Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
POLS 301: Issues in Global Politics
HUMAN RIGHTS
Fall 2008
TTh 10:05-11:20 am
HAL 114
Dr. Samuel S. Stanton, Jr.
Office Hours: 9-11 am MWF, 4-5 pm MW, 11:30 am – 12:30 pm TTh
Office: HAL 303E
Phone: 724.458.3854
Email: SSStanton@gcc.edu
Web Page: http://www2.gcc.edu/dept/pols/faculty/stanton/
The fundamental rights of [humanity] are, first: the right of habitation; second, the right
to move freely; third, the right to the soil and subsoil, and to the use of it; fourth, the right
of freedom of labor and of exchange; fifth, the right to justice; sixth, the right to live
within a natural national organization; and seventh, the right to education.
--Albert Schweitzer
Fear is not the natural state of civilized people.
--Aung San Suu Kyi
The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only
object of good government.
--Thomas Jefferson
We the Peoples of the United Nations, determined to reaffirm faith in fundamental human
rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and
women and of nations large and small …
--UN Charter
Overview:
This course is an introduction to the issue of human rights in international relations. The
purpose of this course is to expose students to an area of international relations study that
is often overlooked in general international relations courses, but is of great importance in
understanding the relations among states and among the population groups of our world.
This course is about liberal values being expressed and exercised in a realist world.
Governments make decisions about economic and social policy regularly based in part on
the status of human rights and human security in other countries while also stating that
how people are treated and the quality of life within the borders of their country is not the
business of any other government because of sovereignty. This issue is important; it is
relevant to our lives as we move forward in a globalizing world. To study this issue in
depth the course is dived into 7 sections.
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
The first section is an introduction to human rights. We will examine what is meant by
“human rights”. Are there universal standards? How do we define human rights? What
is the classical background for understanding this issue?
The second section focuses on social and economic justice. We will look at how this is
addressed in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights. We will look at how
social and economic justice is defined and understood from multiple viewpoints,
including Confucianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Section three focuses on the issue of justice and is divided into two parts. Part one is
justice in war. This part focuses on different perspectives on the justness of warfare and
the proper treatment of enemies. Part two asks the question of for who is there justice
and looks particularly at justice for people of differing genders and sexual orientations.
In this section we will look at competing views from ancient manuscripts and from the
viewpoint of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Section four takes us on a tour of the offerings of Socialism/Communism in regards to
human rights. Here we will look at what Engels, Marx, Kautsky, and Lenin have offered
in regards to rights of workers, peasants, labor, women, and other social groups.
The fifth section concerns the issues of nationalism and self-determination. In the
context of human rights we will examine how nationalist movements and how efforts at
self-determination are often focal points for the study of human rights. Do national
borders affect human rights? If democracy is the best means of protecting human rights,
how do we achieve this in transitionary states and how do we protect against
authoritarianism? Does sovereignty mean today what it meant in 1648? 1950?
The sixth section focuses on one of the major issues of human rights—poverty. Is
poverty about systemic inequality? Is there a moral basis for requiring or even desiring
reform of systemic poverty? How might we reform the systemic inequality we call
poverty?
The final section of the course focuses on human rights in the context of globalization.
First we will consider whether human rights are redefined by the onslaught of
globalization. What issues of human rights are emerging as more important in the
modern era? Then we will consider how to implement global human rights standards and
consider whether this is a worthwhile effort. Is this implementation best done through
criminal courts? Should regional organizations lead the way? What must change in
foreign policy to make human rights universally applied? What is the role of nongovernmental organizations and transnational corporations?
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
Goals:
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To glorify the Almighty through the advancement of knowledge.
To further students understanding of human rights, without compromising
Christian values.
To recognize the different views of human rights offered by divergent religious
and theoretical schools of thought.
To develop and understanding of social and economic justice and proper
treatment of humans from divergent viewpoints.
To recognize the changing nature of foreign policy and international relations
brought about by growing consideration of human rights.
