Political Thought Paper Guidelines (100 points or 10% of the Course Grade)
The Project
This is a semester-length project and will be graded (assessed) in accordance with the 5th Student Learning Outcome cited in the course syllabus.
Prepare a five page, typed (double-spaced) argumentative paper. The paper will argue a clear thesis in response to the research question selected from the list of topics approved by the instructor. In the process of arguing the thesis, all counter-arguments should be systematically refuted using reasoning and the evidence collected through research.
Presentation Format
The paper’s cover page must include the paper’s title, student’s name, and the professor’s name. The paper should use Times New Roman # 12 font and use one inch margins on all sides of each page.
Documentation Style
All sources used must be cited using separate endnotes and references pages at the end of the paper. Any reputable numerical citation end note format is acceptable for documenting sources. The instructor prefers the Chicago Manual of Style. The MLA parenthetical citation format is not acceptable!
*The endnotes page should include all citations of sources quoted or paraphrased in the text of the paper.
*The references page should include a list of all sources used in the paper in alphabetical order by the authors’ last names.
Sources
A minimum of ten (10) sources must be utilized and cited on the references page. The quality of sources is critical. At least one good book on your subject should be cited. At least three reputable academic journal articles should be cited. At least three government documents should be cited, as well. Newspaper articles are acceptable provided the paper does not significantly rely on them for information.
1. Books – At least one (preferably more than one) selected academic book written within the last 1-5 years must be cited.
2. Academic Journal Articles – At least three (Example: American Political Science Review) must be cited.
3. Government Documents (All pages at official government web sites count!) (Example: The Budget of the United States Government which can be found at the U.S. Department of Treasury web site.
* Personal Interviews (Experts may be interviewed in person or by telephone with the instructor’s approval and guidance.)
Internet Sources
Students are encouraged to use the internet for academic research. However, the following standards of documentation apply:
**** All of the information expected for any other non-internet source is necessary. In addition, the entire website address should be cited at the end of the citation.
If you only submit a website address for a source it will not be counted as legitimate!!!!!
