Term Paper: Political Science 102

Details Due Date: Tuesday July 28th at the beginning of class

Late assignments: Assignments will be accepted via email until Aug 4th

10% Penalty per day to a maximum penalty of 40%

Extensions Illness requires doctors note Extensions can be discussed up to 48 hours in advance (please be honest

with yourself about whether you’re going to be able to finish on time). Written permission (either on paper or via email) will be provided. Please

submit with your assignment.

Details Cont… Length: 5 – 6 pages. A little (not a lot, but a little) shorter or

longer is acceptable.

Formatting: Times New Roman 12 or Calibri 11 font is required.

Assignment MUST be typed.

Standard 1-inch margins

Expectations It is expected that submissions be polished.

No rough drafts, proof read Try to finish at least a day in advance, proof reading will be more

effective

Ensure Papers are on topic

This is an argumentative paper – you should be making an argument

A research question, thesis, introduction and conclusion are all required.

Requirements Citations are required and are expected to be accurate, both

in-text and in works-cited list.

Please use MLA formatting (which I’ll go over). The library has posted a guide to MLA citations. I will post an additional one.

A minimum of 4 scholarly sources is required. Failure to meet this requirement may result in failure of the assignment.

A marking rubric will be provided to you later in term

Helpful(ish) Hints If you’re unsure how to start, refer back to page 43 in your textbook

I will be posting a “how to write a comparative paper” document later in term

Start by identifying a state that you’re interested in studying (…it may not be a bad idea to begin with whatever state that you’ve presented on in class).

Always remember to compare and to understand cause and effect – why are these states similar or different.

Research Design

Requirement: Please use either a Most Similar Systems Design or a Most Different Systems Design Refer back to Ch 1 of your book, or the slides from chapter 1 You may also ask me if you’ve forgotten

Optional: You may apply one of the theories that we cover in class

Broad Topics (you’re going to have to identify a research question)

1. Compare and contrast state intervention in the economy in Anglo-Saxon states, Scandinavian states and/or continental European states

2. Compare democratization in Eastern European states in the post-communist era and South American states

3. Compare and contrast economic development in East or south Asian states and South American states

More Topics4. Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of a federal state (like Canada or the US) and a unitary state (like the UK or France – there’s lots more of both)

5. Compare and contrast democratic breakdown (or success) in a Southern African state and a Northern African or Middle Eastern state

6. Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of a presidential system and a parliamentary system or mixed system

Even More Topics7. Compare and contrast different electoral systems

8. Consider inequality between the sexes in North America and Northern Europe, or Central American states and African states

9. Compare and contrast the attitudes in global politics between states in the global north and the global south (focusing on Marxist, Liberal or Realist international theory – we’ll talk about it)

10. Compare and contrast the emergence of national identity in Asian states with those in Southern Europe, South America or Africa