1)Essays MUST have their pages numbered. (except bibliography). The Essay assignment must be no more than 6-8 pages in length,. Essays must be typed and double-spaced, in 12 point font, preferably Times Roman. Your essay must include a bibliography. You must use the American Psychological Association Style (APA) for format and citation. 2) Bibliography & Academic Sources An academic source is written by a scholar. Usually, it comes in the form of a book (published by a University Press), or peer reviewed articles that come from periodic journals found either on- line or in libraries. The easiest way to find a journal article is to do an on line search (through the University library site). Generally, it is best to rely more heavily on journal articles than books for your research papers. This is because journal articles are shorter in length and usually address a more specific research question. Additionally, it is easier to find lots of up to date journals than it is to find new books. At a MINIMUM: The bibliography should contain 3 or 4 books, excluding the course textbook, and 2 or 3 journal articles. Some internet references are acceptable, though NOT Wikkepedia, as this is not a scholastically reviewed source of information. You may include non-academic sources as ?extras? but these types of sources generally do not contribute much to an academic paper. When using internet sources, students should give preference to academic sources, i.e. those web pages produced via university, or government departments. In most cases, internet sources should be considered supplemental to the main bibliography. Online journals, from credible academic institutions, are acceptable as part of the journal article requirements for the bibliography. Please note that if you retrieved on line journal article from the library website you DO NOT NEED to include the website link in your bibliography. Just include a regular bibliographic citation of the journal article: Huntington, Samuel P. (1993). ?The Clash of Civilizations?? Foreign Affairs (72) pp.24-49. 3) Introduction An introduction is meant to present the author?s main argument(s) to the reader. A good introduction will start by broadly framing the topic, defining key terms and definitions that will be used, and briefly mentioning some of the debates that are associated with it. 4) Thinking it through: thesis statement and major subheadings. A general rule of thumb in an undergraduate paper is to have three main subsections that give slightly different arguments of the same thesis statement. 5)Typically, a well organised paper will have about five subsections all together: Introduction Sub-section #1 (example: The Curse of ?La Malinche?) Sub-section #2 (example: The Mestizo and Other Mexican myths Sub-section #3 (example: Orientalism in Mexican Art) Conclusion 6) Citations In social science, paraphrasing an author is generally preferred over quotes: According to Runge, the benefits of common property include avoiding the costs associated with private property, protection against the uncertainty of shifting natural resources, and the transition costs associated with changing traditions that are connected to certain ways of life (Runge, 1992: 33). According to Runge, the benefits of common property include avoiding the costs associated with private property, protection against the uncertainty of shifting natural resources, and the transition costs associated with changing traditions that are connected to certain ways of life (Runge, 1992: 33). There are circumstances when quoting an author cannot be avoided; this usually occurs when someone has said something that is so succinct and descriptive that it becomes hard to paraphrase them without losing some meaning: Edward Said writes that the narratives created by the West reflects the belief that Middle Eastern people are ?dark, chaotic and only respond to force? (Said, 1978:52). If you feel that it is absolutely necessary to quote an author for an entire paragraph, you MUST indent the quotation and use a smaller font: In Chapter 3, entitled Colonizing Knowledges, Linda Tuhiwai Smith explains that spiritual wholeness is the last frontier where Aboriginals have been able to evade the colonising clutch: The arguments of different indigenous peoples based on spiritual relationships to the universe, to the landscapes and to the stones, rocks insects and other things, seen and unseen, have been difficult arguments for Western systems of knowledge to deal with or accept. These arguments give a partial indication of the different world views and alter Aboriginal ways of coming to know, and of being, which still endure within the indigenous world. Concepts of spirituality which Christianity attempted to destroy, then appropriate,and then to claim, are crucial sites of resistance for indigenous peoples. The values, attitudes, concepts and language embedded in beliefs about spirituality represent, in many cases, the clearest contrast and mark of difference between indigenous peoples and the West. It is one of the few parts of ourselves which the West cannot decipher, cannot understand and cannot control? yet (1999: 74). Choosing to include a large quote like this obliges the author to very carefully analyse the content, in some cases picking out certain words and discussing alternative meanings. This writing strategy is used most often in literature or from authors who are writing from a post-modern perspective. Whenever you paraphrase an author, or even refer to his/her work more generally, you must give them credit. The best way to do this is by using an embedded citation. The best way to do this is through the author-date-page style: Living in their respective communities and growing food has been the central method of keeping their cultural and linguistic distinctiveness. This applies especially to maize which has greater symbolic meaning to the culture of the Maya people in Southern Mexico (Morales, 866:1997). In social science, you should never use footnotes for text citations. Footnotes should only be used when you want to tell the reader something that does not fit in the text. In social science, you should never use footnotes for text citations. Footnotes should only be used when you want to tell the reader something that does not fit in the text. 7) The Importance of Analysis An analysis is the most important part of your paper; in essence, learning how to process, and think about knowledge, is the whole foundation of a university program. A strong analysis will explain, interpret, criticise and even extend the work or ideas of other people in order to say something new and interesting. When you are trying to make a point or an argument in a paper, you will most likely begin by telling the reader what other people have said that this subject. After you have done this, you may want to explain either why you think these authors are correct (and thus support your argument) or why they are incorrect, or have left something out. An analysis is where YOU can really shine as a thinker; the key is to be PHILOSOPHICAL. You must show the reader that you can do more than just memorise theories and data; you can actually think of something creative to say in response to the work that you have learned and read. You can also use an analysis to evaluate the theories used in your paper. What do they explain? Is there anything that they cannot explain? What/whom do the theories leave out? This is an opportunity for you to reflect about the nature of society and culture. In this example of an analysis, the author is interpreting the meaning of some famous Canadian paintings; the paintings are criticised and shown to be symbolic of European power in Canada: In illustration of its identity, Canada has often relied upon artwork to communicate its image to citizens and people abroad. The Canadian state has captured the essence of its early days in the art of a cluster of painters called ?The Group of Seven.? Much of their work shows Canadian landscapes completely absent of any man made amenity including [wo]man [her]himself. The tangle of trees and bush, lakes, rivers and rocky shores are meant to show the great Canadian wilderness as it may have appeared to the ?first? European settlers. That no people are shown in the landscapes is very telling of how the early settler authorities viewed the First Nations; as being invisible or negligible ? a complete testament to Terra Nullius (Scott, 2006: 481). The absence of Indigenous inhabitants from The Group of Sevens? work sets the stage for a Canadian history that was ?earned? by hardworking and fearless explores whose descendents were able to tame the dense wilderness thus making Canada what it is today. The Aboriginal inhabitants, who lived off of the land for thousands of years prior to European arrival, are no less fixed in this scenario; they are fixed outside of the process by which Canada became settled, as evidenced by their absence from the paintings. 8)Conclusion You conclusion should re-visit the main points of the paper and elaborate on slightly about ?what it all means? in the context of your putting all of your points together. Although you may wish to touch on some ideas for future papers or research, you should not bring up new points or ideas that have not been already discussed in the paper. The length of a conclusion could vary depending upon paper length. For an 8-10 paper, you should have anywhere for a half page to three quarter page conclusion. 9) Bibliographic style Here is an example of one style that is acceptable as per the University of Ottawa Social Science writing regulations: Bibliography Brading, D.A. (2001). ?Monuments and Nationalism in Modern Mexico.? Nations and Nationalism (4) 7: 521-531. Gutierrez, Nativdad (1998). ?What Indians Say About Mestizos: A Critical View of a Cultural Archetype of Mexican Nationalism.? Bull. Latin Am. Res. (17) 3: 285-301.
Call Us: USA +1 862 207 3288