Outcomes:
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Students will demonstrate the ability to explain the historical and social contexts
of human rights as an international issue. (Dept. Obj. 1,2, 5, 8)
Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze and critically critique required
readings. (Dept. Obj. 2, 4, 6, 7)
Students will demonstrate the ability to conduct research to support critical
critique of readings. (Dept. Obj. 2, 4, 6, 7)
Students will demonstrate the ability to engage in discussion of topics in the
classroom setting. (Dept. Obj. 2, 4, 6, 7, 8)
General Objectives for Students Majoring in Political Science
1. Have acquired knowledge of the four major subject areas (American
Politics, Political Theory, International Relations, and Comparative
Politics) of political science
2. Be Competitive for graduate and professional school opportunities.
Political science majors with strong academic records will be competitive
for both master’s and Ph.D. programs in political science and other
professional programs and will be competitive for financial stipends.
3. Be familiar with entry level jobs suitable for political science majors.
4. Be competitive for entry level jobs suitable for political science majors.
5. Have the ability to read, comprehend, and evaluate content in professional
political science journals, scholarly books, and websites.
6. Show familiarity with, and the ability to critically evaluate, information
sources in the Social Sciences.
7. Demonstrate a mastery of research and writing skills in the field of
political science.
8. Develop and capacity to apply a Christian moral principles to issues and
topics within political science, including using a Christian perspective to
evaluate critically political ideas, public policies, and political figures.
Simply stated, our aim is that students will seek to understand the field of
politics as individuals who are committed to historic Christian thought.
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
Measurement of Outcomes:
Measurement of goals and outcomes will be made by two take home essay examinations
and an in-class essay final examination which will allow students to demonstrate the
ability to explain the historical and social contexts of human rights as an international
issue and the ability to analyze and critically critique required readings. Additionally
students will conduct a research project that demonstrates the ability to conduct research
to support critical critique of readings. Finally students’ engagement in class discussions
and participation in these discussions will be evaluated to show demonstrated ability to
engage in discussion of topics in the classroom setting.
Course Requirement: This course requires participation, 2 take home essay exams, a
final exam, and a course paper.
Participation: I do not expect that every student will be present for every class period.
However, I do expect you to be present unless there are mitigating circumstances such as
illness and university sanctioned event participation. Participation is more than simply
being in the room, participation is discussion, questioning, and answering. Participation
is crucial to learning and thus to your grade in this course. This represents 20% of your
grade.
Essay Exams: You will have two (2) essay format exams. These exams will be takehome and require a few typed pages for each answer required. Each of these three exams
will count 20% of your grade. The final exam will be done in-class (per GCC
requirements), and will consist of one question from each of the two (2) take-home
exams. The final exam is 15% of your final grade. Exams in total are 55% of your
course grade.
Course Paper: A course paper is required in this class. The required length is 15-20
pages. The paper should follow APA, or Chicago style format, see the attached material
regarding the paper at the end of the syllabus. The paper is 25% of your course grade.
Papers are due in Dr. Stanton’s office no later than 5 pm on December 5th.
Paper Topic: A student may chose to write a research paper over a research question of
his or her own interest. The topic must be relevant to the course and defensible as
covering an issue of human rights concern.
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
Paper Grading:
30% Style and Composition (grammar anyone?)
70% Content (are your statements logical, do you discuss the major points, did you do an
analysis or a report?)
TWO IMPORTANT POINTS:
POINT 1:
When I grade a paper, I will make numerical marks that correspond to the “Rules for
Writing” that follow. If on any page I am forced to make more than 5 numerical
notations, I will quit reading the paper. This is not a grammar and composition course, if
you have problems writing, get help. I do not have the time when grading papers to
spend 2 to 3 hours on an individual paper because of poor writing quality. Poor writing
quality makes it impossible to understand the content, which means you not only lose the
style and composition points, but the content as well. If you follow the “Rules” and use
the appropriate style, 30% of your grade is, to be cliché, “in the bag”.
POINT 2:
Even if a paper is stylistically and grammatically correct, and even if you make logical
arguments, discuss major points, and actually do an analytical critique rather than a
report, you may still only earn a C or B on the assignment. Some arguments are simply
better than others. Well written papers make readers think and possibly raise arguments
that a reader might not have thought about before reading this paper. Do not confuse
making the reader baffled with making the reader think. At the end of the day, a paper
meriting an A has met all of the technical challenges of the assignment and has shown a
high degree of intellectual aptitude. A high degree of intellectual aptitude is displayed by
clarity, sharpness of wit and critique, and by how much it makes the reader think. In
short, A papers are special and rare.
