Paper Writing Skills
Appropriate Paper Title
Bad examples:
“Rousseau: Control group”
“Marx: The Communist Manifesto
Good Examples:
“Aristotle’s politics: a theory for the
many or the privileged few?”
“Communication as process in the
political theory of Althusius”
Note:
Two-pronged approach
The Hour Glass Approach
information gathering
topical sorting
question
structuring essay
essay writing with feedback
Where To Begin?
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study the text(s)
hit the library early
adjust topic to material found
design structure of argument
sort material into structure
write main part of essay
write introduction and conclusion
find a meaningful title
Introduction
The introduction should:
- summarize what the
paper is about
- identify the key
problem / question /
thesis
- give overview of
argument structure
Intro Examples
Bad Examples:
“Locke is an extremely
interesting individual”
“In Plato’s Republic, he
writes…”
Good Examples:
“Hobbes’ theory of human
nature was greatly
influenced by the English
civil war.”
“A central assumption in
Locke’s contract theory is
that human beings have
agreed to inequality.”
Conclusion
• summarize: on the
one hand and on the
other
• add personal
evaluation: why is this
important?
• what is your final
judgment on this?
Citation of Primary Source
“I wish I could wear such a crown” (Conservative Manifesto, II, 2/6).
Citation of Secondary Source
“I can see Russia from my house” (Palin 2008: 123)
Bibliography (1)
Book (primary or secondary):
Harper, Stephen, Conservative
Manifesto (Fort McMurray: Tar
Sands Press, 2009)
Bibliography (2)
Book chapter:
Putin, Vladimir, “America is Doomed,” in Martha Stewart
(ed.), Interior Decoration and the Decline of the
American Empire (Alderson: Prison Press 2004), 33-66.
Bibliography (2)
Journal article:
McCain, John, and Sarah Palin,
“The Earth is Flat,” American
Republican Quarterly 36: 4
(2008), 123-122.