Research Paper Requirement
Choose a modern president (FDR-Obama) and write an essay on his long term legacy, that is, his effect on the United States and/or the world. You should focus on policies and actions, not elections or life before the presidency. This is a research paper, so considerable research outside course assignments will be necessary. Be sure to present both positive and negative aspects of the president you choose. An example of an attempt at balance can be found in the article, “The Paradox of President Reagan’s Leadership”.
Scholarly sources include:
articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals
scholarly books (e.g. books that use footnotes or endnotes)
papers from think tanks (e.g. Urban Institute, Brookings, Heritage, AEI, etc.)
reports of governmental organizations (e.g. CRS, CBO, OMB, GAO, departments, etc.)
some long form journalism (long articles in magazines)
The paper will be approximately 1500 words (about 6 double spaced pages; your page count may be longer because of footnotes). MS Word does not include footnotes in its word count unless the preferences have been specifically set to do so.
In your paper, you must cite the following material:
A) the book, The End of Greatness, by Aaron David Miller
B) you must use/cite three articles in the attached folder. ( I uploaded the folder with all the articles to choose from.) You can also use the book The Modern Presidency by James Pfiffner as one of the three souses.
C) You must also cite at least five other scholarly sources
(books, formal reports, journal articles, etc.).
For this course, footnotes are required for citations; in-line references are not acceptable. If footnotes are not used, the paper will lose ½ grade (e.g. from A- to B+ or B- to C+).
Footnote style is described and illustrated later in this syllabus.
Writing Your Research Paper
In order to write a paper, you first have to have something to say. This is why research is necessary. You might have strong opinions about a president, pro or con, but you do not yet know enough about him to write a paper, no matter how strongly you feel. After you have picked your president, find some serious sources about him and read them, or parts of them. (journal articles, scholarly books, biographies, think tank reports, long-form journalism).
To write a coherent analysis, you must use evidence and arguments.
Evidence comes from the sources you have read.
Arguments are formed through the logic of how you present the material.
Your paper must have a unifying theme that is expressible in one sentence. This is what ties the whole paper together. The reader should know how each part of your paper fits into your overall argument.
I will evaluate the papers using the following criteria:
The coherence of the paper (does your analysis make sense?).
The evidence presented (the sources that you use).
The use of syntax and grammar (essential to communicating your analysis).
In Writing an Essay, Remember:
The introduction should say what the paper is about and how you will approach the topic.
The paper should address one central question and have a thesis.
The paper should be organized logically, with an evident structure.
The reader should be told how each part of the paper is related to the other parts.
Use subheadings to label different sections.
Outline your paper after it is written to see if it flows logically.
Proofread your paper for spelling and syntax.
Grammar
The singular possessive is formed by adding an ’s (e.g. one president’s term was cut short),
the plural by s’ (e.g. both presidents’ terms were cut short).
The possessive for it is its: its = possessive, it’s = it is (a contraction).
If you cannot remember the rule for its, do not use an apostrophe and you will be correct.
(That is, use “it is” rather than a contraction and its for the possessive.)
Lead is in your pencil, but led is the past tense of the verb to lead.
Effect is a noun and affect is a verb, almost always – if you do not know the exceptions,
do not violate this rule of thumb.
Cite is short for citation, site is a place (or web location), sight refers to eyes.
Horses have reins; monarchs reign over countries; rain falls from the sky: e.g. In London, where it rains often, the Queen reigns, but the Prime Minister holds the reins of power..
Hints from William Strunk and E.B. White’s classic, The Elements of Style (NY: Macmillan, 1979), pp. vii-viii:
“Place a comma before a conjunction [e.g. and, or, but] introducing an independent clause.”
“Do not join independent clauses by a comma” (use a semicolon or a period).
“The number of the subject determines the number of the verb.”
“Use the active voice.”
“Omit needless words.”
“Make the paragraph the unit of composition.”
“Revise and rewrite.”
Citations for Research Papers
The purposes of scholarly citations are several:
1) To show the source for a direct quote or fact not commonly known.
2) To give credit for an idea to the author of a work
3) To show the reader that you are familiar with other scholarship on your topic or to indicate where further information or analysis can be found.
4) You may also use endnotes to explain something in the text or comment on the source.
The intention is to give the reader enough information to find the source you are using so that he or she can see if you have quoted it correctly, interpreted it soundly, done justice to the author cited, or do further research on the topic in question themselves.
Books:
author, title (place of publication: publisher, date), page number(s).
[Titles of books should be in italics.]
Example:
1. John Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies, 2nd ed. (New York: HarperCollins, 1995).
After the first full citation, you may use a shortened version:
e.g. 2. Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies, page number(s).
Articles:
author, title, name of journal (volume, number), page number(s).
[Titles of articles should be enclosed in quotation marks, names of journals underlined or in italics.]
Example:
1. Theodore J. Lowi, “The State in Political Science: How We Become What We Study,” American Political Science Review Vol. 86, No. 1 (1992), pp. 1-7.
After first full citation, you may use a shortened version:
2. Lowi, “The State in Political Science,” p. 3.
Chapters in edited Books:
author of chapter (or article), title of chapter, “in” editor of book, title of book (place and date of publication), page numbers.
Example:
Hugh Heclo, “The Changing Presidential Office,” in James P. Pfiffner, ed. The Managerial Presidency 2nd edition (College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1999), pp. 23-36.
Web Site Citations:
In addition to author, title, and any other identifying information, include the following information: the organization that put up the site, full URL, date of access.
Number endnotes (beginning with one) consecutively for the whole paper, with each note referring to the number in the text in superscript or parentheses. Endnote numbers should be placed at the end of the sentence containing the information being cited. Do not use more than one endnote per sentence; if necessary, combine several sources in one note. A bibliography of all the sources used in the paper along with other useful sources may be useful or required. For this course, a bibliography is optional.
If you have any questions feel free to ask.