Grades:
Participation
Exams
Course Paper
Grading Scale:
90-100
A
80-89
B
70-79
C
60-69
D
Below 60
F
20%
55% (2 @ 20% each, 1 @15%)
25%
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
I rarely give +/- grades. A +/- grade is give at the discretion of the instructor based on
student performance. For instance, a student with an 89.5 grade with poor attendance and
without much quality participation will receive a B, same grade would merit a B+ or A- if
based on the quality and quantity of quality participation shown throughout the semester.
The key to getting bumped up is quality of participation. On the other end of the
spectrum, a student with an 80 who had poor participation will earn a B-.
Communication: Every semester events occur which call for changes to the syllabus—
usually pertaining to deadlines or dates in the course outline. I will communicate these
with you in class. I will also communicate regularly by email—I will create a class email
list, so check your email regularly. If you email me, do not leave the subject line
blank, I delete email with blank subject lines without reading it.
Attendance and Behavior: You are adults in an upper division course, however, you
cannot participate if you are not in attendance. This course will center on discussion of
the literature as a pathway to learning critical thinking skills. Basically, obey the
university’s rules on building use and student behavior and everyone will be just fine.
Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a serious violation of moral and academic principles. It involves
claiming as one’s own original work the ideas, phrasing, or creative work of another person.
As such, plagiarism is a direct violation of the biblical commandments against stealing,
bearing false witness, and covetousness; thus, the Grove City College policy. We
encourage our students to think seriously about the demands of their Christian faith in
regards to this issue.
We remind students that plagiarism includes the following:
1) any direct quotation of another’s words, from simple phrasing to longer passages,
without using quotation marks and properly citing the source of those words;
2) any summary or paraphrase of another’s ideas without properly citing the source of
those ideas;
3) any information that is not common knowledge —including facts, statistics,
graphics, drawings—without proper citation of sources;
4) any cutting and pasting of verbal or graphic materials from another source—
including books, databases, web sites, journals, newspapers, etc.—without the
proper citation for each of the sources of those materials; this includes any
copyrighted artwork, graphics, or photography downloaded from the Internet
without proper citation;
5) any wholesale “borrowing,” theft, or purchasing of another’s work and presenting it
as one’s own, whether from the Internet or from another source;
6) any presentation of “ghost-written” papers—whether paid for or not—as one’s own
original work;
7) making one’s work available for copying by others, as well as copying work posted
on the Internet or otherwise made available by another.
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
The above statement is taken from the Grove City College Bulletin and The Crimson.
Plagiarism in written work in this course will result in a grade of 0 being assigned to that
work. Opportunity to correct and resubmit the work is based on time remaining in the
course, nature of the plagiarism (is it simply forgotten or improper citation or is it cutting
and pasting entire sections of someone else’s work), and whether or not this is a repeat
offense for the individual student.
TEXTS:
Forsythe, David P. 2006. Human Rights in International Relations, 2nd Edition. New
York: Cambridge University Press.
Ishay, Micheline R. 2007. The Human Rights Reader, 2nd Edition. New York:
Routledge.
Pogge, Thomas. 2008. World Poverty and Human Rights, 2nd Edition. Cambridge, UK:
Polity Press.
Course Outline: This is not set in stone and will change as we progress through the
course.
Aug 26
Introduction, Course Syllabus
Aug 28-Sep 4
Human Rights, Standards, Definitions, Background
Forsythe Chps 1-2, Pogge Chp 2, Ishay 1.1, 1.4, 1.11, 1.12, 1.13
Sep 9-16
Social and Economic Justice
Ishay 2.1, 2.5, 2.9, 2.10, 2.11, Pogge Chp 4
Sep 18-25
Justice: In War
Ishay 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.11
Examination 1 will be passed out on Sep 25th and is due at the
beginning of class on Oct 2nd
Oct 2-9
Justice: For Whom?
Ishay 4.1, 4.3, 4.6, 4.4, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11
Oct 14-21
Human Rights and Socialism
Ishay 8.1, 8.3, 8.7, 8.10, 8.12, 9.1, 9.7, 10.1, 10.6
Oct 28-Nov 6
Nationalism and Self-Determination
Pogge Chps 5-7, Ishay IV.2, 11.1, 11.3, 11.8, 11.12, 11.13
Nov 11-13
Poverty
Pogge Chps 8-9
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
Nov 18-20
Human Rights Globalized?
