Details on Writing Assignments:

General: All writing assignments should have an argument. Ideally, they should address a “why” question (an argument that answers why something happened for example). A paper that merely summarizes the materials will be graded no higher than a 2.5.

Short writing assignments. Short writing assignments have a maximum length of 3 pages (in the format specified above). All short assignments are based solely on course materials. No additional sources should be used unless explicitly stated (see the second response paper). The topics of each of the short writing assignments are clearly specified as follows:

The first response paper. Examine the Covenant of the League of Nations and the UN Charter. Why (and in what particular ways) is the UN Charter different than the Covenant of the League? Why are there points of similarity? Do the differences (similarities) explain the relative successes of one organization or the other? Due February 01st in Section.

The second response paper. Focus on Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Consult the U.S. Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments to the U.S.Constitution) http://www.ushistory.org/documents/amendments.htm and the UN Charter. Address the following questions: Why (and in what ways) does the Universal Declaration go beyond the rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights in most cases? Why does the Universal Declaration seem to contradict parts of article 2 of the UN Charter? Does the Charter provide adequate recourse for fundamental violations of Human Rights (and explain your answer to this question). Due February 15th in Section.

The third response paper. Write a response to Tibi’s book. The paper should be analytical in content. Three possible ways to approach this response paper are whether there is a concept in his book you find particularly useful or problematic; whether his overall argument is persuasive or not and why you feel that way; or why and in what ways does the book tell us something significant about the making of the 21st Century? Due March 08th in Section.

The Research Paper.

Students will write a 6-8 page ORIGINAL, ANALYTICAL research paper. In this paper, you will choose an event from the last 100 years that addresses a why question, or which seeks to explain an outcome of some significance over the last 100 years. The paper must be based on at least 3-5 primary sources that offer insight into the question; three scholarly books and four scholarly articles. This is not an easy assignment and you will work through several drafts. Choose a question that deals with the part of the world you know/like best. If you don’t have a favorite region or country, pick one and do it soon.

Some examples:

• Why did the UN remove its troops from Rwanda in 1992 instead of using them to prevent genocide?
• How did apartheid end in South Africa?
• Why did a communist party loyalist like Gorbachev carry out reforms that ultimately led to the end of the Soviet system?
• Why did the US in 1991 not overthrow Saddam Hussien?

You should organize your paper in:

1. a clear introduction that presents the puzzling event that you will explain and states your argument in brief,
2. supporting sections with evidence that develops your argument and considers alternative explanations, and
3. a conclusion that summarizes your arguments and illustrates its significance (answering the “so-what” question).

The Odegaard Undergraduate Library has online tutorials which could help you.

In academe, we usually distinguish between “primary sources” and “secondary sources,” which are scholarly interpretations of topics. You are required to consult secondary sources—scholarly books and journal articles—to help make sense of the original documents you work with. They are “secondary” (not “primary”) in the sense that they are twice removed from the actual events under consideration. (Remember: all primary and secondary sources should be cited in your paper and listed in your bibliography.) Be careful about internet sources. For example, Wikipedia is not an entirely reliable source.

For your reference, the UW Library has the following two very useful sites on the web that you are well advised to read. UW Libraries, “Using Primary Materials on the Web” UW Libraries, “Primary and Secondary Sources,”

As you begin your paper, it is a good idea to start with a rough general topic or question, and find out what primary sources might be available for you. Then narrow your topic based on what sources you can find (and make sense of).

Where can you find primary documents?

• Check the bibliographies of textbooks and other scholarly analyses of your subject. Often the bibliography will contain a separate section that lists primary sources.
• Some primary sources are printed in books that are collections of sources. Modern historians or other scholars usually edit these collections.
• Many governments publish official documentary histories. Thus, the US Department of State publishes Foreign Relations of the United States. These cover different years, issues, and areas, such as China or Japan, for example. The public papers of the presidents are also published. More recent versions of these sources are found on the web (in the example above at state.gov or whitehouse.gov), and older materials are found in hard copy volumes.
• Search the library catalogue and research databases for your topic plus the word “sources.” Sometimes this strategy turns up primary source collections.
• There are primary source collections available on the worldwide web, such as:
  • The Internet Modern History Sourcebook. www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/modsbook.html
  • Eurodocs http://eudocs.lib.byu.edu/index.php/Main_Page
  • The Avalon Project www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm
  • The National Security Archive http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/
  • The Cold War International History Project http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1409&fuseaction=topics.home

In preparing this paper, each student is required to turn in:

A one paragraph—one page description of the paper’s topic along with an annotated list of possible documentary sources (no more than 1.5 pages, typed, double-spaced. This description should lay out in a sentence or two the question you will research for your final paper. The list of sources should include possible documents (not databases or locations that file documents). Each source should have one or two sentences explaining what the document is about. Documents should be listed in bibliographical format. I don’t care particularly whether you use MLA style (parenthetical references in the text, with full references in the reference list at the end of the paper, or footnote/endnote style, again with a full bibliography. But you must be consistent. The UW library has a guide to citation style: http://guides.lib.washington.edu/citations

This exercise should be taken seriously, although your choice of topic is not necessarily binding. In fact, the point of writing out topics in this fashion is to help you generate new ideas and refine your research plan.
Due January 25th, at the start of section. Of the 40% of your grade that is based on the term paper, this part of the paper assignment will count for 3% of the final grade.

A first draft of the paper, with a minimum of four pages. The research question and argument must be laid out clearly and the draft should give a sense of how you will prove your argument.
Due February 8, at the start of section in hardcopy. Of the 40% of your grade that is based on the term paper, this part of the paper assignment will count for 7% of your final grade. The first draft will be peer edited; details provided in section.

A final draft of the research paper, which should address issues raised with the previous drafts, and with a complete bibliography. Due February 24th, at the start of section in hardcopy (unless your t.a. says otherwise). Of the 40% of your grade based on the term paper, this part of the paper assignment will count for 30% of your final grade.

As with the response papers, be very careful about writing a paper that simply summarizes the contents of the primary sources. Of course, you will have to understand the documents and briefly present an overview of them, but your assignment is to explain and interpret the evidence (documents). Additionally, beware of gushing or ranting about your documents. Finally, remember that most of the papers you will write in the Jackson School—and in many of your future life experiences—are exercises in persuasion. Don’t simply assert or suggest your views. Instead, prove and demonstrate them.

Note: As mentioned above, please be particularly careful about evaluating information found on the internet. Two useful guides for evaluating internet information are found at: http://www.library.jhu.edu/researchhelp/general/evaluating/ and http://www.widener.edu/libraries/wolfgram/needhelp/research/evalcriteria.asp

Some topics have been so heavily written about in SIS 201, that you can only write on them with my express permission. These topics are Pearl Harbor, the dropping of the atomic bomb, the Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Note also that some primary materials come “prepackaged”, such as National Security Archive electronic briefing books. Just because some issues are so prepackaged does not mean that they include all or even the most important sources. You are responsible for finding the major primary documents, not just any primary documents.