Overview
You will write a total of two 5-7 page (excluding the title page and bibliography) country analysis papers this semester. Each paper is worth 150 points and is due at the beginning (Monday) of an exam week (week 8 and week 16). You will be given the topic for each paper several weeks in advance.
Each paper will require you to propose a hypothesis, collect evidence to back up your claim, and analyze weaknesses in your argumentation (e.g., confounding variables).
The second paper will build on the first.
These assignments aim to develop three of our student learning outcomes: (1) analyzing political systems by using the comparative method and contrasting these theoretical models with their real world counterparts, (2) describing the impact of historical, socio/economic, geographic, and cultural factors on political institutions, and (3) thinking concretely about how institutional design choices affect policy and policy outcomes.
Crafting your papers will take a significant amount of work and require research outside of the assigned class materials.
Two important notes
Before you start gathering materials and writing your papers, please reread the policy on academic integrity. To avoid any issues, make sure that you fully understand the policy and, if you have any questions at all, let me know. In addition to the actions listed as cheating in that policy, I will also consider the following action as cheating on the country analysis papers:
uploading a corrupted file through the “turnitin” app
Please do not wait until the last minute to turn in your papers (i.e., do not wait until two minutes before the deadline!). Invariably, this is when students encounter submission/technical problems.
I do not accept technical errors as an excuse for late submissions. If you need a refresher on my late work policy, please revisit the course structure and policies.
Due dates
country analysis paper #1 is due on Monday, October 14
country analysis paper #2 is due on Monday, December 9
What you need to include in your papers
Each paper should include a minimum of seven sources beyond sources assigned in this class.
You will need to look at more than seven sources to craft your argument. This minimum refers to the number of citations that you actually end up using in the paper.
The seven sources must be scholarly and reputable.
These can be scholarly articles or books, government documents, or data sources.
Depending on the topic, these may be newspaper articles, documentaries, or podcasts. (However, your goal is to present the most convincing evidence possible, so relying exclusively on these sources is not a good idea.)
These sources cannot be dictionaries, encyclopedias, or blogs.
Format
Your paper needs to:
include a title page with your paper title, your name, the date, and the course title
have a length of 5-7 pages, double-spaced (excluding the title page and the bibliography)
use 12 pt., Times New Roman font
have 1 inch margins
include page numbers (on all pages except the title page)
include in-text (parenthetical) citations for both quoted and paraphrased materials
include a bibliography with the following properties:
the bibliography is on its own page at the end of the paper
the word “Bibliography” or “References” or “Sources” or “Works Cited” is centered at the top
the sources are alphabetized by the author’s last name
the citation style is consistent
Note: If you are using an automatic citation generator (e.g., EasyBib, BibMe), double-check your citations! While these are convenient tools, they provide computer-generated citations that often have mistakes. It is your responsibility to correct these errors according to the citation style you’re using for the research paper (see links to the library guides below).
Content
Your paper should…
…in the introduction:
draw the reader in (e.g., introduce a puzzle, provide an illustrative anecdote, or include descriptive statistics)
develop a clear, concise, and easily identifiable thesis statement (i.e., your argument)
provide a “roadmap” that explains how you are going to demonstrate what you claim in your thesis statement (think of this as a mini-outline for your paper–it can take the form of “First, I will…Second, I will…Third, I will…”)
…in the body paragraphs:
logically build evidence in favor of your thesis statement
include a minimum of seven outside sources (that is, sources not assigned in our class)
address alternative explanations and/or consider a critic’s perspective
…in the conclusion:
re-emphasize the main points of your argument
Quoting
Using quotations in your writing is one way to provide evidence for your argument.
To use quotations effectively, you must introduce them.
That is, you need to introduce who is speaking or where the quotation comes from. You should never just “drop-in” a sentence that is all in a quotation.
To use quotations effectively, you must also analyze them.
That is, you must discuss why you included the quotation and explain how it relates to your thesis/argument.
This means that you should only use quotations as evidence that helps to prove your thesis/argument.
You should not include a quotation that simply states the information you want to include. In this case, you should paraphrase the information in your own words and cite it appropriately.