Ishay 12.1, 12.3, 12.7, 12.8, 12.10, 12.11, 12.12, 12.14, 12.15,
12.16
Dec 2-9
Human Rights Global Implementation
Forsythe Chps 3-8
Examination 2 will be passed out on Dec 2nd and is due at the
beginning of class on Dec 9th.
GUIDE FOR WRITING RESEARCH PAPERS
A research paper should pose a question about some relevant event or behavior. This
question should be easily recognizable and found somewhere in the first page of your
paper. Included in the introduction of your paper should be a defense of why anyone
should care about finding an answer to your question. You must conduct a literature
review that critically evaluates how other scholarship has addressed the general area of
your question (or in some cases, how other scholarship has addressed your question
specifically). The literature review serves two purposes: One, it allows you to develop a
theoretical explanation of how events or behaviors occur. Two, it allows you to
determine and explain how your paper adds to our knowledge of the event or behavior
(strengthening your argument about why we should care to read your paper).
Your proposed answer to the research question is your hypothesis. The hypothesis
suggests factors that contribute to or impede the event or behavior in question.
Hypotheses infer something about events or behaviors based on interpretation of some
observation(s). What this means is that in political science we are in the business of
inferring causation, if you want to simply report what is, take a journalism class. The
hypothesis is a testable claim. By using quantitative or qualitative methods, you test the
hypothesis for strength and validity. This means specifying how you are measuring and
interpreting causal factors. It also means reaching findings (inferences) about whether or
not your hypothesis provides a quality answer to the research question.
Research papers end with a conclusion section that ties everything together. What do we
learn about the event or behavior from the research you have conducted? What does this
tell us about the world and its future?
Research relies on the evaluation of multiple sources. If you rely on one or two sources
for most or all of your research you have engaged in plagiarism. Papers that include
plagiarism earn an automatic 0. Popular media should generally be avoided as a source
of information (although use of sources such as the New York Times, London Times, etc.
for specificity of events and statements made by people is acceptable). Textbooks should
also generally be avoided as a source of information (if you have a question about
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
whether or not a book is a textbook, just ask your professor). Generally, for a paper of 20
pages in length you would desire about 15 quality sources of information.
Style and grammar do matter. Because grammar matters, proofread!!! Because grammar
matters do not use dangling modifiers, end sentences with prepositions, use sentence
fragments, etc. Because style matters, look at a style manual and use appropriate citation
style (not citing the source of information used in your paper is plagiarism), use
appropriate bibliography styles, and always number your pages appropriately.
In Political Science, two styles are prevalent in the scholarly literature—APSA, which is
a revised form of APA, and Turabian, also known as the Chicago Manual of Style (which
was originally edited by Katherine Turabian). However, lately in an attempt to
homogenize the different forms found in the numerous styles, the intelligent designers of
the use of English have made these styles indistinct. Today, MLA, APA, and Turabian
will look almost exactly the same if one consults a style manual. To be sure, however,
political scientists are resistant to change in some areas. Since the purpose of this course
is in part to correctly train you in appropriate writing technique for professional political
science work, you will find provided for you in the space below, examples of proper intext citation, proper footnote citations, and proper bibliographical citations. For all other
issues (page numbering, title pages, subdivisions (chapters, sub-chapters, etc.) within a
paper, etc.) use APSA or Turabian style. A copy of the APSA style manual may be
borrowed for 24 hours from Dr. Stanton.
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
IN-TEXT CITATION (APSA):
Olzak (1992) offers an ecological theory of ethnic conflict. The basis of the
theory is competition causes conflict. James (2002) refers to competition as the moral
equivalent of war. Competition is an embedded structure in humans and affects the
actions of individuals. When translated into group settings we see similarities to sports
teams athletic contests. The struggle becomes “us vs. them”, a struggle for glory,
reputation, and prestige. Competition is so ingrained it cannot be rooted out of the
behavioral patterns of people. As James notes, our ancestors bred it into us (2002, 146).
Competition for resources and position are fuel for a greater dilemma. Any gain made by
a group will elicit a response from at least one other group in society, decreasing stability
and increasing the likelihood of the security dilemma.
NOTE: if you are using in-text citation, footnotes or endnotes are used solely for the
purpose of providing additional information that was not warranted as part of the actual
text.
NOTE: if you directly quote or use ideas directly from a source, it requires year and page
number as in the third citation in the example paragraph.
