job is to convince your
reader to accept your point of view.
• You must use at least six (6) reputable sources other than the course textbook, such as primary
source accounts of events, as well as secondary sources like newspaper or magazine articles,
books, or academic journal articles. You may use content from legitimate sources found on the
Internet, but private blog posts, amateur commentary, Wikipedia entries, and so forth, are
prohibited. There are a number of good resources at the college library. Start there, bearing in
mind the media bias chart in the Research Paper module. If you have a question about whether
something is an appropriate academic source, check with me.
• Use Chicago Manual of Style Author-Date format for all references page and in-text citations
(not footnotes or endnotes). I will count off if the paper is improperly formatted. There are
helpful links on formatting at the end of the instructions for Part 1 of the paper (see next page).
• I will deduct points for poor writing, such as lack of strong organization, poor grammar or
syntax, and excessive spelling errors. Avoid slang and use of first-person point of view. Use spell
check and grammar check on your word processor. See the course Canvas Research Paper
module for resources on how to write papers in Political Science.
Attached files are part 1 and 2 of the assignment use the resources from those to complete the assignment.
With the benefit of your prior work and my feedback, write the final paper. It would be a good idea to
review the resource documents on how to write in Political Science. Also, before you turn it in, keep in
mind:
• You need to review the rubric in the Research Paper module to make sure your paper meets the
standards.
• Once again, you must use Chicago Author-Date Style (17th edition) to format your reference
page and in-text citations. Review resources on page 2 for help.
• Be sure you use at least six (6) sources your paper and include all of them in your reference list.
Only include references for sources that appear in the paper’s in-text citations. Do not include
any annotations for the sources in your final reference list.
