Department of Political Science and International Affairs
In terms of title-page format, margins, line spacing, etc., follow the instructions of the APA style manual. Use 12-point font, Times New Roman, with standard margins, double-spaced. Pages must be numbered.
Required Sections
A common structure would involve the following sections in this order: 1) Title Page, 2) Abstract, 3) Introduction, 4) Literature Review, 5) Main Argument (with subheadings if necessary), 6) Conclusion, and 7) References.
Title Page: Use APA style. After the title, your name, and the institution’s name, please add the course number and the date.
Abstract: A one-paragraph, double-spaced overview and summary of your paper highlighting major assertions, its thesis, and important conclusions. Note that this section is not an introduction. You actually disclose what your findings are. Do not write something like, “This paper will seek to determine whether. . . .” What did you discover? You probably can’t write the abstract until you have finished writing the rest of your paper.
Introduction: Introduce the reader to the objective of your paper. What are you setting out to do? If you have a “thesis” (a statement of theory that you plan to test), identify it here. If you don’t have a thesis, what situation or principle are you going to explore? What is its significance? (about 2 pages)
Literature Review: In this section, you are demonstrating that you have made a good-faith effort to review literature (articles, books, interviews, etc.) in political science and, possibly, closely related disciplines. Do not write an annotated bibliography: The format should not be one in which you refer to a first source, describe the content of the source, assess its value, and then do the same for the second source. Instead, the literature review should be structured as an essay that addresses the facets of your topic in a logical development, and that cites your sources as they are needed to indicate that your literature review and, thus, your paper are based on the literature in the field. Write an essay that flows logically and cites sources as they are needed to support the narrative about the topic that you are exploring. (2 to 3 pages)
Main Argument: Here is where you present your case and test your thesis using academic and/or empirical evidence. This section can be broken down into sub-sections of your choosing to make the paper flow. (4 to 5 pages)
Conclusion: Explain exactly what you accomplished in your paper and your major conclusions. Also, perhaps, explain what future research should be done on this topic. (1 to 2 pages)
References: Each source you use must be listed here in APA format. APA style states that entries in the bibliography should identify the author as "Public, J. Q." We override this rule. Please identify the author as "Public, John Q." or "Public, John Quincy," as the name appears on the title page of the book, article, or other work.
Appendices, Tables: if necessary.
Papers must be written in APA format.
Remember, all paraphrased and quoted material must be cited
appropriately. APA style clearly
requires that the citation for a direct quotation include a page number.
However, previous editions have been problematically ambiguous on whether a page
number is necessary for an indirect quotation or other summary of the source.
Please use the APA manual’s updated rule: If you are reproducing
information that appears on one or two pages, include the page number in the
citation. If you are summarizing the argument of the entire book, article,
or other work, you need not include a page number in the citation.
Failure to cite either paraphrased or quoted material is plagiarism,
which is a major infraction that will lead to disciplinary action.
Resubmitting work done for another class constitutes cheating and/or
plagiarism as well. For a much more
detailed explanation of APA format, either purchase an APA style manual in the
university bookstore or go to the Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University
which can be accessed at:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
Sources
Papers must use at least eight sources, the vast majority of which must be peer-reviewed articles or books; only two or three of the sources may be Internet, web-page type sources. Legitimate, peer-reviewed academic articles retrieved from the Internet using Galileo, JSTOR, or another online article database are not considered Internet sources; neither are periodical/journal articles retrieved from online sources. If you use some Internet sources, use discretion and make an effort to evaluate their usefulness. For example, a government Web site might be a reliable source for what the official or agency wants you to think, but its contents might not be truthful; on the other hand, there are government Web sites that offer unbiased information, and many of them have developed reputations for being the best sources of reliable data. Interviews, documentaries, etc., are acceptable sources, but should be secondary to peer-reviewed articles and may not necessarily count towards your eight sources.
Grammar/Spelling/Syntax
I am more concerned with content than grammar or spelling for the most part. However, your paper should be written professionally and reflect your ability to convey your argument in a cogent and articulate manner. Repeated grammar and spelling problems will adversely affect your grade. It is also best to avoid contractions in a formal research paper and to spell out numbers less than 10.
Writing in the
Active Voice
Anything in the APA style manual or any other source notwithstanding, the faculty has a preference for the use of the active voice as opposed to the passive voice. You may use the first person ("I" or “me”) and second person ("you") as long as you are describing something that actually involves "you" or "I/me." It is appropriate--and preferable--to say, "I interviewed the commissioner of motor vehicles," if, in fact, you interviewed the commissioner. The statement, “The commissioner of motor vehicles was interviewed for this project,” creates ambiguity about who interviewed the commissioner, and is, therefore, defective. It is still inappropriate to say, "If you are fired from a civil-service job, you have many avenues for appeal." Leave the reader out of your story unless the reader actually played a part in the events that you are describing.
Writing the Names
of States
Unless you have some reason to report somebody's U. S. Postal Service mailing address, do not otherwise use the USPS two-letter codes to abbreviate state names. For example, refer to "North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega, Ga.," and not "North Georgia College & State University in Dahlonega, GA"; in the bibliography, write, "Dahlonega, Ga.: University Press of North Georgia."
Grading
The research paper is the culmination of a semester’s worth of progress, work, and research and should reflect this effort. If you try to slap it together the night before it is due, your grade will reflect your poor effort. I expect a professionally finished product. Do not expect an “A” just because your paper is long enough and utilizes the correct number of sources. Average papers will warrant a grade of “C.” Only exceptional papers will receive grades of “A.”
Sample Paper
A sample paper in APA style--as modified by the aforementioned adjustments--is available as an Adobe-pdf document at this URL address: http://organization.northgeorgia.edu/MPAprog/MJAimm.pdf .
Revised – rca/bdf
2/14/13