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
FOOTNOTES/END NOTES (Turabian):
Olzak1 offers an ecological theory of ethnic conflict. The basis of the theory is
competition causes conflict. James2 refers to competition as the moral equivalent of war.
Competition is an embedded structure in humans and affects the actions of individuals.
When translated into group settings we see similarities to sports teams athletic contests.
The struggle becomes “us vs. them”, a struggle for glory, reputation, and prestige.
Competition is so ingrained it cannot be rooted out of the behavioral patterns of people.
As James notes, our ancestors bred it into us.3 Competition for resources and position are
fuel for a greater dilemma. Any gain made by a group will elicit a response from at least
one other group in society, decreasing stability and increasing the likelihood of the
security dilemma.
NOTE: It would also be permissible in footnote/end note number 3 to simply use Ibid.,
146.
NOTE: If using end notes, the footnotes below would follow the last page of text.
1
Olzak, Susan. The Dynamics of Ethnic Conflict and Competition, 1992.
James, William, “The Moral Equivalent to War,” in Betts, Richard K. ed. Conflict After
the Cold War, Arguments on the Causes of War and Peace, 2002, 145-151
3
James, William, “The Moral Equivalent to War,” in Betts, Richard K. ed. Conflict After
the Cold War, Arguments on the Causes of War and Peace, 2002, 146.
2
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL MATERIAL:
Books:
Olzak, Susan. The Dynamics of Ethnic Conflict and Competition, Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press, 1992.
Volkan, Vamik. Bloodlines, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997.
The World Almanac, 1985-1998, Mahwah, NJ: Funk and Wagnell.
NOTE: The last reference is for a book without an author. Note that items are singlespaced within and that a double-space is used between items. Also, items are not
numbered.
Chapter within an edited Volume:
Snyder, Jack and Robert Jervis. “Civil War and the Security Dilemma,” in Barbara
Walter and Jack Snyder, Eds., Civil Wars, Insecurity, and Intervention, New
York: Columbia University Press, 1999, 15-37.
Journal Article:
Saideman, S., Lanoue, D., Campenni, M., and Stanton, S. “Democratization, Political
Institutions, and Ethnic Conflict: A Pooled Time Series Analysis, 1985-1998,”
Comparative Political Studies, 35, 1 (February 2002): 103-129.
Newspaper Article:
Cuff, Daniel F. “Forging a New Shape for Steel,” New York Times, 26 May 1985, sec. F.
(if in electronic format)
Loeb, Vernon, “Fallout from a CIA Affidavit,” Washington Post,
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/A 1998-2000Apr23.html>
April 24, 2000.
NOTE: April 24, 2000 represents the day the article was accessed. This date must be
included. This is done because on-line availability changes regularly and this provides
readers with a point of reference to use in tracking down a copy of the item.
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
Other Electronically Accessed Resources:
Bennett, D. Scott, and Christian Davenport. 2003. MARGene v1.0. Software.
<http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/inscr/mar/margene.htm>. Accessed May 8, 2003.
Bhutan. Webdb International Programs 2003.
<http://webdb.iu.edu/internationalprograms/scripts/accesscoveragepage.cfm?
country=bhutan>. Accessed May 5, 2003.
BIBLIOGRAPHY AS A COHERENT WHOLE:
Bennett, D. Scott, and Christian Davenport. 2003. MARGene v1.0. Software.
<http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/inscr/mar/margene.htm>. Accessed May 8, 2003.
Bhutan. Webdb International Programs 2003.
<http://webdb.iu.edu/internationalprograms/scripts/accesscoveragepage.cfm?
country=bhutan>. Accessed May 5, 2003.
Cuff, Daniel F. “Forging a New Shape for Steel,” New York Times, 26 May 1985, sec. F.
Loeb, Vernon, “Fallout from a CIA Affidavit,” Washington Post,
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/A 1998-2000Apr23.html>
April 24, 2000.
Olzak, Susan. The Dynamics of Ethnic Conflict and Competition, Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press, 1992.
Saideman, S., Lanoue, D., Campenni, M., and Stanton, S. “Democratization, Political
Institutions, and Ethnic Conflict: A Pooled Time Series Analysis, 1985-1998,”
Comparative Political Studies, 35, 1 (February 2002): 103-129.
