RISE OF ISIS

TOPIC:  RISE OF ISIS

Your paper will be an ANALYSIS of either a case study or a concept.  You may choose a topic from your book or something you have interest in.  If you are unsure, please see me.

Do  ANALYSIS.  That means you are to incorporate as many terms appropriately from the text as you can in an effort to provide thoughtful analysis to your topic.  What does that mean?

You are  expected to discuss all around the topic in all directions possible to give a through understanding of what each point means in retaliation to your topic.  Why does it matter? How did/ does this affect future generations?  etc. These are examples of the kinds of questions you should be asking yourself depending on topic. Who’s, Why’s and How’s best answer analysis-type questions.  Really delve in to these points.

I expect it will have an intro.  That intro will open with an interesting fact./ statistic/ etc that you will then flow into the rest of your intro.  Further, your intro will end with, a thesis/ hypothesis statement  where you explicitly state at least 3 (THREE) main points you will be covering in your paper.  The first sentence of each main section will include verbiage indicating which point from your hypothesis/ thesis you will be covering in that section.  You will provide supporting evidence for your topic sentence/ point from your thesis in each respective section via the use of at least 4 (FOUR) peer-reviewed sources.  Each peer-reviewed source is worth 10 pts.  If you have none, your highest grade will be a 60% and will be graded from there (please see your syllabus/ the library– ULTIMATELY YOU are responsible for ensuring your source is a peer-reviewed journal article.  Scholarly book and articles count as other sources!).  You may use other approved sources which are to be considered supplemental source material ONLY and you must have at least 6 additional sources (see below).  You will have a conclusion in which your first sentence is a re-write of your thesis/ hypothesis and you will then summarize your findings in the order in which you provided them in the thesis and the body.  You will end by tying in your last few sentences with your witty/ interesting/ etc. opening.

In this discipline your analysis papers are very much like your 5 paragraphs essays only longer and more substantive– and 5 sections not paragraphs.  You will continue writing this way for the rest of your academic career.  When writing my dissertation I used this format (except there are more sections, lots of math, tables, charts, figures, and it is MUCH, MUCH, MUCH, longer.)

Times New Roman, 12pt, double spaced, usual margins. Name, date, etc on a title page.  Page numbers bottom center with no number on the first page or title page. Your name and U number need to be on every page of your body and bibliography, specifically the top right hand corner. You will have at least 5 (FIVE) pages BEFORE the title page and bibliography page with a total of at least 7 (SEVEN) all together.  The shortest your actual paper can be is 4.75 pages without missing points for length.  You may only go over 1/2 of a page before points are removed.  Parsimony is an exceptionally important skill and highly valued, even as you continue on with your education.

How you cite is up to you but I prefer APA or Chicago.  Overall, your citation style MUST BE consistent  AND INCLUDE in-text (or in-line) citation.  Failure to do so will result in points taken off your paper and possible plagiarism charges.   You should be summarizing ideas in YOUR OWN WORDS. If you like a quote and feel the quote will really drive home a point you are tying to make, that’s fine.  However:  DO NOT quote more than 2 lines in full and only 2 times MAXIMUM in your paper.   Again, please be sure you cite all work appropriately or risk being awarded a grade of “FF”  indicating plagiarism and academic dishonesty.

Here is a VERY helpful tool.  It will AUTOMATICALLY generate citation for you, to include in-text citations (so NO EXCUSES) removing all guess work!

Son of Citation Machine. (Links to an external site.)

An “A” will be awarded to those who follow these directions explicitly, with no grammatical, typographical errors.

If you do not use a minimum of 4 (FOUR) peer-reviewed sources, you will be awarded -20 points of your paper; the highest grade you will be able to receive will be 80.  If you use none, the highest grade you will receive will be a 60.

Examples of topics you might consider:  (NO POLITICIZING ANY TOPICS.  YOU MUST APPROACH THEM ACADEMICALLY, DISPASSIONATELY, FACTUALLY. FAILURE TO DO SO will result in an automatic “D” as the highest possible grade obtainable.  This class is political science NOT political punditry.)

Paper:

You must use peer reviewed journal sources.  If you go to the UT library web page here, Link you will see a search bar.  Directly under that is a box you can check which reads “Scholarly/Peer-Reviewed Articles only”.  Check that box and you should be certain ALL entries returned WILL be peer reviewed journal articles.  You may also use CNN, Foreign Policy Mag, the Economist, scholarly books, etc. as ADDITIONAL sources.  They WILL NOT count towards the 4 peer reviewed sources.   Here is a quick link on WHY we care about peer review.  Link  It will also tell you the difference between the 3 major sources to help you avoid problems for this portion of your grade.  Ultimately it will be YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to be certain the minimum of 4 peer reviewed journal articles you choose are, in fact, peer-reviewed.  You will be required to use a total of 10 sources.  Please see “additional sources” above for a list of possible usable source material.  Your book does not count as peer-reviewed but will count as an additional source.