In general, you should not take quotations directly from the textbook, unless the quotation comes from primary source material (like a speech). Again, this is material that you should paraphrase in your own words (and then cite appropriately).
Citing
The most important thing to remember with citations is the following: You must cite all of your sources, even if you’ve paraphrased (and remember, paraphrasing means restating all of the information in your own words–not only changing a word here or there)!
If you are using any information that you learned in this course (i.e., information that is not common knowledge), cite it.
Which citation style should you use? You are welcome to use MLA, APA, or Chicago Style for your citations. The only thing I ask is that you are consistent with your citation style throughout the paper. The library website has pages on each of these styles, which you can find here:
MLA (Links to an external site.)
APA (Links to an external site.)
Chicago (Links to an external site.)
There is also additional information at the main library guides (Links to an external site.) page.
No matter which style, you must cite all of your sources in both the body of your paper and at the end of your paper in a separate bibliography. In the body of your paper, you should use in-text citations, which appear within parentheses at the end of the sentence in which you have used material.
Writing style
The advisory for this course is the completion of English 101A. This means that I expect you to know how to write successfully at the college level, which includes using proper spelling and grammar. If you do not turn in college level writing, you will not do well on the assignment. If you need help with your writing, please visit the writing center in Hyman Hall. There is absolutely no shame in seeking out writing and editing assistance! Writing well is a learned skill that requires practice and it’s important to remember that even seasoned writers often need help–an extra set of editing eyes is always a good thing!
I expect polished and proof-read papers. At a minimum, you must:
express only one idea per paragraph (i.e., the paragraph should have one topic sentence and all following sentences should provide evidence that support the topic sentence)
This means that paragraphs should never be super long! If you are expressing more than one idea in a paragraph, break it in to two paragraphs (or three…or however many ideas you’re expressing)!
provide transitions between paragraphs
If one paragraph discusses how war-making influenced early state formation and the next jumps to a discussion of the cult of personality, I will have no idea how you’re moving from thought #1 to thought #2. Include a transition that connects the two ideas–this way, I can easily follow your train of thought!
write in complete sentences
use active voice
edit the work thoroughly (at least twice! three times is better!) to ensure there are no grammatical problems or typos
I highly suggest reading your paper out loud during one of your editing sessions. This is a great way to catch errors.
For writing help resources, please visit the tutoring, writing help, and library services page.
How to turn in your papers
You will turn in your papers electronically through the “turnitin” app within Canvas. You will see the assignment (e.g., “country analysis paper #1) listed within the weekly module.
“Turnitin” is a plagiarism-checking service, which will compare your paper to all materials on the Internet. If any passages may be plagiarized, the service will highlight them for me. Do. Not. Plagiarize.
You should upload your papers as either a .doc, .docx, or .pdf file.
Importantly, after you choose your file to upload in the “turnitin” app, you will see three green check marks and a picture of your paper. The paper is not uploaded yet! What you need to do is to scroll down and click “accept submission and save.” If you do not click this button, Canvas will not save your uploaded file!
After you click “accept submission and save,” you will see a green bar that says “submission uploaded successfully.” You want to see this green bar!
I highly suggest you take a screenshot of it just to be safe!
Prompt
Your first country analysis paper is a case study of a country that embarked on a relatively recent (from the year 2000 on) attempted regime transition. You will make an argument explaining what the country looks like today in terms of either (1) its level of “stateness” or (2) its political regime.
You must propose a causal argument–that is, you must propose a hypothesis (your thesis) for why the country looks the way it does. I’ve given you the dependent variable, so you need to come up with one or more independent (explanatory) variables to answer:
Why is the country currently “weak” or “strong”?
Or, why does the country have its current regime? Or, perhaps, what has allowed that regime to sustain power?
Suggested cases to examine (though open to others):
Afghanistan
Burma (Myanmar)
Burundi
Central African Republic
Congo-Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
Egypt
Fiji
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Iraq
Kyrgyzstan
Liberia
Libya
Mauritania
Nepal
Somalia
Sudan
Thailand
Tunisia
Ukraine