Snyder, Jack and Robert Jervis. “Civil War and the Security Dilemma,” in Barbara
Walter and Jack Snyder, Eds., Civil Wars, Insecurity, and Intervention, New
York: Columbia University Press, 1999, 15-37.
Volkan, Vamik. Bloodlines, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1997.
The World Almanac, 1985-1998, Mahwah, NJ: Funk and Wagnell.
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
Dr. Stanton’s Rules for Writing
Built upon the work of a long line of mentors and colleagues
Sentence Rules:
1. Do not begin sentences in any of the following ways: “There are/is…”, “This is…”,
“It is…,” etc.
2. Do not use “this,” “these,” “that,” “those,” “which,” or “it” unless the word has a
clear and unmistakable antecedent nearby. Never begin a sentence with “this” unless you
follow it immediately with a noun that re-identifies the idea to which you are referring.
3. Never publicly dangle a participle or misplace a modifier: write “Showing
unmistakable signs of ignorance, the student did not persuade his professor;” NOT> “The
student did not persuade his professor, showing unmistakable signs of ignorance.”
4. Never write an incomplete sentence (participles -- “ing” words -- cannot stand as
verbs). A verb must agree with its subject in person and number.
5. Know these three rules about commas:
a. Join independent clauses (clauses with a subject and a verb) either by using (1) a
comma with a conjunction (“Right-handers predominantly use the left side of the brain,
so left-handers are the only ones in their right minds.”) or (2) a semicolon without a
conjunction (“Right-handers predominantly use the left side of the brain; left-handers are
the only ones in their right minds.”)
b. Separate items in a series by using a comma after every item before the conjunction
(“The professor was arbitrary, arrogant, and heartless.”)
c. Never use a comma between the subject and the verb or between the verb and
its object (except for interrupting clauses that use two (2) commas).
6. Bury words like “however,” “furthermore,” “moreover,” “indeed,” etc. (conjunctive
adverbs) in the clause or sentence; do not put them at the beginning. (E.g. “The students,
however, learned something.”)
7. Be consistent when you have two or more parallel structures. With adjectives: “He
was pompous, picky, and terrorized freshmen” is wrong. “He was pompous, picky, and
fond of terrorizing freshmen” is right. With prepositions: “A student could count on his
bad temper and arbitrariness” is wrong. “A student could count on his bad temper and on
his arbitrariness” is right. With correlatives: “He graded a paper not only for content but
for style” is wrong. “He graded a paper not only for content but also for style” is right.
8. Do not end a sentence with a preposition.
9. Do not use the passive voice (“Careless students are failed by the ruthless professor”);
use the active voice (“The ruthless professor fails careless students”). Because the active
voice is direct and clear, this rule is the most important of style, but it has serious
consequences for your meaning as well. Politicians, administrators, and those foolishly
trying to avoid the consequences of their actions love the passive voice because it
protects them from facts and responsibility: “Mistakes were made.”
10. Adverbs should be adverbs. Do not do it different – if you know what I am saying.
11. Walker’s Rule for Pronouns: every pronoun should have a clear antecedent to which
it agrees in person, number, and gender.
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
Paragraph and Thesis Rules:
12. Each paragraph must stick to the subject introduced by its first sentence. Most
importantly, the first sentence of the first paragraph must establish the context of your
paper. “John Wayne first appears in Stagecoach with a rifle in his hand.” NOT> “Duke
has a gun.”
13. Do not use one or two sentences as a paragraph.
14. Make the transition between your sentences and your paragraphs clear and logical.
This task is the most difficult in writing, but, as you know, life is hard.
15. Give your paper a clear thesis sentence at the end of your first paragraph. If you can
remember only one rule, this rule is the one you must remember. The first paragraph
should also demonstrate how the rest of the paper is organized.
16. Avoid using quotations to begin or end a paragraph or a paper. Your own words are
most important in those places.
17. In longer papers remind the reader of your thesis throughout the body of your paper.
Rules concerning Argumentation:
18. Never just summarize or paraphrase. Assume your reader has read/seen it. I do not
want to know what happened. I want to know your ideas about what happened.
19. Support your assertions and ideas with concrete examples, with brief quotes from the
story, book, or film you are discussing, or with a short citation from some reliable
authority.
20. Do not hedge. Words like “maybe,” “seem,” “perhaps,” and “might” do not keep you
from being wrong; they merely alert the reader to the fact that you are worried about it.
21. Avoid vague generalizations: “as we all know,” “people say,” “since the beginning
of time,” etc. Obvious claims such as “mankind would not exist without the heart” are
equally lamentable.
22. Write about works of art in the present tense, since Hamlet will be stabbing Polonius
and Roy Hobbs will be knocking the lights out with his home runs long after your
grandchildren have forgotten your name.
23. Avoid rhetorical questions.
24. Delete the phrase “in the past” from your writing as well as any hint of chronological
snobbery. Chronological snobbery is the erroneous assumption that, with the passage of
time, mankind has gotten progressively wiser. In the past such a pedantic list of writing
rules would have been unnecessary for undergraduates.
25. When citing a dictionary refer to the Oxford English Dictionary whenever possible.
Diction Rules:
26. Do not misspell words. Misspelled words look dumb; do not look dumb. Use a
dictionary or a literate friend to check your spelling. On a word processor always use
spell-check, but do not trust it! Possessing a limited vocabulary and undiscerning
between right words spelled wrongly and wrong words spelled rightly, spell-check is no
substitute for proofreading. Spell out one and two digit numbers.
27. Never use contractions.
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
28. A possessive without an apostrophe is a misspelled word. One exception is the
possessive of “it”: “its.” “It is” contracts to “it’s.” Since you will not use contractions,
you will never write “it’s” on a paper.
29. Choose the best word for the context. Your papers should be a place “where every
word is at home, taking its place to support the others” (Eliot “Little Gidding,” V.217218). Beware of unintended irony: an N.C. State basketballer once explained his ability to
shoot with either hand, “yeah, I’m amphibious.” Suffice it to say this student-athlete, to
avoid drowning in his coursework, crawled out of school and into the NBA.
30. Also beware these other egregious violations of Rule Twenty-Nine (29): jargon (say
“library”; do not say “instructional media center”), cliche (say “the professor is a
conservative grouch”; do not say “the professor is an old fogey”), slang (say “the teacher
is foolish”; do not say “the teacher is a dork”), hyperbole (say “this man has too high a
regard for himself”; do not say “this man is the most arrogant jerk who ever lived”),
gobbledygook (say “now”; do not say “at this point in time”), and malapropism
(confusion of idioms; one former NFL player commented, “I really cleaned his bell; I
rang his clock”).
31. Use your smallest most Anglo-Saxon, most comfortable words; big words impress
only high school teachers and smell of the thesaurus.
32. Lose the word “very” and, like, you know, other gratuitous additives from, you know,
your written and spoken vocabulary.
33. Non-English words should be italicized. Foreign words and terms that are not
commonly used should be defined when initially used in the paper.
Format Rules:
34. Number your pages.
35. Use the Chicago Manual of Style (Turabian) or APA/APSA for your papers. MLA
is not acceptable.
37. Give your paper an informative title. The name of the work you are dealing with is
NOT the title of your paper. “Shakespeare’s Use of Time in Hamlet” is by a thoughtful
person; “It Takes a Broken Egghead to Make a Hamlet” is by a clown; Hamlet is by
Shakespeare.
37. Italicize all full-length films, plays, and books. Do likewise with magazine and
newspaper titles. Short stories, film shorts, one-act plays, and articles go in quotation
marks (“…”). Do not underline or put your own title in quotation marks.
38. On those extremely rare occasions when you quote more than two lines of text,
indent five spaces left and right and single space the quotation, and leave off the
quotation marks.
39. When you quote from or refer to a source, cite it appropriately and include a works
cited page of some kind.
40. When you borrow and idea or paraphrase statements from existing scholarship, give
appropriate citation.
41. Print your paper out only on the front side of the pages.
42. Use 1” margins top, bottom, and right, use a 1 ½” margin on the left side of pages.
43. Use Times New Roman 12 point font.
Stanton POLS 301 Fall 08
44. If a header is used on page 1 to identify you, the course and the date, this material
should be single-spaced and have minimal spacing between it and the body of the paper
and it should be used only on the first page.
45. Before handing in your final copy, have an intelligent friend read your paper to you;
then fix it.
46. Be safe: frequently save your file, and if possible keep a hard copy, and/or a version
on another drive.
47. Do not hand in a paper unless you have come to care about it. You believe in
goodness and truth; therefore, commit yourself to communicating your ideas well and
true.